Oregon Coast Waves - 1.8

Zoo offers hands-on experiences with exotic animals
hey’re unlikely stable mates: a pygmy goat, a silky
chicken, a couple of llamas, a few pigs, an emu and a
dog. A trio of kangaroos share an enclosure nearby.
The stable itself is unconventional — a large part of
a 7,000-square-foot former banquet hall at Aquarium Village
in South Beach. A pair of macaws walk along the fence; other
birds are perched up high in the rafters.
“My family has always had animals,” said Blaine Brown,
founder of Newport Discovery Zoo, an animal sanctuary
offering up-close encounters with threatened and endangered
animals, animals you are likely to only encounter in zoos.
His grandfather imported animals for zoos, Brown explained.
Brown owned pet stores in Spokane, Wash., before selling
them when he came to the coast to care for his grandfather.
“I thought about a pet store, but people just don’t know how
to take care of stuff,” he said. Instead of providing animals,
why not set something up where people could come visit these
animals and learn about them, he thought.
He pointed out that alligators are illegal in all the western
states, but people still seem to find ways to acquire them as pets.
When alligators are confiscated, they are usually destroyed,
Brown said. In addition to a pair of alligators, Brown said the
zoo is home to a Nile crocodile, as well.
Working with state agencies in Oregon and Washington, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Fish
and Wildlife and Washington Exotic Animal Rescue, the zoo
provides a home for animals that would otherwise be destroyed,
educating the pubic on the often rarely seen animals, Brown
said. The zoo works with Oregon Reptile Man, who usually
takes animals on visits to schools and libraries but is currently
doing online education.
The zoo has two Nile monitors, an African version of a
Komodo dragon. “They’ll rip your arm. They don’t make good
pets. People don’t comprehend how big they get, what their
needs are, what they’re going to eat,” Brown said
Some current residents at the Zoo are: alpacas, six-banded
armadillos, kinkaju, poison dart frogs, fennec foxes, tortoises,
African crested porcupine, Agouti, rattlesnakes, geckos,
cobras, chameleons, tarantulas, fruit-dove, ducks and rainbow
lorikeet.
“Resident critters come and go as they move on to other zoo,
sanctuaries, become a part of important breeding programs,
etc.”
The zoo is offering admission by appointment only at this
time. Appointments can be made on their Facebook page or
by phone at 541-961-6371. The zoo is located at 3101 SE Ferry
Slip Road, South Beach
Above: Baby Emu
PHOTOS BY JEREMY BURKE