Swimming with otters and yoga with roos
If you want to swim with otters, breakfast with monkeys, do yoga with kangaroos or sip with sloths, Barn Hill Preserve is the place for you.
Located at 32415 Peppers Corner Road in rural Frankford, Barn Hill has more than 35 exotic animals from nearly every corner of the globe.
One could call the eight-acre preserve a zoo, but it's unlike any zoo most have visited. An emphasis is placed on the animal's quality of life and their environment, with open fields and grasslands that mimic their natural environments. And what makes the preserve special are the close encounters – focused on education – with many of the animals.
Besides the educational encounter experiences, Barn Hill also has a large petting zoo.
This year marks the third year for the preserve to be open for tours from April through December, which are offered seven days a week during the summer and on weekends in the off-season.
Among the animals are otters, tortoises, a Watusi cow, goats, chickens, rheas, camels, sloths, monkeys, kangaroos, a lynx, an aardvark and an owl, which visitors can also have a close encounter with.
While many of the programs offered at Barn Hill are popular, getting in a pool and swimming with otters is high on the favorite list. Swims are available at 9 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. each day. Kid-friendly swims are available Monday and Friday. Reservations are required and swims are limited to eight people.
“The otters like visitors and like meeting new people,” said Zach Bova, Barn Hill brand manager.
The preserve’s six otters take part in the swims on a rotating schedule.
Barn Hill also has several special events throughout the year, including the second annual Brews and Roos event, which is scheduled for noon, Saturday, Sept. 16.
Started as mobile zoo
Barn Hill Preserve Delaware, founded by Josh Mueller who lived on the property, began in 2016 as a mobile zoo presenting programs at schools. The animals were taken on the road to many locations during the COVID-19 pandemic. With many schools closed, Car-E-Safari was born to allow up-close encounters during drive-through events.
It became apparent that there needed to be a permanent location for visitors to be with the animals.
Barn Hill tours began during the summer of 2021 with a variety of animal encounters available. The preserve is available for school field trips and provides free mobile school programs.
There is also a Barn Hill Preserve in Ethel, La. The two facilities reach beyond their local areas to assist and support rescue efforts around the world.
The animals have their own diet prepared by a zoological nutritionist and receive monthly checkups from a zoological veterinarian, who is available 24 hours.
Bova said the preserve is expanding, as only half of the acreage being used now. He said a five-year plan is in place to construct facilities to bring additional animals to the preserve. Planned this year are two new animal enclosures and a second barn.
“If people are looking for something outside the beach, we offer a hands-on and up-close educational encounters that are much different than a typical zoo,” he said. “We hope to spark passions in our young visitors to take on animal careers.”
The preserve is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. For more information or to make reservations, phone 302-829-1548 or email delaware@barnhillpreserve.com.
