Britin Frazey

Recently, when I was on a trip to Sandusky, Ohio, with some friends, we visited Lagoon Deer Park. I had recently heard of deer parks for the first time when my fiancé went to one in Michigan. Since we were looking for more fun activities to do, I suggested that we visit one of the many outdoor petting zoos in the area.

Here, you can see the deer that obsessively followed around one of my friends, screaming at her the entire way. This was really endearing, the way it would leave her for a while and then see her across the lot and run for her. At least, it was fun for me.

I put my hand out to try to get its attention for a photo, and it stuck its nose right on my hand– booping itself from my hand! I love to boop animals, like my cat, but never would have done it at this park, had this not happened. It was a really amazing moment for me, and I’m glad I got a photo.

When we arrived, we had to walk through the gift shop, where we bought tickets for $10 and large bags of feed for $5. The only issue came from the fact that one of my friends has a severe nut allergy, and all the food either contained or had come into contact with peanuts, so she wasn’t able to feed the animals. This was fine with her, but it is worth noting for others who may attend a park like this.

Once we were out of the shop, we walked through the double gates, and were greeted by a litany of animals, all eager to see if we had treats for them.

Here is a picture of a goat that continuously approached me throughout the hour or so that I was at the park. When I was out, this goat fought me for what was left of the paper bag.

In one of the goat exhibits, all the adults were at the front, begging people for food, while the babies all stayed toward the back. There were at least five of them, playing back there on a log. It was the cutest thing ever– the kids playing while the adults talked. I remember those days, thinking the grown-ups were boring, and now I love nothing more than a good conversation.

I did a bad job of spacing out the food I gave the animals, and I ran completely out upon meeting my first llama and letting it bleed me dry. Don’t worry, I got a picture!

This is the llama in question– and I have to say, it’s in a perfect loaf! I had never seen a llama loaf before, and they’re my favorite animals. I was thrilled that they had one out and about, and even got to feed it by hand. There were several others in the many enclosures on the perimeter of the lot.

The enclosures housed all varieties of deer, goats, and other animals. It’s not clear to me whether the animals that are allowed out of the enclosures are the well-behaved, the most extroverted, or if it’s on a rotation basis, but the pens were all a decent size for the number of animals in there, in my highly unprofessional opinion. I think that their conditions could be slightly better if there were more greenery and spots to run or hide, but a lot of the pens definitely had all of these things.

Pictured above is a type of spotted fallow. This one particularly caught my eye because of its striking beauty, which I don’t think came across as well in my photo. But I loved this guy and wished I’d had any food left for him.

Aside from deer, goats, and llamas, there were also lots of birds! There was a pair of emus who stood, appearing as rabid as emus always tend to look. There’s a picture below, with the sign telling you all you need to know about its disposition.

Just look at that face! Adorably terrifying. And I feel like anyone who doesn’t believe that birds are dinosaurs just needs to meet an emu.

Aside from those terrifying creatures, there were some chickens and doves in enclosures. One of the major attractions of Lagoon Deer Park, though, is its peacocks.

There were many peacocks present, with my favorite being the peahen pictured below. While one of the peacocks had its tail feathers all spread apart, and another peahen was entirely white, it was this little lady that stuck out to me, in the bird department.

She had no issue strutting her stuff. Just look at how pretty she is!

I had the most fun at the Lagoon Deer Park. On my way out, I bought a sweatshirt to commemorate my time. I wish that there were more deer parks like this closer to where I live, but unfortunately, they seem to stick to the northern parts of the country.

While deer parks probably aren’t the perfect conditions for all these animals, they all looked happy and healthy. But then again, the main way that I know to check an animal’s health is to see if it demands food, which everyone here did.

And if you get a chance to visit a deer park, make sure you take it! Unless you have a severe nut allergy, then maybe inquire further…