Snakes, kangaroos and porcupines, oh my! This Halloween, the wildest guests in Paso Robles are slithering into the spotlight at Zoo to You (Conservation Ambassadors), where you can get up close with incredible animals while enjoying all the tricks, treats, and Halloween fun at this year’s Monster Mash.
Forget ghosts and goblins, this Halloween, how about a few hundred exotic animals, because where else can you be surrounded by all of this and have a spooktacular time?
“Nowhere! Nowhere, just here,” said Zoo to You volunteer Dolores Alexander.
For the first time ever, Zoo to You is opening its 40-acre Paso Robles property to the public this Halloween for its inaugural Monster Mash.
And you might even make a few new friends.
There’s Curly the tarantula; Rosie, who’s ready to slither into the Halloween spirit; Nell, proving porcupines can be pretty charming; and capybaras taking “chill” to a whole new level.
But the encounters don’t stop there.
Some guests can watch Tico the hawk take flight, hang out with Maya the monkey, and catch a pair of clever otters turning a pumpkin into playtime.
“I know there’s gonna be a lot of other Halloween events going on, but what makes this one special is that not only do you get a chance to get your hands on some of these amazing animals – birds, mammals and reptiles – you get a chance to learn something about them through our educational show, and you still get to go trick-or-treating,” said Zoo to You director Lisa Jackson. “You get so much for a three-hour event.”
The wildlife show brings the same up-close encounters Zoo to You takes into local schools, but this time, there’s a Halloween twist.
“What we like about our wildlife shows is the educational part of it. It’s fun; there are always some very fun elements to them, but you’re going to walk away, and you will have learned something about the animals that you met,” Jackson said.
After the show, the adventure continues down the trick-or-treat trail.
Keepers and volunteers will trade their usual attire for Halloween costumes, handing out treats while introducing families to a few more creatures along the way.
And some animals that look scary? Turns out, they might not be so frightening after all.
“It’s really great to see how people react to the animals, and sometimes they’re a little scared, but then when they see them, and you teach them about that specific animal, they’re much less afraid,” Alexander said.
By the end of three hours of wildlife, costumes, and candy, you might be moving about as fast as Edward Scissorhands the sloth there, but that’s one Halloween hangover the organizers are hoping families won’t mind.
Admission to Monster Mash is $68.90, and tickets can be purchased at Zoo to You or on its website.
