Zoo Ecomuseum

Zoo Ecomuseum is found on the outskirts of Montréal near the western tip of the island (St-​Anne De Bellevue). It’s a small zoo but not as you’d normally expect one to be. Basically the animals found here were rescued elsewhere due to a variety of reasons but most cannot be released due to injuries or inability to live in the wild. This is why one must temper their expectations to what they expect to see here… this zoo’s mission is centered on conservation and the size it pretty small… you can be in and out in 45 minutes… or longer if you have kids willing to check out exhibitions over and over again. This isn’t Parc Safari!
I paid $ 12.50 for my ticket and it’s free for 2 year olds or younger. Prices are fair.
There’s several exhibitions inside the building you pay in before you head into the zoo. There’s a number of aquariums with a variety of animals you can view but it’s not something that you wouldn’t see elsewhere however. Snapping turtle is HUGE though.
You’ll have to also realize that most of these animals are usually sleeping and may not present/​active when you get there. Also, in the winter months they hibernate, so you know they’re there but they’re in lala land until they seem fit. :)
The zoo had the most beautiful snow owl (harfang des neiges). He was looking at people barely feet from the gate, it was really impressive. I equally enjoyed the wolves, they were playing and were very active.
The zoo has a lot of open space and a lot of exhibits in transition. Overall, my friends were very impressed on the new changes there were since the last time they came here 2 years ago. I wouldn’t know but it’s nice to know the zoo isn’t stagnant and caters to the animals they receive.
Overall, a nice experience. I’d be back in the summer as I’m sure the experience would be somewhat different from the winter one… my daughter loved it but she’s 2, she’s impressed by ants. :)
Just make sure to temper your expectations and you’ll have a nice time.

Assez intéressant en général.
Quelques animaux n’étaient pas visibles depuis leurs enclos. Beaucoup dormaient ou très peu actifs. Tout le site est dans un milieu assez naturel, et les enclos sont adaptés en conséquent de l’espèce qui si trouve.
Je dois admettre que le prix d’admission est tout de même élevé pour ce qu’ils ont à offrir. Pour les familles par contre, ils offrent la possibilité d’acheter des abonnements annuels et même à vie!
En général, j’aime bien ce zoo pour deux raisons. La première est en raison de son emplacement, c’est-à-dire, sur l’ile de Montréal (le seul zoo à Montréal). La deuxième étant pour son milieu forestier qui nous permet de changer du style ”régulier” d’un zoo, comme le Parc Safari ou le Zoo de Granby.
J’y retournai sans doute l’an prochain pour y voir les nouveaux pensionnaires du zoo.
Interesting in overall.
Some animals were not visible from their enclosures. Many slept or were very few assets. The whole site is in a natural environment, and enclosures are adapted for each species found on site.
I must admit that the admission price is high for what they have to offer. However, for families, they offer the opportunity to purchase annual subscriptions and even lifetime subscriptions!
In general, I like this zoo for two reasons. The first is because of its location, that is to say, the only zoo on the island of Montréal. The second is for its forest environment that allows us to change from the ”regular” style of a zoo, like the Safari Park or the Granby Zoo.
I might go back to the Ecomuseum next year to see the new residents of the zoo.

The Ecomuseum is not a zoo in the conventional sense: they have a mission centred on conservation, research, and education. It made me sad to read the negative reviews because our family loves to visit the Ecomuseum despite its small size and lack of what I can’t help but call commercial glitz.
The animals are there because they would not be able to fend for themselves in the wild. It is a great place for taking an outdoor walk and learning more about animals native to our area. It is a not-​for-​profit and a worthy cause to support, and our kids, who are nature lovers, ask us to take them there.
You may not see all or even many of the mammals because they are given the space to hide out, and that’s only fair. In reply to another reviewer’s complaint about not seeing a moose: from what I understand, it would be inappropriate to have a wild moose there as they do poorly in captivity.
Finally, their expertise is amphibians and reptiles, so don’t forget to visit those guys. :)

I don’t know what kind of zoo this is, but we barely saw 4 animals not including the fish or reptiles. We paid 15 $ each person to walk into a 4 animal show which included: artic fox, Grey wolf, caribou, and the deers. Most of them stayed in tiny little plots of land or cages. I’ve surely seen better zoos.

Spent an arm and a leg, barley saw any animals and the ones we did see where in super small cages like the arctic fox his place card says he loves to run yet he’s in the smallest cage I felt like crying seeing the poor thing, the kids where crying the whole time saying «this zoo sucks I want to leave» ages (6,3) they both hated it and I had to hear them cry all the way home when I got home I emailed them and they refused to help or even reason something with me they give me a shitty deal they said they would send half price coupons to come again but the kids hated it why would I want to go again? I never got an email back after trying so many times never got mail from them. Overall I would NEVER go back half the animals don’t even come from here they come from America and national Canadian animals they don’t have like the moose witch is on the highway signs for the zoo and a beaver with is also on a sign yet not at the zoo witch I find so stupid, it’s expensive and not made to see all animals at all times you would be better off spending extra gas money and going to Granby I’m sure your kids would like that zoo much more then this small inconvenient one, It’s really not worth the money at all. Did I mention BUGS? During the day yes I got bite like crazy

Wow. The signage and website make this place look clean, well kept and fairly inviting. In reality, it is dingy with (in some cases) extremely small enclosures, with barbed wire fences and rusty chain link fences. Some animals (a beautiful lynx for one) are in such small spaces that they pace around in small circles over and over again.
I understand the animals must be kept in safe, stable environments but really, there are better ways to do it. So many zoos I’ve been to have much larger spaces for the animals and the barriers tend to have a more natural feel (I.e. — not rusted, locked, chain link fences).
In addition, it seemed like almost half the animals in the zoo are just woodland creatures that you might see yourself outside of a zoo (crow, deer, raccoon, ducks…).
Also the walkways are overgrown with brush, plant life and frankly — weeds. I don’t expect a perfectly manicured golf course to walk through but it would be nice if my legs (and my kids’ hands and legs) weren’t grazing through weeds as we make our way from one exhibit to the next). A little trimming would go a long way. The flying bugs on the path were thick (presumably due to the overgrowth of the plant life). We all got mosquito bites on our short walk through.
Which brings me to my last point: this entire place is a 45 minute walk through. Ok, maybe an hour or at most an hour and a half but certainly not much more than that. Hardly worth the ticket price or more importantly the day of scheduling it in your vacation (like we did).
Save your time and money and go the park instead.
Ps. Really the most disturbing issue was the small dingy quarters for many of the animals. Really quite sad.

Are you a fan of furry animals? Do you love to be outdoors and breath fresh air? Do you like to wake up early in the morning to seize the day? Do you just love nature in general?
If you said yes to any of these then the Ecomuseum, which just outside of Montréal, is a place that you will not want to miss! The Ecomuseum is a not-​for-​profit organization with the mission focusing on education, research and applied conservation. They ‘foster’ animals of all kinds found in Canada which cannot fend for themselves in the wild, so apart from being a great place to go see the nature that surrounds Canada it is a great way to make a contribution to a worthy cause.
Although the Ecomuseum is open throughout the day I suggest you go in the morning. Fistly, there will be almost no one and you can enjoy seeing the awesome plethora of animals such as Arctic foxes, grey wolves and black bears. Second, if you look at their website there is the opportunity to feed the three black bears they have, which is very exciting!
The breakfast with bears is a $ 25 dollar fee which includes entrance to the park, a delicious continental breakfast and a chance to prepare and then serve the bears’ breakfast. The staff there is very friendly and you will definitely learn a bunch of new and awesome facts about bears, like did you know that a polar bear’s skin is black and their fur is transparent? I know… its mind-​blowing! This is a great way to spend a Sunday morning with friends or family, it comes highly recommended.

Un petit zoo bien sympathique dans l’ouest de l’île de Montréal. Les animaux sont tous de la région (Amérique du nord), dindes sauvages, ours noirs, loutres, lynx, etc. Les 2 aigles sont vraiment impressionnants. Pas de moufettes par contre, hmmmmm…
Le site est bien entretenue. On peut passer facilement quelques heures à ce promener. Il y a un site extérieur et intérieur (là on y trouve plusieurs aquariums et vivariums). C’est vraiment une chouette place pour emmener des enfants. Le prix d’entrée est moyen, $ 15 par adulte et $ 9 par enfant (~$ 50 pour une famille de 4). Ca peut faire sursauter mais l’écho muséum est une belle initiative qui vaut la peine d’êtres encouragée.

The ecomuseum is a zoo with a plethora of amazing animals including various birds, mammals, reptiles and anhibians. The animals were all so beautiful, outside you will see owls, hawks, eagles, ducks, deer, caribou, lynx, beer, otters, fox, wolf, etc. it is always sad to see animals in cages but seeing them in their seemingly natural environment with the trees, rocks and abundance of snow, was pretty neat. (I think the snow had a lot to do with it… It makes the cages and boxes less obvious)
Inside there are a few exhibits and they frequently have live presentations where you can learn about turtles and snakes. We even got to touch them too! The presenter was lively, enthusiastic and spoke very well in both English and French… She presented with such ease and professionalism going back and forth between the languages that those who could only understand one language wasn’t bored while she spoke the other language. Very entertaining!
The facilities are clean with many bathrooms and both indoor and outdoor picnic areas. There isn’t a café or food (except a snack machine) available on site so bring a picnic lunch. Most of the animals are outside, so dress warmly during the colder months. This is also a great place for birthday parties or school field trips but it isn’t very big. The walking tour outside will take you an average of 1.5 hours to see all the animals.