History of the CCBB 

Since its creation, the “Wild” Zoo of St-Félicien has always been a place for innovation. This is possibly why it became such a popular tourist destination, with more visitors than any other site in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean area and, indeed, one of the most frequented sites in Quebec. Over the years, what began as a recreational mission developed in another direction as its strategy and originality became clearer and more focused. Today, education, conservation and research are integral parts of its raison d’être. 

We should now go back a little in order to better understand the way in which this artisan enterprise developed into today’s CCBB.

The story began in May 1960 when Mr. Ghis­lain Gagnon, a municipal policeman, former forestry worker and great nature lover, conceived the idea of setting up a zoo at St-Félicien. He managed to transmit his immense enthusiasm to six other people.

The pioneers

· Ghislain Gagnon

· Yvon Castonguay

· Jean-Marie Gagnon

· Marcel Hudon

· Marcel Lefebvre

· Alexandre Tremblay

· Jean-Paul “Pit” Tremblay

Together, they managed to do the impossible, that is to say transform a piece of land that had been formerly occupied by a fox farm and build it up into a zoo at the southern entrance to the city of St-Félicien. The land was kindly loaned to the Zoo by Mr. Hal­daige Laflam­me.

On July 17, 1960, the new Zoo opened its doors and in only three months attracted more than 22,000 visitors. The feat was almost unbelievable. The success was entirely due to the seven promoters and their tenacity, devotion and initiative. The Zoo already held 160 animals to entertain visitors. At the time, an entry ticket cost 25¢, total assets came to $4,000 and gross income for the year was $2,300. This first success laid the foundations for more solid projects.

In November 1960, the Zoo’s promoters, together with Me Mau­rice Lamontagne as director and legal advisor, began to negotiate the acquisition of Île-aux-Ber­nard. Concomitantly, they set up a non-profit organisation under the name of SOCIÉTÉ ZOO­LO­GI­QUE DE ST-FÉ­LI­CIEN INC. for which letters patent were issued on January 4, 1961.

Île-aux-Bernard is a picturesque location that gave the Zoo a totally appropriate and quite unique setting. The Salmon River waters almost the whole area and crosses the Zoo near the entrance. A large area of beautiful wooded land runs along the Salmon River and the Ashuapmouchouan River and encircles the whole of the territory belonging to the Zoo.

On February 7, 1961, at a cost of twelve thousand dollars payable without interest at the rate of $500 per year, the Zoo purchased Île-aux-Bernard and 10 hectares (24 acres) of land from Mr. Paul E. Gagnon of La Cie Ga­gnon Ltée. This special price may be seen as a disguised gift by Mr. Ga­gnon!

The first part of the development work was carried out with the help of a number of grants, but there was a shortfall of $10,000. Thanks to a concerted community effort, the amount was collected through borrowing $500 each from nineteen local citizens and a family firm in St-Félicien. Subsequently, most of these loans were converted into absolute gifts.

List of lenders, Mars 1961

·Dr. Roméo Banville

·Mr. Albert Blouin

·Mr. Égide Boivin, prêtre

·Mr. Arthur Brassard

·Mr. Florimond Côté

·Dr. Wilfrid Dumas

·Mr. Roland Gagnon

·Mr. Jules Grenier

·Mr. Alfred Hamel

·Mr. Paul Hamel

·Mr. Charles-Émile Laberge

·Mr. Jean-Louis Lamontagne

·Ms. L.-W. Leclerc

·Mr. Paul Leclerc

·Mr. Pascal Savard

·Mr. Aurélien Talbot

·Mr. Georges Tessier

·Mr. J.-Adrien Tremblay

·Mr. Jules Tremblay

·Jos Dufresne & Fils Ltée