Instead, they settled for photos with the animals.
After months of pandemic-mandated shutdown, the zoo opened again in early February.
The Salases waited in socially distanced lines with other masked children, then hopped aboard ponies, both real ones and the perpetually frozen ones on a 1940s carousel. But burrowing into the animals’ fur and getting up close and personal was off-limits.
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Patricia Salas, inhaling the barnyard scents through her mask, remembers visiting the zoo herself decades ago, as children in this predominantly Latino part of the San Gabriel Valley have for generations.
“When you have a big family and you don’t have a lot of money, this zoo is close and affordable,” said Salas, 52, of Covina, who came on a recent Saturday with nine family members grandchildren, sons, daughters, nieces and nephews.
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MONTEBELLO, Calif. Like many businesses, the Montebello Barnyard Zoo has struggled during the pandemic.
The zoo has been a part of the community for nearly 30 years and turned to that community for help. First of all, it was a very personal connection. Because, as we were raising our children, we always took them to the Barnyard Zoo, said Betty Peralta, Montebello resident and president of the volunteer organization Montebello Soroptimist.
Many of the zoo s visitors are often students from nearby schools. We would love to keep doing that for the children. Just to see the kids faces and seeing how much fun they have here, said Melanie Wolovich, the zoo owner s daughter.
MONTEBELLO, Calif. Like many businesses, the Montebello Barnyard Zoo has struggled during the pandemic.
The zoo has been a part of the community for nearly 30 years and turned to that community for help. First of all, it was a very personal connection. Because, as we were raising our children, we always took them to the Barnyard Zoo, said Betty Peralta, Montebello resident and president of the volunteer organization Montebello Soroptimist.
Many of the zoo s visitors are often students from nearby schools. We would love to keep doing that for the children. Just to see the kids faces and seeing how much fun they have here, said Melanie Wolovich, the zoo owner s daughter.