Life is about to get a little wilder in East County.
A 20-acre ranch in Alpine will open Nov. 5 as the Children’s Nature Retreat. Kids and families will be able to connect with non-indigenous species such as camels, zebras, ostriches, alpacas, a watusi and a zebu, as well as the more traditional cows, horses, sheep, goats, chickens, tortoises, rabbits and pigs.
Agnes Barrelet said she got the idea for the retreat after watching the 2011 movie “We Bought a Zoo” with her young daughter.
Based on a true story, the Cameron Crowe film follows a widowed father of two young children who buys property that includes a run-down zoo, works to restore it and eventually re-opens a renovated zoo to great success.