Despite this morning’s announcement, Centretown isn’t getting a zoo any time soon.
Mayor Jim Watson was part of an April Fools’ Day prank as he announced on CTV Morning Live that Sparks Street would be the home of a one of a kind pedestrian zoo this spring.
“We’ve always said the cougars hang around the Market and the lynxes will be on Sparks Street,” Watson said on air.
With a lynx named Mila in the CTV studio as well, Watson convinced CTV host Jeff Hooper that the zoo would be a perfectly safe initiative to make Sparks Street livelier.
Sparks Street BIA director Les Gagne was also on CTV this morning and explained, with a South American coati named Cricket on his shoulder, how the zoo would work and why the BIA wanted to have one.
The announcement was accompanied by bizarre pictures of Sparks Street filled with exotic wild animals such as giraffes and penguins frolicking amongst shoppers.
The news caused excitement on social media, with people expressing their delight at Ottawa finally getting their first zoo. One user joked he would now be able to go to Rib Fest, grab a rack of ribs, and eat them in front of a pig.
The Sparks Street BIA played along and assured people on Twitter that the zoo would add to the experience of shopping on the street.
But the fun ended an hour later when Gagne and Watson came back on live TV to wish viewers a happy April Fools’ Day.