To Our Beloved Friends and Community,

Today, we share a bittersweet announcement. After much thought and consideration, we have made the difficult decision to close our Hamilton Nature Center. This decision was not made lightly, and we understand how deeply this place has touched the lives of many — from your children’s first encounters with wildlife to the countless moments of wonder and learning shared by families, friends, and animal lovers alike.

While this chapter comes to a close, we want to assure you that the heart of our mission beats stronger than ever. Our organization is thriving, evolving, and growing in exciting new directions — especially by finding innovative ways to connect people with nature on an even larger scale at various museums and zoological facilities throughout North America. Little Ray's will continue to maintain our long-standing involvement in exotic animal rescue through our Ottawa and Syracuse facilities — a mission close to our hearts. On a positive note, through our museum exhibits program, we will be working hard to find a home for one of our temporary exhibits in the greater Hamilton area on an annual basis to ensure our community will have at least seasonal access to our fun, interpretive, educational programming.

For the animals currently in our care at this facility, we want you to know that each and every one of them will be treated with the utmost respect and love during this transition. Some will remain with us at our other locations in Ottawa and Syracuse, and for those who will not be staying, we are dedicated to finding them new, appropriate homes, where they will continue to receive exceptional care.

The last day that the nature center will be open to General Admission is Monday April 14th, 2025. We are still honoring private tours and offsite programming that has already been booked up to the end of June 2025, and will have limited slots for these programs still available to be booked. Please come visit us, our animals, and our team, one more time at Little Ray’s Hamilton, though you will see plenty more from Little Ray’s in the coming weeks and years throughout your communities.

We are profoundly grateful for the support, dedication, and love this community has shown over the years. Your passion has made every moment of this journey meaningful. Though this facility’s gates may close, its legacy lives on in every life it touches and in the future work we continue to build together. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for being part of this story — and for joining us as we embark on the next chapter.

With gratitude and hope,

The Little Rays Nature Center Team