The Seaway Kiwanis Children’s Animal Farm in Sarnia’s Canatara Park was closed to the public Saturday following the death Friday of Piper the Llama.
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Piper lived nearly all his life at the animal farm and his sudden death Friday was a shock, said Nicole King, operations manager with the Sarnia Humane Society which has operated the farm since 2015.
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The llama, who was a favorite with farm visitors, was believed to have been 20 to 25 years old, King said.
“It was quite a tough afternoon,” King said about the impact Piper’s unexpected death Friday had on staff at the farm.
He likely died of natural causes, she said.
“We closed the farm today,” King said Saturday. “I had to let staff know yesterday.”
Piper’s death was announced in a post Saturday on the children’s animal farm Facebook page that says, “the farm will be closed today to allow us to grieve in peace.”
“It’s hard,” King said about the impact the loss of one of the farm’s longstanding animals has on the staff that work there.
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“This will hit all of our farm friends as hard as it has hit us,” the farm said in the Facebook post.
King said closing the farm for the day also allows word to spread in the community so farm visitors may be less likely to arrive unaware Piper is no longer there to greet them.
“Piper was the top of the list for most visitors,” she said the llama’s popularity. “Everybody knew him, that’s for sure.”
Piper “loved treats” and “loved people,” she said. “The first one coming around the fence was going to be Piper.”
She added the llama enjoyed the fruits and vegetables visitors often brought with them.
And he was very “people oriented” after spending so many years at the farm in the city park, King said. “He was a very sweet llama.”
“Everyone has been kind,” King said about the community’s response to the news.
Piper was the only llama at the children’s animal farm which is still home to Lilly the cow, a donkey, miniature horse, goats, sheep, pigs and other animals, she said.
The farm, a project of the Seaway Kiwanis Club, has been in the city park since 1964.
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