We Bought a Zoo : The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals That Changed Their Lives Forever

Benjamin Mee decided to uproot his family and move them to an unlikely new home: a dilapidated zoo on the English countryside, complete with over 200 exotic animals. It was his dream to refurbish the zoo and run it as a family business. There was much work to be done, and none of it easy. Tigers broke loose, money ran low, the staff grew skeptical, and family tensions ran high. Then tragedy struck. His wife had a recurrence of a brain tumor, forcing Benjamin and his children to face the heartbreak of illness and the devastating loss of a wife and mother. But inspired by her memory and the healing power of the incredible family of animals they had grown to love, Benjamin and his kids resovled to move forward. The Mee family opened the gates of the revitalized zoo in July 2007. The Remarkable True Story Of A Family Who Move Into A Rundown Zoo-already A Bbc Documentary Miniseries And Excerpted In The Guardian. In The Market For A House And An Adventure, Benjamin Mee Moved His Family To An Unlikely New Home: A Dilapidated Zoo In The English Countryside. Mee Had A Dream To Refurbish The Zoo And Run It As A Family Business. His Friends And Colleagues Thought He Was Crazy. But In 2006, Mee And His Wife With Their Two Children, His Brother, And His 76-year-old Mother Moved Into The Dartmoor Wildlife Park. Their Extended Family Now Included: Solomon, An African Lion And Scourge Of The Local Golf Course; Zak, The Rickety Alpha Wolf, A Broadly Benevolent Dictator Clinging To Power; Ronnie, A Brazilian Tapir, Easily Capable Of Killing A Man, But Hopelessly Soppy; And Sovereign, A Jaguar And Would-be Ninja, Who Has Devised A Long Term Escape Plan And Implemented It. Nothing Was Easy, Given The Family's Lack Of Experience As Zookeepers, And What Follows Is A Magical Exploration Of The Mysteries Of The Animal Kingdom, The Power Of Family, And The Triumph Of Hope Over Tragedy. We Bought A Zoo Is A Profoundly Moving Portrait Of An Unforgettable Family Living In The Most Extraordinary Circumstances. Chuck it all in and buy a zoo? Why not? thought Benjamin Mee, unawareof the grim living conditions, creditors and escaped big cat that layin wait... A few years ago, Ben and his wife, Katherine, sold theirsmall flat in Primrose Hill and moved to France to pursue their dreamof restoring an old barn near Nimes. That dream then became much, muchbigger for, last October, they moved with their two young children, Ben's 76 year-old mother and his brother, into a run-down zoo on theedge of. A few years ago, Ben and his wife, Katherine, sold their small flat in Primrose Hill and moved to France to pursue their dream of restoring an old barn near Nimes.