The Bonney’s’ purchased Wilderness Walk in October of 2021 after deciding that they wanted to both run a business together. Jon is retired Army and previously owned and operated Red Carpet Cleaners. Meagan worked in banking for 15 years, with the majority of her career in Business Lending and relationship management. Together, they have 2 children Fenna and Riggs. Growing up in this environment learning to love and care for animals is something our family was extremely passionate about.

Sam was born and raised in St. Paul Park, Minnesota, but spent every summer in Hayward. Growing up, her passion for animals was sparked when visiting Wilderness Walk, the Minnesota Zoo and Como Zoo with her family on top of having a love for her animals at home which included dogs, cats, guinea pigs, turtles and horses.

Sam joined Wilderness Walk’s team in May 2011 while in college as a seasonal employee and has stayed on ever since. She began working at the zoo as the café manager in 2011, then completed her internship in 2012 working with the zoo’s large and exotic animals. After completing her internship, she moved into the nursery where she oversaw the care of the zoo’s small animals and neonates. She moved to Stone Lake permanently after graduating from the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities with a B.S. in Animal Science in 2014. After the 2015 season, she moved into the zoo’s year-round, head keeper/ zoo curator position. Since then, Sam has loved sharing her passion for animals both with coworkers and visitors, and especially enjoys designing and incorporating enrichment for the animals that call the zoo home.

Paige was born and raised here in Hayward. She adopted her passion for animals from her grandma. At a young age Paige started helping pet-sit a variety of animals and helped take care of their horse. Over the years she has owned a variety of animals including a rabbit, chinchillas, dogs, cats, and horses.

Paige joined the Wilderness Walk team in May of 2014 as a seasonal employee. She originally worked in the nursery, where she oversaw the care of the small animals and neonates. In 2021, Paige completed her internship in our farmyard area, caring for the hoof stock animals and birds. In May of 2022, Paige graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology, Captive Wildlife. That summer she worked as the cafe manager. After the 2022 season, Paige accepted a year-round position as the Education and Event Coordinator, a new position within the zoo.