 Construction of the zoo would only take two months to complete, and it was officially opened to the public on August 16, 1966.The first exhibits to be shown to the public was a enclosure that featured two moose, Demitrius and his female companion, Gerda, and other enclosures that included the white-tailed deer, the fallow deer, and the Canada geese.After operating its business under the Kamloops Zoo, the society would change its name to the Wildlife Park Society of British Columbia and rename the site as "British Columbia Wildlife Park" on November 1, 1966, in order to recognize the support that they have received from both the Thompson-Okanagan region and the Lower Mainland.