Moo, a 1,200-pound steer, is one of the hundreds of animals that have been successfully rehomed after the Shell Factory & Nature Park closed in September. He is enjoying the good life at Blossom & Brie in North Fort Myers. COURTESY OF BLOSSOM & BRIE

Moo, a 1,200-pound steer, is one of the hundreds of animals that have been rehomed after the Shell Factory & Nature Park closed in September.

Blossom & Brie co-owner Stacey Poole said they heard about Moo from her husband Rodney’s cousin, Tina O’Donnell.

“She heard about Moo needing a home from a woman in PTO,” she said. “She contacted us immediately. Rodney wanted to talk to our farm hands, Jacsaint and Jn first to make sure they thought it would be a good fit for Moo and for our cows and they said yes absolutely.”

Now Moo can live out the rest of his life in the pasture with cows at Blossom & Brie in North Fort Myers.

“The transition has been great. We moved slowly and introduced Moo to Brie, our namesake dairy cow. Then added Buttercup, Brie’s daughter, and some other cows,” Poole said. “He roams with the sheep, chickens, turkeys and gets along famously with them all. He and Brie and Buttercup — Brie’s daughter who is ready to have a calf any day — all seem to travel the pasture together now and we often catch Moo grooming them so sweetly. We are anxious to see Moo with the calf.”

She said they have fallen in love with Moo and are very thankful the Shell Factory entrusted them to care for him.

“He is such a beautiful animal and it’s not only his size that is impressive, but we marvel at how sweet and gentle he is,” Poole said.

The Shell Factory & Nature Park was able to rehome more than 350 animals, birds, and reptiles. A few remaining animals will be rehomed by the end of the month. They worked in collaboration between the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission and the United States Department of Agriculture to transport and relocate the animals at approved facilities with qualified caretakers.

“We are grateful for the care and dedication of Karen Schneider, our Nature Park manager for 16 years, who oversaw all of the transitions through the two-month process and has been really critical to animal care through the years,” the park’s owner Pam Cronin said in a prepared statement. “We are delighted that many of our animals have found forever homes in places where their fans can still visit them. In addition, many of our animals will help boost the programs and further the missions of the facilities that house them.”

Places that are now home to some of the Nature Park’s animals include:

• Gatorama with multiple alligators

• Grizzly Ranch for Goofy the camel

• Jungle Doria’s Wildlife Park for Zak & Halo the Zebut and Alpaca, Jack, Crissy and Janet for the Nigerian goat triplets; Mr. Beans the Asian palm civet; Motley the ring tail lemur, and Jasper and Cruella the African crested porcupine

• Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Animal Farm – Sid and Sylvia the sloths

• Wilderness Trails Zoo for Tika and Titan the fishing cats; Boris and Natasha the red ruffed lemurs, Hootie the Eurasian eagle owl, Ivan a tayra; Pearl the craven, multiple parrots, fruit bat colony, violet turaco and red rump agouti

• Southeast Reptile Exchange for multiple snakes

• Nan’s Ranch, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office’s corrections ranch in Fort Myers, for Lola and blossom, ring tail lemurs, Gus and Bindy the coatimundi, Batchi the three-banded armadillo and Stinky Buns, the bare eyed cockatoo

• Wonder Gardens for Rita the keel billed toucan, Dusty the Moluccan cockatoo, blue crowned pigeon and violet turaco

• Private home for multiple koi fish

The 18-acre old-Florida attraction closed its doors in September after Cronin and her husband worked tirelessly to keep the historic attraction going since 1997.