About 90 miles outside of Columbus is The Wilds, a wildlife conservation center developed on reclaimed land that had been mined for coal for four decades.  Starting in the late 70s, the Ohio Zoological Commission began developing a plan for using that land for a special wildlife conservation area.  They began in 1984 with 9,154 acres and the first animals, the Przewalski Horse, an endangered wild species, were introduced.  Two years later, The Wilds opened to the public.  Today there are close to 500 animals, representing 19 species, that roam the acres of The Wilds.

YA and I learned about The Wilds through the same tv show that introduced us to the Columbus Zoo (Secrets of the Zoo) and we knew that if we visited Columbus, we had to include it in our plans.

The only way to see the animals is on a safari tour; we took the medium-tour so there were 14 of us in the back of a Ford pick-up (there were seats).  The tour was a bit over 3 hours and it was amazing.  We were fairly up close and personal with Persian Onagers, Pere David Deer, Grevy’s Zebras, the famous Przewalski Horses (called P Horses) and two kinds of Oryx – Fringe Eared and Scimitar-Horned. 

One of the youngest Bactrian Camels had been hand-raised after his mother rejected him.  Named Latte, he was more than willing to come right up to the truck to get scritches under his chin.  The Sichuan Takin was not as big or golden as the takin we have at the MN Zoo but The Wilds does have the largest breeding takin herd in North America. 

We fed giraffes from the truck – two of the herd really like this and one in particular, Tuffy, lets folks give him little pets on his necks.  (I bought a tee-shirt w/ Tuffy on it.)   At that same stop, the two female ostriches approached and one of them clearly didn’t like the look of me.  Before I realized how far into the truck she could reach, she gave me a nip on the hand.  For the rest of the stop, she repeatedly tried to get me.  Nobody else on the truck, just me.

In a shaded copse we found five banteng, a species of wild cow.  They have 1 male and 4 females.  Apparently they are working on a program to determine if they can breed the current herd – the male banteng is quite elderly and if the females are still fertile, they will bring in a new male to help with reproduction.  When I asked what would happen to Elvis, the male, our tour guide said that he would relocate to a pasture where a few other elderly animals reside – a cushy banteng retirement home, as it were.  For some reason I thought this was really funny.

The highlight of the tour was when we were taken down to the winter barn area – some of the animals over-winter there since the Ohio climate isn’t that great for African animals.  There, in one of the rhino barns was Bernard.  He is living a cushy rhino retirement and one of the things he enjoys is getting pets and scritches.  Our group was happy to oblige.  Bernard is a Southern White Rhino so he is sporting some serious horn.  We didn’t pet that part!  This was a thrilling experience.  I know I’ve said in the past that I’ve never had a Bucket List, but I’m thinking about doing one now so that I can write “petting a rhino” on it and then checking it off.

What a fabulous day – after the safari ride, we had veggie burgers at the little café and then did some damage at the gift shop.  I am seriously recommending this to anybody who gets anywhere near Columbus.  Just an amazing way to spend a day.  The Wilds has a few ways that you can stay on the property overnight (yurts, little lodge and a new set of rooms attached to the giraffe barn.  YA and I talked about maybe going back one day and doing that. 

Ever had the chance to pet a wild animal?  Would you stay overnight in a giraffe barn?