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Ohio’s Wild Side Animal parks offer close encounters with wildlife By Lisa Aurand
B The Wilds photos by G. Jones, courtesy of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
ored of staring at the deer in your back yard through the window? If you’re looking to get up close and personal with wildlife, there are a herd of options to choose from within driving distance of central Ohio. Whether you’re looking to see something exotic or native, Ohio animal parks have you covered with a variety of programs that are as educational as they are entertaining. And your choices only expand as the weather gets warmer. Here are a few of the parks open even during the early days of spring. The Wilds March at The Wilds in Cumberland, near Zanesville, means the tail end of the park’s Winter at the Wilds tours, which are offered daily at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. through the end of the month and take visitors to the animals’ cold weather housing areas as well as on an abridged tour of the conservation center’s nearly 10,000 acres via an enclosed, heated vehicle. “When animals can’t be outside in this weather, you’re able to see them in their winter quarters,” says Jennifer Wilson, director of communication for the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, which is affiliated with The Wilds. Tickets are $100 for members – including Columbus Zoo members – and $125 for non-members. Advance reservations are required. The park has 30 different species of animals. Most of them are endangered mammals, but there are also salamanders, birds (including ostriches, swans and cranes) and endangered beetles and mussels. This year, the list of animals on display indoors includes two baby rhinoceros, born Nov. 21 and Jan. 23, “so they’re pretty new little babies,” Wilson says.
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Expanded tour offerings are available daily from May through September. Additional programming includes horseback riding safaris, fishing safaris via boat and a zipline – “so you can zipline over the heads of some animals, if you’re lucky,” Wilson says. Those interested in an immersive experience can stay overnight at Nomad Ridge
The Wilds
cityscene • March 2014 35