The Wilds (Ohio) facts for kids
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| Date opened | 1994 |
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| Location | Cumberland, Ohio, United States |
| Land area | 9,154 acres (3,704 ha) |
| Coordinates | 39°49′46″N 81°43′58″W / 39.82944°N 81.73278°W |
| No. of animals | >300 |
| No. of species | <25 |
The Wilds is a special park and conservation center that helps protect animals. It teaches people about wildlife and works to save them. This amazing place also offers fun activities like ziplining, horseback riding, and fishing!
The Wilds is located in southeastern Muskingum County, Ohio, near the village of Cumberland. It is home to rare and endangered animals from all over the world. These animals live in big, open areas that feel like their natural homes.
The land for The Wilds covers about 9,154 acres (3,700 hectares). This land used to be a coal mine. It includes 2,000 acres (810 hectares) of pastures and a 27-acre (11-hectare) center for meat-eating animals. The Wilds is a special place for birds, called an Audubon Important Bird Area. It has a bird-watching station with a covered lookout. There is also a butterfly habitat with hiking trails, more than 15 miles (24 km) of mountain bike and hiking trails, and about 150 lakes.
The Wilds is the biggest wildlife conservation center in North America. You can visit it between May and October each year. The land for The Wilds was once a coal mine. A giant machine called Big Muskie helped prepare the land.
History of The Wilds
In 1984, The Wilds officially became a non-profit organization. It was created through a partnership between Ohio's natural resources and development departments, Ohio zoos, and private groups. This partnership had started in the late 1970s.
That same year, the Central Ohio Coal Company gave The Wilds its current 9,154 acres of land. With a place secured, The Wilds began to hire staff. They also started planning how to develop the park and raise money to support it.
In 1989, the Johnson Visitor Center was finished. It was built to be good for the environment, using a modern heating and cooling system. In 1990, the first animal living areas and fences for the open ranges were built. These projects allowed The Wilds to welcome its first animals, Przewalski’s horses, in 1992.
The Wilds officially opened to the public for tours in 1994. For the next few years, it kept adding more animals. It also improved and expanded its efforts to save wildlife. In 2001, The Wilds started working closely with the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. This led to a big plan in 2005 to guide The Wilds' success and future growth.
Today, The Wilds continues its mission to help conservation. It does this through science, education, and giving people a chance to experience wildlife up close.
Saving Wildlife at The Wilds
The Wilds uses many different ways to help save wildlife and their homes. These methods include training professionals and taking good care of animals. They also work on something called conservation medicine.
Conservation medicine looks at how the health of animals, humans, and the environment are all connected. To help this field grow, The Wilds has started three important projects:
- They check water quality and how it affects animals living in the water.
- They compare animal health in different types of habitats.
- They check freshwater mussels for diseases, parasites, and harmful substances.
Each of these projects helps them understand the condition of different wildlife and their homes. They also work to find ways to stop or reverse damage to these ecosystems.
Animals You Can See
The Wilds is home to many amazing animals from around the world. Here are some of the species you might see:
- African wild dog
- American bison
- American burying beetle
- Bactrian camel
- Bactrian deer
- Banteng
- Budgerigar
- Cheetah
- Chinese goral
- Common eland
- Dhole
- Fringe-eared oryx
- Grevy's zebra
- Hellbender
- Indian rhinoceros
- Masai giraffe
- Ostrich
- Pere David's deer
- Persian onager
- Przewalski's horse
- Red-crowned crane
- Reticulated giraffe
- Rothschild giraffe
- Sable antelope
- Scimitar-horned oryx
- Sichuan takin
- Southern white rhinoceros
- Trumpeter swan
- Vietnamese sika deer
Images for kids
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Panorama of The Wilds, from the Johnson Visitor Center overlook.
