We got tickets for an open-air tour so when we got to the facility, we hopped out of our van and on to an open air bus that took us on a safari through 10,000 acres of an animal conservation area. We saw a TON of animals and learned so much about the animals and the conservation efforts The Wilds continues to demonstrate. It was really incredible! Our tour guide, Emma, explained that the cooler temperatures would keep the animals pretty active and it seemed like it did. We saw nearly all the animals that they have and the environment was just stunning. Beautiful sky and land as far as the eye could see! Rolling hills and bodies of water. The sun peeking out behind white, puffy clouds. Country life is my kind of living. In a past life I was definitely a farm girl.
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| Kate and Mimi secure a spot on the open air bus! |
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| So do me and Maya! |
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| Forget the wild animals, Maya sees a butterfly!! |
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| Bison from the farm next door that The Wilds manage. |
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| Kate was reviewing the brochure of animals we would see and checking them off as we went! |
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| These are endangered Persian Onagers, a sub-species of wild ass, or donkey. |
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| This is an endangered Greater One-Horned Asian Rhino. Before the keeper gave him some food, he was raring to chase those Persian Onagers on the hill and our whole tour bus was excited to watch! |
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| Hello, rhino! |
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| Even though the rhino has his back to the wild donkeys, they still have one eye on him! |
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| On one of our stops there was a quick walk to the water. |
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| The endangered and beautiful cheetah. Kate's favorite. The cheetah is the fastest land mammal in the world, but only captures its prey 50% of the time! |
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| I thought it fitting that the two lovies on display at the ice cream stand were Kate and Maya's favorites: the giraffe (Maya) and the cheetah with a baby cheetah (Kate)! |
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| No safari adventure is complete without treats! |
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| Because, ice cream. You know, #everylastdrop. |
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| This Ostrich came right up to us! They are the largest birds in the world! |
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| I was in the middle of eating a salad and thought for sure it would start pecking at it! |
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| Here's looking at you, kid! |
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| Maya spots the giraffes! |
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| There they are. So majestic and beautiful. |
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| The endangered Scimitar-Horned Oryx. This animal has been extinct in the wild since the mid-1980's. The conservation efforts at The Wilds try to send baby oryx born there to Chad to be part of the World Herd that serves as the source for reintroduction. Science is incredible. |
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| This view gives me peace. |
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| The endangered Bactrian camel. This camel has two humps, and, unfortunately, there are less than 1,000 left in the wild. |
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| Bubba camel. But this one actually was a girl... |
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| No safari is complete without a camel selfie! |
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| Mary and Tom! |
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| Safari goers. |
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| Our little fam. |
We had a really nice time. Check out this list of animals that we saw, in addition to the ones in the photos above:
-Common Eland
-Fringed Eared Oryx
-Sable Antelope
-Budgerigar
-Red-Crowned Crane (endangered)
-Trumpeter Swan
-African Painted Dog (endangered) - these guys were adorable and fiesty! Evidently they come up with a game plan to gang up on their prey and are successful 90% of the time!
-Bactrian Deer (endangered)
-Indochinese Silka Deer
-Pere David's Deer
-Southern White Rhino
-Banteng (endangered)
-Central Chinese Goral
-Grevy's Zebra
-Przewalski's Wild Horse (endangered)
I find it incredibly inspiring that we are doing the research to keep these animals thriving and surviving and trying to reintroduce some of them into their natural habitats. Yes, humans. Well done.
