The Wilds is the large area where the Columbus Zoo keeps a lot of its grazing animals. It is about 10,000 acres of land that is about 70 miles east of the Columbus Zoo, so you probably do not want to go to both places on the same day. I took my two granddaughters, and the night before I had tickets, we drove to Salt Fork State Park and spent the night there. We then had only a 45 minute drive to the Wilds the next morning.
The land was originally farmed, but then strip-mined for coal in the late 20th century. After the coal was exhausted and the mine closed, the mine owners had to regrade the surface and replace topsoil so it resembled the original farmland. A problem, however, is that the land could no longer be farmed because there was not enough topsoil, so they planted grass and some shallow-root shrubs, and donated it to the Columbus Zoo.
It took a few years for the plants to get established and for the zoo to add fencing and electric gates to keep the various species separate. Additions included a welcome center, gift shop, hotel, and restaurant, as well as animal barns for the winter and other facilities for animal care.
I was disappointed in the welcome center, so did not take photos, but there was a tiny gift shop and the shuttle from the parking lot brought you up here to register and board open buses like the one below for the two-hour tours. Note that most of my photos are very hazy and seem out of focus. Actually, this is not a camera or weather phenomenon, but a result of smoke from forest fires in Canada. I think it would have been easier to see the animals on a crisp and slightly colder fall day without the smoke!
Some very sleepy painted dogs.
Some Grebes zebras. (You can tell by the very narrow stripes.)
These are some of the winter animal barns and veterinary facilities.
Rhinos!
Some Pere David deer.
Long distance view of part of the pasture and ponds.
After The Wilds, we drove an hour and a half to Alum Creek State Park near Columbus for the next day at the Zoo.
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