The Wilds - Wildside Tour

Written by Danielle and Andrew Livelsberger

Photography by Andrew Livelsberger

Background:
The Wilds is a non-profit conservation preserve that focus' on animals, trying to provide education to the masses as well as care for and reintroduce near extinct species back into the wild.   They have several tour options.  The most immersive is the "Wildside Tour", in which up to 8 people travel off road into the habitats and get to experience the animals that are there up close.   Kind of like an African or Asian safari in the midwest of the United States.   The Wilds is located about an hour east of Columbus Ohio in a town called Cumberland.   The facility is 10,000 acres and was re-purposed in the 1950's as a conservation area.  It was formerly a strip mining location.

Impression:
The wife and I decided to forgo the usual July 4th (american independence day) festivities and spend the day experiencing The Wilds once again.  We had been here before, but it was many years ago, and we had never taken this specific tour.

Here are a few images from that day.

Pere David's Deer - only survived because of European captive animals programs.  This male is looking down at the alpha and his herd

They attract females by covering themselves in dung and mud, then ripping clumps of grass and flowers from the ground and parading around with them in their rack. This was the current alpha male

Female zebras

Scimitar-Horned Oryx

Female white rhino

My wife getting a quick phone pick of the rhino herd

Male ostrich is very interested in us....and air biting.

We first met a female ostrich, but she was chased off quickly by this male...then he came back up to our truck and wanted to follow us around for quite a while.  He was very curious

Banteng calf hiding in the tall grasses with mom

The Sammy Davis Jr of  Fringe Eared Oryx's

African Painted Dog.  Was hyper active because the facility was currently mowing grass outside the habitat

Giraffe wants his romaine lettuce

18 inch tongue wraps around that yummy stuff

Close up

Winter Time Columbus Zoo - Plan A Visit

A Columbus Zoo capture.  Don't forget that the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is open in the winter months.  There is still plenty to do and see indoors and out.  The animals love the interaction, so make sure to make time to visit them.

For example, in the Australia and the Islands, check out the Spur Winged Plover as seen in the three images below.

There is also the Nicobar Pigeon in the same area.

Columbus Zoo - Flying Fox Portrait

Written and Photography by

Andrew Livelsberger

Background:
One of the pre-eminent zoos in the country, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium houses many animals for viewing, education and conservation efforts.

This image you see below was captured during a recent visit.

Impression:
You don;t often get to see the flying foxes move a lot.  They tend to be satisfied with hanging upside down in their zoo provided habitat.

During one of our recent visits, some zoo staffers were cleaning the area, so the flying foxes decided they wanted to be as far away from them as possible.

This provided the portrait you see here, where one of the flying foxes turned around for a moment while walking down the rope to the corner furthest away from everyone else.

Akron Zoo - Small But Packs A Punch

Written:  Danielle and Andrew Livelsberger

Photography: Andrew Livelsberger

Background:
Going just 25 minutes north of Canton is the Akron Zoo.  After visiting the McKinley Memorial and museum and downtown Canton, we push further north!

Impression:
It can be a hard comparison when you live so close to the number one zoo in the country, The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.  The big difference here is that Akron's Zoo is within the city limits, while Columbus is on the outskirts, where land is plentiful for expansion.

We are happy to report that the Akron Zoo does a wonderful job with the limited space it has, providing a fun experience.  We didn't really need a map of any kind as the layout of the zoo provides you with a path that leads you through everything.

We were happy to see the habitats were clean and well maintained.   Being a smaller footprint has it's benefits.  You got a lot closer to the animals than you might at other zoo facilities.

There are a great variety of animals to see as well.

While this might not be an "all day" zoo, you can spend a few hours walking around and see it all!

Heart of Africa At The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has been around for a long time.  Under the guidance of Jack Hanna, it has grown to be the #1 rated zoo in the United States.

The Heart of Africa wing follows in the same great tradition as Asia Quest in that it brings a whole new life to the already great zoo.  Upon entering the new area, you are slowly brought into the Africa feel.  The whole section kind of has a "town" feel to it, like you are not just entering another area of the zoo, but you have been transported to Africa.

The architecture and layout immerse you.  Now that you feel like you've been transported to a whole other place, you walk along an elevated boardwalk and gaze our upon an Africa plain.  Home to such wonderful animals like gazelle, ostrich, zebra and giraffes.  All roaming in a large habitat.

The lions had their own separate area, as did the warthogs.

The elevated platform allows for giraffe feeding at specific times during the day for a small fee.

In my opinion, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has hit another home run with this new opening.  Everyone I saw there was having a great time.  The animals looked comfortable and content in the spacious areas they were given to roam.

I can see this being a repeat visit for me and the family, we loved it that much.

A Day At The Cincinnati Zoo

Some times there are places that get overshadowed.  The Cincinnati Zoo very well may be one of them.  While not as large as the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, there is plenty to do and see here.

I spent just a few hours there and came away with some great images to share with you all.