Bonnie and I spent several days waiting out Hurricane Florence at the KOA Buckeye Lake campground in Ohio. We were looking for another interesting day trip when we stumbled upon a nature preserve called The Wilds. It is a private, non-profit safari park and conservation center located in Cumberland, Ohio. The property encompasses 9,154 acres of reclaimed coal mine land and includes 2,000 acres of pastures and a 27-acre Carnivore Conservation Center.  The Wilds on Wikipedia. It was created as the conservation center of the future by a group of civic leaders, political leaders and zoo professionals who believed that a serious scientific approach was required to find solutions to environmental concerns.  The Wilds Website. Recently, Nat Geo WILD started a TV series on the park called “Secrets of the Zoo” which provides an in-depth look at this fantastic wildlife zoo. Here is a link if you are interested: Secrets of the Zoo on Nat Geo

Bonnie and I found it amazing that this conservation park had once been an enormous strip mine that was reclaimed and restored into an incredibly, beautiful place!!! This wildlife park is a great example of what can happen when private industry and conservationists partner with civic leaders who have the political will to do the right thing for the environment and their local community. Check out the entrance and landscape view of The Wilds park…

The Wilds is home to several rare and endangered species from around the globe who are thriving in natural, open-range habitats. This nature preserve was amazing as we boarded open air buses and were taken on a guided tour of the park. We saw roaming herds of endangered animals such as white rhinoceros, reticulated giraffes, Grevy’s zebras, bison, horses, ostriches, antelope, and many more. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and stopped the bus at just the right time to get up close and personal with roaming herds of wild animals. Herds of rhinos were fascinating to watch because of their large size and powerful frame. We observed several baby rhinos that were born at the park as a result of a very successful breeding program. Hope you enjoy these fantastic wildlife photos as much as we did…

Thirsty male rhino at a watering hole
Rhino flexing his muscles for the crowd !!!
Up close and personal with a very large, powerful rhinoceros
Giraffe herd eating some tender leaves from tree branch
This giraffe decided to race our tour bus
This ostrich was almost too friendly for Bonnie
Scimitar Horned Oryx grazing on the plaiins
Pere David’s Deer looking Bonnie in the eye !!!
Pair of lazy cheetas staying cool in the shade
Lone zebra standing on a ridge
African Painted Dogs waiting on feeding time

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We left Buckeye Lake, OH and decided to continue driving southwest towards Lexington, KY and to the west of the Appalachian Mountains in order to stay clear of any high winds or rain from hurricane Florence. Our next stop was the Kentucky Horse Park where we enjoyed a fantastic campground (one of the nicest yet), amazing horses and incredible bicycle trails. Stay tuned for our next post with photos from this unique park….