Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.
The North Florida Wildlife Center has been protecting endangered species and educating the public about them for about five years now. It's time to celebrate!
To join in on the extra excitement, visit the center on Saturday, Sept. 20 for the “Wild and Thriving” milestone event. For this special day, there will be free goat feeding, free face painting, local food/drink vendors, animal encounters and special tours of the large aviary construction area. There also will be live music and talks by Executive Director Ryan Reines as well as a member of the Jefferson County Commission.
Scan the QR code with this story to purchase discounted event tickets starting at $7.99. Even if you've visited before, there are sure to be many new animals to see, habitat expansions to appreciate and unique activities to mark the anniversary.
The idea for the Wildlife Center first began to form when Reines was keeping a few exotic birds in his backyard in Tallahassee, where he attended Florida State University and earned a degree in biology. As his love of birds led him to seek out more space to expand and establish an Avian Biodiversity Center, he found 10 acres in rural Jefferson County that allowed him to do just that – and so much more.
By the time Reines officially opened the Wildlife Center to the public five years ago, he had developed a clear mission of “wildlife conservation through public educational outreach, propagation of rare and endangered species and habitat restoration efforts.” Operating as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, the center “strives for the highest standards of animal care, education, conservation, environmental service, and operations.”
Over the years, the population of resident animals has grown from half a dozen birds to more than 60 mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. The site has new habitats under construction continually, enabling it to welcome more and more animals in need of protection, many of which are part of special breeding programs that aim to keep their threatened species from going extinct.
The center's ways of engaging the public have also developed over the years, and attendance has grown to more than 1,000 visitors a month. Upward spiraling visitation has allowed the center to now offer affordable general admission, with regular hours Tuesday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Add-ons include guided tours that can be booked with a knowledgable staff member and VIP tours that offer a private look behind the scenes. Special encounters are available with the gray foxes Cypress and Willow; the ruffed lemurs Saka and Akondro; Sid the sloth; Evie the red kangaroo; King Bumi the giant anteater; and several of the very interesting birds in residence.
These ambassador animals allow visitors to see and learn about incredible species in person and gain a new perspective on issues that might otherwise seem far away and untouchable. Proceeds generated from both general admission and extra opportunities keep the animal residents enriched and well-fed, as well as provide strong support for international conservation efforts associated with the animals being protected here.
What's new at the Wildlife Center? Lots!
In the area of staff, this summer Darien Dowse joined the team as the center's first ever director of animal programs.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome her,” said Executive Director Reines. “She's going to help us refine and further develop all of our animal care programs, from staff husbandry schedules for the animals to enrichment programs to our ambassador program and how visitors interact with our animals. We're hoping to start our bird show in the fall.”
In time for the five-year anniversary event on Sept. 20, a spacious new $12,000 habitat for the ruffed lemurs will be ready, allowing the two males to share the same space with the two recently arrived females, in hopes that successful breeding will follow soon after.
The baby emus are getting quite big at around six months old, and they'll be twice as big when they reach maturity.
“They are super, super sweet,” says Reines.
The 27 fruit bats are all settled into their relatively new habitat, which they share with several striking species of birds native to Africa, including a pair of nesting blue-bellied rollers. It's hard to keep up with all the arrivals, births and expansions that are taking place month to month!
“We are getting lots of official AZA [Association of Zoos and Aquariums] Species Survival Plan breeding recommendations, which is really, really exciting,” says Reines. “Those are normally reserved for larger AZA accredited institutions. It's really crazy that this little place in the middle of nowhere that no one knows about... is doing all of these things. We are doing great.”
The North Florida Wildlife Center is located at 1386 Cook Rd. in Lamont, Fla. For more information, call (850) 347-0921, email info@northfloridawildlife.org or visit www.northfloridawildlife.org.