Baby Nigerian Dwarf Goats Venture Out At The Park

Children of all ages love to visit Wildwood Wildlife Park. With the arrival of four new babies, the goat exhibit it bound to become even more popular!

The newest additions to the Nigerian Dwarf Goat family have arrived:

Frappe - Hot Fudge - White-Cap - Taffy

Before you head out to the zoo, brush up on your goat fun facts from last year's post. See you soon!

Wildwood Sets New Park Record: Highest Number of School Visits!

Every year - and every day - is special at Wildwood Wildlife Park but it is always an extra special day when area schools come to visit. This year will be remembered as the year we had the most schools ever in attendance. Thank you to all the students and teachers who came to visit and who took the time to thank us for the opportunity to visit the zoo and learn about the wonderful animals that we share our planet with!

Here are some of the schools who came to visit:

Abbotsford, Amherst, Aniwa, Birnamwood, Birchwood, Bloomer, Boulder Junction, Butternut, Conover, Crandon, Eagle River, Eau Claire, Glidden, Hayward, Hurley, Ironwood, Ladysmith, Land O Lakes, Laona, Loretta, Marathon, Marion, Medford, Merrill, Mosinee, Oconto Falls, Ogema, Ojibwa, Osseo, Park Falls, Phelps, Phillips, Prentice, Stevens Point, St. Germain, Tomahawk, Thorp, Wabeno, Wausau, Winter, Wisconsin Rapids, Withee Wittenberg

Schools traveling from Michigan: Bessemer, Crystal Falls, Houghton, Iron Mountain, Ontonagon

We receive many thank you cards and letters from the children who came to visit the zoo. We enjoy reading each and every correspondence the children send us. We love to hear how much they enjoyed their visit and all the wonderful things they learned at the zoo. 

Here are a few of the many thank you's we've received (for a larger view, click on each image):

Wildwood Wildlife Park Welcomes Porcupette Spike

Did you know that a baby porcupine is known as a porcupette? They are! Our zoo is happy to introduce Spike, a three-day old porcupette. I'm sure you will agree that he is adorable!


Our zoo has three different species of porcupine: North American, South American and African. Spike is a North American Porcupine.


There are two main groups of porcupine: Old World Porcupines which are mainly ground-dwelling animals while the other species, New World Porcupines, are animals that can climb trees. Can you guess which group Spike and his parents are?


Like all porcupettes, Spike was born with soft quills that become hard within hours following birth. Did you know that quills are hairs with barbed tips on the end? Quills are solid at the tip and base but most of the quill shaft is hollow. Porcupines are good swimmers, its hollow quills help keep it afloat. A single porcupine can have as many as 30,000 needle-like quills. The quills are found on all parts of the body, except for a porcupine's stomach; the longest quills are on its rump and the shortest quills are on its cheek. 


Porcupines have hairless soles on their strong feet; their curved claws and flat paws are known as master-climbers.

Porcupines are herbivores; they like to eat leaves, twigs and green plants. They do not hibernate and in the winter they will climb trees to find food, most bark and tender twigs.


The porcupine is a solitary animal but it is very vocal and has a wide variety of calls including grunts, coughs and tooth clicking!


Baby porcupines begin foraging for food after only a couple of days; babies stay with their mother for about six months. We hope you'll visit the zoo and welcome Spike as one of our newest residents.  

We're Proud to Announce Wildwood Wildlife Park's Recent Special Deliveries!

We hope you will try and forgive our brag and boast but we are so excited to introduce a few of our newest arrivals! Spring and early summer is, without a doubt our busiest time of the year, but also our favorite!


The list of our newest additions to the zoo include: Baby Grey Fox, Fawns, Baby Kangaroo, Baby Chinchillas, Baby Bunnies, Baby Guinea Pigs, Baby Sugar Gliders and Baby Patagonian Cavy. 


We look forward to introducing you to the new arrivals on your next visit but until you get here, enjoy a few photographs of our adorable babies!

Baby Patagonian Cavy

Fawn

Baby Kangaroo

Baby Grey Fox

Very Beary Fun Facts

Did you know that not all Black Bears are actually black; some of them are blue-black, brown, cinnamon, blonde, dark brown or even white.

Black Bears are known for their swimming capabilities: they can swim for about 1-1/2 miles in fresh water.

Just because a Black Bear is standing on its hind legs does not necessarily mean it is about to charge. Sometimes the bear is making an attempt to smell and see whatever it is that has made it curious.

Black Bears compensate for their poor eyesight with very developed senses of hearing and smell.

The adult Black Bear can weigh between 90 and 880 pounds: the females are smaller than the males. Did you know the cubs of the Black Bear only weigh between 1/2 and 1 pound when they are born?

Black Bears are generally very shy and can be easily frightened. The Black Bear is very quick and can run as fast as 35-miles an hour!

Some people believe Black Bears are a threat. they are actually tolerant and gentle animals that can be very playful and social. 

Do you know how the Teddy Bear got its name? Post your answer in the comment section or on our Facebook page. It will be fun to see how many people know the story behind the favorite toy to children (and grown ups!) everywhere!

Have You Seen The Weather Forecast For Opening of the 2012 Season?

We might be stretching the lounging in the sun just a bit - after all, this is northern Wisconsin.


However ... Mother Nature is promising to give us abundant sunshine and temperatures in the 50's. While it's not the dog days of summer, it is perfect going to the zoo weather.




Everyone has been busy getting ready for opening day - we can't wait to see you!

Calling All Volunteers: Bring a Rake and Join Us For Our Annual Spring Raking Clean Up At The Park

An annual event that everyone looks forward to! Bring a rake and your garden/work gloves and spend a day at the wildest place in town!