Timbavati Wildlife Park - Into The Interaction Area

Greetings friends and welcome to this week’s blog post. This is a super exciting time of year for us because we’re only about six weeks away from the start of our summer season. In the next few weeks leading up to opening day we will be taking a look at all of the different areas of the park and what their general offerings are. Before we dig in I am inclined to remind you that the species of animals and their locations within Timbavati Wildlife Park are subject to change without notice. With that said, let’s take a look at the Interaction Area.

The “Interaction Area” is always a hit with our guests, especially the really young kids that visit us. The photograph featured in today’s blog is one of our interactive areas. We have a few interactive areas within the park and they are always teeming with animals. These areas have everything in them from alpacas to baby camels to pygmy goats. The smaller animals are a really great way to get young kids used to nature and wildlife in general.

Our “Parakeet Encounter” is another area in the Interaction Area that’s a hit. The Parakeet Encounter allows you to enter a huge bird house filled with little budgies from the land down under. Grab a feed stick, hold it out like you’re hailing a taxi and be still. Before you know it you’ll have a bird in the hand. You can’t beat that one.

We have two nurseries. Nursery one is where you will find a lot of our newborns and nursing animals. Baby kangaroos and sloths, reptiles and exotic birds. Nursery one has it all. Nursery two has a lot of our nocturnal creatures. Really big eyes are a good sign of a critter that moves around in lower light situations. Take owl monkeys for instance. With their big eyes you take one look at them and you can tell those are set up for low light. No matter the day there is always something to see in the nurseries.

We have a large parrot cage filled with McCaws and other larger tropical fowl. Sometimes you walk past and hear someone say, “Hello.”  You think someone is behind you but you look and it’s a bird. It wants some attention. Just walk up and say, “Hello.” it might jaw with you.

Lastly, during our general admission season we have “Swine Time Pig Races” and “Wildlife Presentations.” The Pig Races are a fun time with lots of jokes to keep you entertained while the athletes go all out in search of the vaunted Oreo cookie at the finish line. The Wildlife Presentations are a great experience also. Our professional animal handling staff gives you a lot of great information about animals that you’ll be able to see up close and personal.

The Interaction Area is an oasis of family fun that has a pace which is really comfortable for everyone who stops in. That’s what we come to the Dells for right? To be somewhere that takes us away from the hustle and bustle of boardrooms and punch presses. We have two encounter tours daily at 11am and 1pm. Check out this week’s video for a look at the Interaction Area and we will see you in the park!

Timbavati Wildlife Park Talking Camels

Greetings and salutations dear friends and welcome to this weeks blog! Seems as if we’re right in the middle of winter and springs annual tug of war as we set the clocks forward last weekend and prepare for the big thaw. One creature who is at home in almost any climate is the camel. We often think of the camel as a hot desert animal. The desert gets very cold at night also. Camels are built Ford tough LOL.

There are two kinds of camels. Dromedary (Arabian) camels have one hump. Bactrian (Asian) Camels have two. The largest myth about camels is that their humps are filled with water, which they aren’t. The hump is a fat reserve that a camel can metabolize for survival in times when food and water are scarce.

Camels have two rows of eyelashes to keep the sand out of their eyes. Im sure these lashes would be solid in a blizzard also. Camels live all over the planet so they see a wide array of climates. There are still a lot of remote villages and communities all over the globe. These places don’t all have roads, sometimes the only way for these people to move supplies is by camel. Camels also possess the ability to close their nostrils to protect their airways from sand as well.

A thirsty camel can drink up to 135 liters of water in 1 sitting and rehydrate faster than any other animal. They drink to replace the water they’ve lost. Camels roam the deserts in herds of up to 30 members. Camels can also run at speeds of up to 25 miles an hour for extended periods.

A camel has a gestation period of 12 to 14 months and usually only give birth to one baby but can have twins. A newborn calf is able to walk within the first 30 minutes of birth. The mother will keep the baby from the herd for the first couple of weeks in the calf’s life and a camel is considered fully mature at the age of 7 years.

Check this week’s video out to see some of the camel life in Timbavati Wildlife Park. We have Camel Rides from Memorial Day to Labor day during the summer. We have two Encounter Tours that run daily at 11am and 1pm. Enter through the Gift Shop. That’s all for this week, talk with you all next week!

The Wildebeests of Timbavati Wildlife Park

Greetings friends and welcome to the first Monday in the month of March. Basketball tournaments aren’t the only sign of the 3rd month of the year. This month begins the countdown to our opening weekend which is only about 8 weeks away. That’s a very short period of time in animal years LOL.  One thing that won’t be short is your trip to Timbavati Wildlife Park where you can see really cool animals like our Wildebeests.

This native of Africa can be found in the southern half of Africa. It is also referred to as a gnu. The wildebeest is one of the largest antelopes, from head to tail it can be 8 feet and weigh up to 600 pounds. There are two species of wildebeests, the blue wildebeest and the black wildebeest. The blue can weigh up to 595 pounds while the black can weigh up to 340 pounds.

A Wildebeest Family Affair

Wildebeests live in herds comprised of males females and young. During migrations large herds comprised of all kinds of antelope all move together for safety and well because they’re all following the fresh water sources and grazing pastures. Males attract females by rubbing their scent into the ground. The gestation period for a female is 8.5 months and she will give birth to a single calf. The calf can walk at birth and is ready to run with the rest of the herd a few days after birth.

During the African migration that occurs at the end of the rainy season about 1.2 million wildebeests join zebras and gazelles as they all travel to the savannas where there is plenty of food and water.

The gestation period of the  wildebeest is 8 and a half months. At the start of the rainy season which is February and March, female wildebeests give birth to baby calves. Calves weigh 44 to 49 pounds at birth. Calves learn to walk within minutes and the join the herd within a few days.

Timbavati Wildlife Park is home to all manners of creatures both large and majestically diminutive. We're open for tours daily during our winter season at 11am and 1pm. Stop on into our gift shop to take the tour today. Talk with you all next week.