The Eland Antelope of Timbavati Wildlife Park

Greetings friends and welcome to this week’s blog post. By my calculation we only have 3 weeks of winter left before the weather breaks. That is of course if you listened to Puxatawny Phil that is. The groundhog never saw his shadow so winter of course is almost over. No matter how long the frozen season lasts, one thing is for sure. We’re going to be open (minus major holidays), and the animals will be here too. This week we take a look at one of the mighty antelope that we have living in Timbavati Wildlife Park, the eland.

The eland is a an antelope from the southern and eastern plains of Africa. The eland is the largest antelope, there are two species of eland, the giant eland and the common eland. An adult male eland can be as heavy as 2200 pounds and stand about 5 feet tall at the shoulders.

The eland can jump really high also, it can easily clear a two meter fence if it has a good head of steam. The eland is crepuscular. This means that they are active primarily at dusk and dawn, during the heat of the day they rest to conserve energy and stay cool. A herd of elan can have up to 500 members and they will travel the plains with other antelopes and zebras.

Mating typically occurs when the plains are lush with fresh vegetation. The gestation period for a female eland is nine months and the mother gives birth to a single calf. The mother leaves the herd to give birth and can be gone for up to 24 hours. The young actually form their own herd and are hidden in the herd until they wean which is after about 6 months.

For more awesome animal facts come and take our Encounters Tour. We have two tours that kick off daily at 11am and 1pm. Tickets can be purchased online or at the park, just enter through the gift shop. Don’t forget to check out this week’s video and we will see you in the park!

When Is It A Tortoise And Not A Turtle?

Greetings friends and welcome to this week’s blog. I was sitting around and thinking to myself, “Self, When is a turtle not a tortoise or vice versa? Then self said to me “well you have that really killer video clip of Ashley explaining the large fundamental differences between the two” and myself was right! Ok I am kidding but I do have the clip and it does give us some fundamental differences.

The largest one of course being the difference between being able to swim or not. Tortoises dwell on land. There are a great many other differences between them also. When you’re looking a tortoise you’ll see more of a dome shaped shell. A turtle’s shell is more streamlined to be aquadynamic (like aerodynamic but in water). A tortoise’s shell is generally heavier than a turtle’s also.

When you look at their appendages you see a fundamental difference as well. A tortoise has short feet that are pretty sturdy. A turtle has webbed feet with claws on them. A tortoise will live between 80 and 150 years while the lifespan of a turtle is 20 to forty years. The oldest tortoise on record was 326 years old. It’s name was Adwaita and it lived from 1750 to 2006 in India. The current champ is going strong at 186 years old on the Island of Saint Helena.

There are a lot of other really killer facts about the differences between the two and to help us talk more about the differences this week’s video features Ashley and Lexi in a keeper talk discussing the differences. Lexi is showing off a red footed tortoise. Don’t forget we have two Encounter Tours that begin daily at 11am and 1pm. Thanks and we’ll talk again next week!

Swine Time Pig Races At Timbavati Wildlife Park

Greetings friends and welcome to this week’s post. I am ecstatic this week because I am setting things up for the summer. On top of that, people like you who are planning your 2019 vacations are asking about the park and our offerings for the upcoming year. We thank you, we want to be one of your “must see” destinations when you come to the Wisconsin Dells. This week we will take a look at our beloved Swine Time Pig Races.

When you hear the bugle charge in Timbavati Wildlife Park you know that can only mean one thing. It’s time for Swine Time Pig Races and the runners are at the starting line. You know, I’d have to say one of the best parts about the pig races are actually you.

Watching people laugh at the jokes or cheer on their favorite pigs (by stage names of course) is a big part of that experience. We love to have a good time and Swine Time Pig races entertain adults and families of all ages. As for the pigs, well they’re pretty much natural athletes. Pigs can hoof it at 11 miles per hour. I think I would like to try my hand at racing a pig, I might be able to compete at that speed.

This weeks video actually shows the women’s division of our Swine Time Pig Races. Lindsey Lowham and a few others make cameo appearances in it. Now our pig races don’t begin until the start of May but that doesn’t mean you can’t visit us right now! We have two encounter tours daily at 11am and 1pm. Stop on in and see what we have to offer, our petting areas and nurseries are a big hit with people of all ages. That’s it for this week’s blog if you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out to us and we will see you in the park!

TWP Parakeet Encounter 2019

Greetings friends and welcome to the month of February. The polar vortex seemed to have our entire state closed and I am sure you’re as happy as we are for it to be over. The great part about Timbavati Wildlife Park in bad weather is that we have so much to see inside. That brings us to this week’s topic, our Parakeet Encounter.

Our Parakeet Encounter has become a great staple in the Wisconsin Dells. It’s a building filled with parakeets for you and your family to feed and hang out with. Honestly I see people spending a lot of time in there. You can actually hand feed the parakeets. The joy of having a bird or two hang out on your hand and sometimes your head are just the cutest things ever to see.

The parakeet also referred to as a budgie hails from Australia. The work parakeet actually means “long tail.” parakeets can reach up to 7 inches in length and weigh up to an ounce and a half. A parakeet can rotate its head 180 degrees and its heart beats 200 times a minute.

The parakeet in an omnivore, it likes fruits, plants and insects. A flock of parakeets are nomadic, they can travel hundreds of miles in search of food and water. In our Parakeet Encounter we have feed sticks with birdseed on them. A flock of parakeets can number in the thousands in the wild. It’s a great site to see and in our Parakeet Encounter you’ll be right at home with the flock.

We’re open 7 days a week now for tours at 11am and 1pm. Enter through the gift shop to spend some time with our little feathered friends. If you’d like a more enhanced experience we have a VIP behind the scenes tour that gives you a comprehensive look and experience of our park as well. Check out the parakeet encounter in this week’s video and we will talk with you all next week!

The Squirrel Monkey of Timbavati Wildlife Park

Greetings friends and welcome to this week’s blog post. Winter has us in a cold chill and the Icy grasp of January is coming to a close this week. Good thing that we have indoor heated nurseries to keep our little critters warm. That brings me to the topic of this week’s blog, our resident squirrel monkeys are a great hang in nursery number two.

Our little troop of squirrel monkeys hail from the canopies of South America. They are an arboreal (spend most time in trees) species. They like both the tropical and rain forests of South America so a tree is a tree wet or dry lol.

Squirrel monkeys have tails but they’re not prehensile (used for grabbing items) like let’s say a spider monkey’s tail is. The squirrel monkey uses its tail for balance. Squirrel monkeys are considered very smart and have larger brains compared to the size of their bodies.

These little critters are omnivores they love flowers, leaves, insects, nuts, fruit reptiles and eggs, hungry little buggers eh? A spider monkey’s troop can be anywhere from 25 to 100 members comprised of both males and females.

Nursery number two is filled with little cute critters like these squirrel monkeys and you can visit them one of the the two encounter tours that we run daily at 11am and 1pm. We also have a VIP behind the Scenes Tour for an even more enhanced experience. Visit our website for more information. Now here’s a look at our squirrel monkeys on this week’s video talk with you all next week.

Red Footed Tortoises of Timbavati Wildlife

Greetings friends and welcome to this week’s blog post. Winter is in full swing and I must say, we have been able to dodge the brunt of the winter storms, I wont complain about that. We’re open year round so a mild winter is great for our guests. Ok, let’s move on to today’s animal, the red footed tortoise.

The red footed tortoise hails from South America. As you can see from this week’s video this tortoise is small enough to be held in one hand. Still it can grow to up to 16 inches in length and that’s pretty healthy sized shell back.

A Red Footed Tortoise Has To Grub

This tortoise is an omnivore. It enjoys a diet of plants, fruit, grasses and invertebrates. I’m sure at this vantage point there aren’t too many grubs that this little critter is likely to miss.

We have a great creep of red footed tortoises. They’re located in nursery 1 which you can visit daily on one of the two encounter tours that we run. Tour times kick off at 11am and 1pm 7 days a week. We also have a VIP luxury tour that gives you an even more expansive look at the park and its inhabitants. Visit our website for more information and for a great look at the red footed tortoise check out this week’s video. Thanks and we will talk with you all next week!

Timbavati Wildlife Park Baby Kangaroo

Greetings friends and welcome to this week’s blog post. Temperatures around the state have been really mild this week. We will take it, we’re open all year round and have two encounter tours that run daily at 11am and 1pm. It’s nice though, the warmer temperatures mean that we don’t have to succumb to cabin fever and can really enjoy the beauty of winter. Another thing you can almost always enjoy around Timbavati Wildlife Park is a baby kangaroo.

We have a pretty large mob of roos because of that there’s always a baby roo or two hopping around. When a baby is born they’re less than 2 cm in length and weighs less than a gram. Now most people know that when the baby is born is crawls up it’s mother’s belly and settles in her pouch. However, we rarely discuss how mom handles the Joey in the pouch. For instance, did you know that the mother has muscles in her pouch that allow her to tighten it up?

That’s right a mother kangaroo can tighten the muscles around her pouch up and create a secure environment for the joey while she is hopping around. It’s crazy because a joey can hop and jump in mom’s pouch head first at full speed. Then in a matter of second flip around and poke its head out of the pouch, that’s impressive for any animal.

What goes on with joeys become even more fascinating when you dig a little bit deeper. A mother kangaroo has different milk compositions based upon the age of the baby kangaroo. Small joeys get high protein immunity rich milk. Older joeys have higher protein and high carb milk with some fat and Joey’s at foot have high fat and protein milk.

At Timbavati Wildlife Park we have no shortage of animal facts. When you see our staff feel free to ask any questions you have. It’s a way of life for us and we love talking about the animals to visitors. The more people learn about them the better we can all respect and care for our animal friends. Check Ashley out in this week’s video as she talks to a guest on an Encounter Tour about more really cool baby kangaroo facts. We will talk with you all next week!