I surprised this guy with a Mother-Son day trip date day. I reserved the WOW behind the scenes tour at Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary. I did not tell him where or what we were doing except that I had a surprise and he would like it. Once we arrived he still wasn't quite sure what we were doing. Once we got inside the visitors center and signed in he figured it out. We were greeted right away by "Grandma".
Noah's Ark is free to visit but donations are accepted (and needed). The WOW tour is not free but is totally worth the money and you get to step into the enclosures to get up close and the volunteer guides are full of information and insight. You get to hear each animals personal story of how they ended up here. Noah's Ark is a non-profit charity and relies 100% on donations. They are home to over 1500 animals and rehab 100s of animals through their wildlife rehabilitation program. It costs upwards of $33k per month to feed all of these creatures. They are doing amazing work and providing an incredible service to these mostly once abused and neglected exotic animals.
Jama Hedgecoth founded her farm for abused, unwanted and neglected animals in 1978 in Ellenwood, GA. She outgrew her little farm in 1990 and moved it to Locust Grove where it is now on over 250 acres of donated land. The animals that come to the Ark are rehabilitated if they can be, if they cannot they will spend the rest of their lives in as close to their natural habitat no matter what illnesses or injuries they suffer. In 2001 the Ark was put on the map with a discovery by Atlanta police during a drug raid of a baby bear, lion cub and tiger cub living together in basement. The 3 animals came to the Ark and grew up together in the same habitat as a family. "BLT" Baloo the American black bear, Leo the African lion and Shere Khan the Bengal tiger. Leo passed away in 2016 but Baloo and Shere Khan still live together and Leo was buried inside the habitat next to their club house. Sadly the 2 were sleeping when we made around to visit them so we did not get to see them in person but we did get to see many many more animals.
Our first visit was with Hershey, the black bear. Keep in mind we were inside the first enclosure but we never set foot in the cages. Noah's Ark seeks to educate the public about conservation and care of these animals. It is not a zoo and the animals are not exploited for photo ops and encounters. That is how they ended up here in the first place. It is a real eye-opening experience for anyone, including someone like me who already knows a lot about animal rights and abuses. I learned a lot of things and it just cemented mine and sons love of wildlife care and conservation.
How cute are these lemurs?
Once we signed in we had about 20 minutes before we had to meet our guide. We wandered around and explored the habitats and wild birds that roamed free close to the visitor center.
First up was the Motley Crew. They are the special needs animals and you could reach in and pet these guys if you wanted. Most of these guys are petting zoo type animals that some how failed at being someones pet. The pigs were surrendered because some one bought them and did not realize pigs get big. They are not these cute little instagram piglets forever. Pigs are super smart and contrary to popular belief, clean and make excellent pets. They just eat a lot and weight a lot. They need room. Poor pigs. Adding them to my mental wishlist of backyard animals I want some day...2 Goats...chickens and now a pig.
We happened upon some cute little ducks before our first official close up.
Our guide Jo took us to meet Hershey, her favorite animal in the park, first. A male Black Bear who eagerly came over to greet us up close the minute we came inside. I think Jo is Hershey's favorite person too.
Hershey's original owner was walking him as a cub on a leash on the street when officers in Michigan approached the man, who tried to convince them it was a dog.
He just plopped down in front of us and gave us a little show. Jo makes him frozen peanut butter sandwiches as a treat. He loves her.
We met lots of tigers and bears. Golden doesn't get along with the other tigers. He is a little too hyper for them. (The ADD tiger) he kept coming very close and jumping and pouncing towards us and towards the wolves that shared a fence with him.
You can get a better feel of what I am talking about when I say we were inside the enclosures but not the cages.
This poor brown bear "Gideon" spent decades on a concrete floor at a roadside attraction. The former owner threatened to euthanize him if Noah's Ark did not take him the next day. He suffers greatly from arthritis and dental issues from pulling at his cage from boredom over the years. He is very old and docile and will live out his years in a climate controlled house with rubber mats and a nice flat natural enclosure. His habitat is not as big as the other bears because he doesn't need much. It took him a very long time just to step onto the ground. He is still, at 29, learning to be a bear.
Zuri is the only white Bengal here. I learned much about this breed that I never knew. She was surrendered by a breeder because she was about to be euthanized due to her poor eyesight (common for white tigers) and was 90%hairless and infested with ringworms. She is doing amazing now.
Nicholas is a cougar from Colorado, where apparently it is legal to own one as a pet. This is a terrible idea since they are the most savage of the big cats. He was surrendered by a breeder because of medical issues. He received a life saving blood transfusion (the first cougar to ever get one) and has been medical issue free ever since.
Gabby and Mr. Smith share a habitat together. Gabby was the most aggressive tiger Noah's Ark ever had. She came from the cub petting business. She hated humans and would mess all over herself any time a volunteer came by her cage until she met Mr. Smith. Now she is a happy kitty.
Joshua is a brown Capuchin monkey that was an illegal pet and confiscated. He is never seen without food in his hand. He is the friendliest and most well adjusted monkey of all. He is the first to greet anyone on the tours.
Shawn Shawn is the worlds first hybrid ape. He is extremely vocal (if you saw my instagram story you heard how vocal he is).
Mr. Smith
The former research monkeys have the saddest story of all. They have endured some pretty awful things in the name of science. These are the least trusting, easily upset primates located facing the back of the enclosure where it is off the beaten path and quieter.
I am not even going to lie, these silver foxes are adorable.
The even had 2 Coatis! Too bad they were sleeping. I saw one of these in the wild in Costa Rica!
There were more surrendered exotic birds than I have ever seen in one place. At one point there was an entire habitat full saying hello to us at one time.
The Cavy is pretty cool. It is like a oversized guinea pig/ jack rabbit combo.
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It was mating day for the turtles. Another treat if you saw my instagram story. They are noisy when they are getting down to business.
It is a bit if a drive to get to from our house (close to 2 hours with never ending Atlanta traffic) but well worth it. They do an overnight in the fall. I am signing up for that next year. Brody really want to volunteer and do service hours for Boy Scouts here. I wish it was closer I would volunteer regularly. This place is doing great work. Go visit and when you do bring some peanut butter, unsalted nuts or anything off their Amazon wishlist. I did not know before I came or I would have come armed with donations.
