The Wilds

In a beautiful part of southern Ohio there lies a ten-thousand acre (8 square mile) patch of land, that once was owned and operated by AEP. During the sixties and seventies this land was used for strip mining. Strip mining is the process of taking the top most layer of soil and then removing the layer of rock that sits below the soil, in order to get to coal that lies beneath those two layers. The general idea is to get as much out of a proportion of land as possible. The idea is to milk it for all that its worth. Though the necessity for mining coal, which is used for generating electricity, is a worthy one, strip mining also ravages the land. In the long run, the efforts of strip mining make the landscape impossible for vegetation to grow back. This of course diminishes the populous of animals in areas where strip mining has been done.

Amazing Efforts

As I had mentioned above, a specific geographical area in southeastern Ohio was once used for strip mining. Eight square miles is a lot of land to destroy and what was once a beautiful oasis, simply sat as a wasteland for many years. Then the people got involved. I'm not sure exactly how this part of the story came about, but I have been informed that ideas started brewing inside the minds of locals. The question was asked "can this land be rejuvenated?". Well, with a little bit of imagination the answer was "yes, it can". The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, The Ohio Department of Development, The Ohio Zoological Parks, and private companies in the area worked together to make the dream happen. With a great deal of time, effort, financing and with the support of AEP, The Wilds was born.


The Wilds

The only way to replenish the landscape of what would become The Wilds, was to start by grooming it with vegetation that could survive in the early stages. The result was a mini Savanna, which features characteristics of having widely spaced trees, and large areas of grasslands. Savannas or grasslands are ideal for grazing animals, so little by little, the newly found Wilds started introducing animals not native to North America, into the land. Its taken many years, but The Wilds now features a plethora of awesome creatures like the Scimitar-Horned Oryx, Przewalski's Horses, Cheetahs and Hartmann's Mountain Zebras.

The Wilds is completely self-sufficient, and because of the expertise that flows around the center, they don't even have to transport animals to the Columbus zoo when they are ill. The animals roam free, living as they naturally would and you can see them by way of tour bus. If you need to imagine The Wilds a little better, think of the movie Jurassic Park. This patch of land is encompassed by miles of tall, electric fence and when you are on the bus tour, you pass through double gates to go from one area to another. Occasionally the bus comes to a halt, because of a stubborn camel, yes camel, that simply won't move out of the way, but this isn't really a problem, considering that it is the ideal time to snap a lot of pictures. One thing that is really inspiring is the fact that The Wilds owns so much land, that they don't need all of it for the animals. They didn't let it go to waste however, as the other eight-thousand acres are currently being used for the study of biofuels.

In conclusion, it is simply an awesome experience and very affordable. If you live in the area or are even out of state a little ways, I highly recommend checking it out. You won't be disappointed. So I give a big shout out to the efforts of the people, organizations and companies for doing this awesome thing for the land, the animals and over-all peace and happiness!

For more information check out the official website for the wilds.

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