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AJ Rodefeld-Durham, a Hollywild visitor, receives kisses from "Wednesday" a young female camel.
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Jr. Zookeeper campers visit with nursery babies.
“With more than 500 animals calling Hollywild home, it’s sometimes hard to believe people want more, but they do and we’re all about making those special connections between our visitors and the animals,” Kim Atchley, Hollywild’s director, said.
“We had five babies born near the same time, all requiring hand-rearing, creating a unique opportunity we can share,” Atchley said.
Nursery needs aren’t unique for the park, which has hand-reared numerous infant animals over the years. Hand rearing is, in fact, a common zoo practice. But matching the animal care dynamic to public involvement is always a case-by-case basis based on the specific baby’s care needs.
“We may have different animals in the nursery over this summer as needs arise, but right now we have a baby camel, two different types of antelope (Addax and Eland,) and two painted dessert sheep. Each baby needed something special. For example, the mother camel did not have milk for her baby, so we had to quickly intervene to help the baby survive. Now that she is thriving, we can offer the public a special way to connect with her,” David Meeks, park founder and animal care director, said.
Now that the babies have reached a point where they can interact safely with humans, Hollywild is offering individual and small group nursery visits as an add-on option to a visit to the nearly 100 acre animal park.
Visits to the baby nursery are $10 per person and offered at scheduled times during the park’s public hours of operation, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. weekdays, and 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on weekends.