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AIKMAN WILDLIFE ADVENTURE: DOUGLAS/MOULTRIE COUNTIES Aikman Wildlife Adventure: A Fun And Educational Experience For The Whole Family
ebras in the Midwest? Yes! Come to Aikman Wildlife Adventure this year to have an experience of a lifetime. The 40-acre park, which began its first year of operation in 2016, is located on the Illinois prairie along the picturesque Kaskaskia River. The park is just five miles west of Interstate 57 at Arcola exit 203 (Illinois Route 133), at the site of the former Rockome Gardens. 2022 brings new and exciting experiences to the park. Add excitement to your adventure by taking a walk on the wild side with one of our new animal encounters. Animals you can get up close and personal with include our kangaroos, ostrich, reptiles, rabbits, feathered creatures and more. Another great addition to the park is our Museum of Prehistoric Life. Guests can experience a collection of life-size reconstructions of prehistoric animals and dinosaurs, as well as our computer generated imagery T-Rex habitat. Aikman Wildlife Adventure offers visitors and their families an outdoor experience viewing and interacting with a variety of animal species from many parts of the world, including the United States, Europe, Africa, Central and South America. Two years in the making, owner James Aikman visualized Aikman Wildlife Adventure as a park where families could enjoy a special outdoor experience together, as well as a place where rescue animals and other animals in need could call home. “There are many kids these days who seem to always be on their phones and computers, and not going outside anymore,” Aikman said. “Most people are innately drawn and are curious about animals. Aikman Wildlife Adventure is designed to help young people be motivated to want to be outside. It is a place where families can come together and hang out and enjoy God’s amazing creations, whenever they desire. “The park is different from a zoo because visitors have more personal interaction with the animals, as opposed to just seeing them behind some kind of barrier.” Visitors can enjoy the more than 200 animals and over 70 species throughout the entire park. Along the Drive-Thru Adventure, visitors drive their own vehicles through the mile-long path to enjoy the large, free-roaming animals including zebras, emus, camels, bison and more. Illinois law prohibits feeding the animals from a car, since it is an unguided tour. However, those wishing to pet and feed the animals can hop on a Wagon Ride Adventure (where feed for the animals is provided) that is narrated by an educated guide. The wagons hold 20 people, and go out
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every half hour by demand. The wagon ride is approximately 30 minutes long. It is very exciting to participate in the wagon ride because you never know what animals you will see, as it is different every time. Some of the animals you might see include watusi, water buffalo, elk and wildebeest. Scottish Highlanders, a type of cattle often called “hairy cows” because of their shaggy coats, also hang out in the free roaming area, as well as wild turkeys, exotic sheep and much more.
A new addition to the park will include the Museum of Prehistoric Life. Guests will be able to experience a collection of life-size reconstructions of prehistoric mammals, as well as a featured computer generated imagery presentation.
The Arabian camel you will see, also called dromedary, has one hump, while the Bactrain camel has two humps. Arabian camels’ native habitat is the Middle East and the Horn of Africa, while Bactrain camels can be found in Central Asia. Brown, white and blackish-colored fallow deer, about the size of white-tailed deer, will also be roaming around in the Drive-Thru section. Families who enjoy nature films will be excited to see one of the most well-known animals found on the Serengeti plains and other areas of Africa brought to the Great Plains of Central Illinois — the blue wildebeest. Indeed, Serengeti is derived from a Maasai word that means “endless plains.” What is known as the “Serengeti Wildebeest Migration” is an annual natural phenomenon that takes place between Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and Maasai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya, where up to 2 million animals, mostly wildebeest and zebra, move in a clockwise rotational route determined by the availability of grazing and water. In addition to the blue wildebeest, other African animals in the DriveThru area — such as zebras and elands, Africa’s largest antelope — also live happily in the park. Another adventure that visitors can experience is the Walk-Thru area with Petting Zoo. This area resembles a traditional zoo, in that the animals are housed in their own particular habitat, which, however, have been created much larger than what can be found in a typical zoo. While exploring the Walk-Thru area, visitors are able to see hyenas, servals (a smaller African cat), an Eurasian Eagle Owl, and coatimundi, which is a racoon-like animal found in Central and South America. Guests can pet and feed goats, sheep, cows and fallow deer, all frolicking at the petting zoo. There are also opportunities to see African porcupines, reptiles, par-
