Charles Towne Landing - Field Trip

Prior to leaving the South, our family was blessed to go on multiple field trips.  One such field trip was set up for a the EFMP for the military to the Charlestown Landing Animal Landing.  The Animal Forest consists of animals that once inhabited the area.  Perhaps the best part of the tour was the animal keepers and volunteers were at each exhibit, so that you could learn more about the animals.  Many of the keepers also had furs, skulls, claws or other artifacts that we could look at and touch.

When you first come out of the visitor center, you cross over a bridge.  It is a perfect opportunity to look into the water and find turtles and alligators!

We then walked over to the Animal Forest and started at the bird exhibit.  These waterbirds are all there due to not being able to live in the wild any longer.  Many of them are unable to fly any longer due to wings that were injured due to vehicles.

We also saw some red wolves.  There is a hope to eventually increase the population of red wolves in the wild in South Carolina.

The otters are a favorite of our children!  These fun critters will follow their hands as they walk along the glass.  Feeling the otter fur was a really neat experience!

They have two bears in the Animal Forest.  Both were PETS at one time!  The one poor bear was chained to a tree!  Why anyone would want to own a bear as a pet is beyond me!  They fed it candy and pizza!?!?

The cougars, also know as mountain lions or pumas are fun to watch.  Often times they will be in the tree, though there are times you can see them walking along the perimeter of their exhibit.

A newer exhibit is the farm animals that the first settlers are believed to have brought with them.  This includes goats, sheep, and pigs.

The children also never tire of seeing the deer and buffalo/bison.  The fact that these translate to food in my children's minds might have something to do with that.  Just saying...

The skunks are some of my favorites, as it is not too often that we get the opportunity to be so close to a skunk, without getting sprayed, that is still alive!

The bobcat is a hard animal to spot!  We finally found him in a corner and were able to get a picture, and then the keeper got him to come out.

When seeing the turkeys, my children kept talking about how they would make a great dinner.  I think they missed the point of the exhibits being for education and preservation, not for raising food ;)

As an extra bonus, as we were leaving, we spotted some wild raccoons eating food set out for the other animals.

We had hoped to have the opportunity to go to the history portion of Charles Towne Landing, but sadly never had the chance.  The landing is where English settlers first landed in 1670 and began the colonies that would eventually become the Carolinas.  The historic site is extremely educational, and there is also a replica sailing ship from the 17th century.  Overall, it is an absolutely lovely place to visit!  My suggestion is to plan a full day and bring a picnic lunch!