My first zoo trip of the year was to this very small collection of almost entirely native species in the Blue Ridge Mountains, on the outskirts of Asheville. I have here listed every species for which there was signage; I did not see any unsigned species. The review will be a second post. Outdoors American Black Bear Bobcat Puma Red Wolf Gray Wolf Coyote Common Raccoon Gray Fox Red Fox Red Panda (non-native) North American River Otter White-tailed Deer Turkey Vulture Red-tailed Hawk Great Horned Owl Barn Owl Appalachian Station (Indoors) Least Weasel Eastern Garter Snake Rough Green Snake Corn Snake Black Rat Snake Northern Pine Snake Timber Rattler Copperhead Carolina Anole Eastern Box Turtle Eastern Mud Turtle Eastern Musk Turtle Painted Turtle Spotted Turtle Common Snapping Turtle Hellbender Marbled Salamander Spotted Salamander Eastern Red-bellied Newt Gray Tree Frog American Green Tree Frog Spring Peeper American Toad Rainbow Trout Black Ant (native) Fire Ant (non-native, introduced and invasive) Species on Exhibit: 42 Mammals: 13 Birds: 4 Reptiles: 14 Amphibians: 8 Fish: 1 Invertebrates: 2
The Western North Carolina Nature Center is a small but very pleasant facility, located on a wooded campus adjacent the Swannanoa River. I toured it in 90 minutes at a very leisurely pace, but an average visit without children could easily take an hour or less. The only noteworthy species I saw was least weasel, a rare mustelid that I have not seen in captivity elsewhere. The outdoor exhibits are more or less situated along a mile-long loop through a wooded hillside, with a view of the river and road on the lower side and split-level views of some enclosures. The indoor exhibits are all located in a small but well-stocked building with two rooms called the Appalachian Station. The only species here not present in the U.S. is red panda, in a new exhibit built last year. Besides the wild animals, there is also a barn and farm yard with donkeys, sheep, goats, and chickens; a native turtle pond and songbird garden; a nature trail; and play areas for kids. The Center also has bird and bat houses installed across its campus and ample educational signage for helping local wildlife. It also has several signs touting its coveted status as an AZA accredited facility. The enclosures, on the whole, are simple but spacious. A single deer* held dominion over two massive yards and a smaller side yard, with a footprint larger than given to some giraffe herds at other zoos. The bears also have a spacious enclosure with a climbing structure and pool. The birds are held in a row of average-looking aviaries, while above a two-part river otter exhibit features four viewing windows (two underwater), a rock grotto with a pool, a grassy yard, and a tube passage allowing the otter pair to move freely between them. Meanwhile, the long wooded loop is home to the Center's native carnivore collection, with fantastic wolf and coyote yards that feature chain link and glass viewing windows, and smaller enclosures for bobcat, cougar, raccoons, and foxes. The new red panda habitat is decent, but somewhat disappointing; it doesn't have a lot of climbing opportunities for the arboreal species, and feels a bit small for two animals. Nevertheless, they have a cub-rearing space in the holding shed, so hopefully they will have breeding success soon. The Appalachian Station houses the aforementioned weasel along with the Center's herp collection, represented by a dozen species of turtles and snakes and several amphibians. The enclosures aren't noteworthy, and the building's theming is minimal. The facility created a very ambitious master plan for 2020 a decade ago. Little of it has seen enactment so far, especially in terms of added species. It called for sandhill cranes, elk and bison, bald eagles, and a range of South American and Asian species to be added, along with a new indoor building with a nocturnal hall and more themed microhabitat exhibits. So far, the only species gained from that master plan are the red pandas. Hopefully, the facility will find the funds to at least add more native species; there is room to expand, although it would have to be taken from standing forest. The Blue Ridge Mountains and city of Asheville are a great travel destination; if you ever find yourself here, might as well take an hour or two out of a day to come visit. Admission is currently $11 for adults, which is somewhat expensive but is understandable if they are trying to make a lot of infrastructural changes and additions. *Fun fact: the Center's white-tailed deer was trained in order to appear in a couple scenes of the 2017 film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which was filmed in the area.
They are the first part of a planned expansion similar to Elephant Odyssey, where they showcase modern animals from other continents to compare with prehistoric native species. In this case, fossils of a large red panda relative called Bristol's panda were found an hour north of the Center. The exhibit was built last year; the rest of the expansion is not yet built and I'm not sure what the plan is for the next phase.
A brief update: the Least Weasel and Raccoon are gone, and there is also a Striped Skunk exhibit in the domestic barn that is either new or I missed during my 2020 visit.
Well this is a paradox. They didn't have the least weasel when they had least weasel, but now they *do* have the least weasel because they don't have any least weasel, no weasel being even less weasel than before.
Other updates to the list as of last month: the Rainbow Trout have been traded for Brook Trout; "Eastern Red-bellied Newt" should have been "Eastern Red-spotted Newt" (Notophthalmus viridescens); the ant display is gone; and I didn't note Corn Snake (although it looks like I forgot to photograph the signage of the Black Ratsnake exhibit, so they may be in there). Link for more recent and comprehensive review: Slender Lorises, Duct Tape, and Whataburger: A Fish on Dry Land
I visited here for the first time back in October and they still had the least weasel at that point, so that must be a very recent departure. That's a shame, I really appreciated seeing it.
