Education
Wildlife West Nature Park offers a wide variety of educational programs throughout the year. To learn more about any program, just click on the program name below:
- Bird Handling Classes (spring)
- Junior Zoo Keepers Summer Day Camp (summer)
- Docent and Animal Keeper Training (year-round)
- Educational Wildlife Field Trips!
- Call of the Wild Overnight Gray Wolf Adventure (year-round)
- Call of the Wild Overnight Cougar Adventure (year-round)
- BOOK BOTH AND SAVE: Gray Wolf and Cougar Adventures (year-round)
Bird
Handling Classes - Saturday, June 7, 2008
These classes offered by Wildlife West Nature Park are intended for anyone who would like to know more about the basic biology, handling, and husbandry of captive birds of prey. Private bird classes for groups of 10 people or more can be arranged on a case-by-case basis.
Some
of the subjects covered in the course are:
- Basic bird of prey biology concentrating on the species held at Wildlife West Nature Park.
- USFW permit requirements: what you can and can’t do with captive birds of prey.
- Introduction to the equipment used and related terms.
- Demonstrations of the use of the equipment with birds.
- Husbandry for captive birds of prey.
- Hands-on training with birds.
Graduates of the classes may be invited to join the Wildlife West Nature Park bird team. These selected graduates will receive further training specific to our bird programs.
Those interested should contact Wildlife West Nature Park at 281-WILD (9453). The fee for the course is $20.00 and pre-reservation is required. Members of the New Mexico Wildlife Association are eligible for free entry into the classes.
Junior Zookeepers Summer Day Camp
Two sessions: June 16-20 and June 23-27, 2008
Learn basic biology, interact with animals and have fun behind the scenes with zookeepers at Wildlife West!
Spend a week learning about New Mexico’s native plants and animals this summer.
Junior Zookeepers Day Camp is an exciting program that offers children ages 8-12 the opportunity to experience what our animal keepers do on a day to day basis.
Learn about elk, deer, pronghorn, coyotes, fox, bobcat, cougar, raptors, reptiles and much, much more. Register today; either print, fill out, and send in your registration form or request a copy from us at (505) 281-7655.
The cost is $60 per week and a snack is provided. Camp is held from 9 a.m. until noon, and we normally schedule two sessions each summer. Call (505) 281-7655 for information.
Click here to view the fun had by the Junior Zookeepers at the 2001 camp.
Docent and
Animal Keeper Training
Offered year-round
Wildlife West Nature Park offers regular training sessions for docents and animal keepers. Docent training includes learning how to deal with groups of different types (preschool through seniors, English speaking to deaf visitors), learning (lots) about our animals, their individual stories of why they are nonreleaseable, the different species in a more general sense, how to deal with loud/rowdy groups, customer service, developing a relationship with the animals to enhance tours, developing listening skills, how to deal with conflicts, and other important subjects associated with operation of the Park.
Call (505) 281 7655 for details of our next training sessions.
Educational Wildlife Field Trips
Offered year-round
Wildlife West Nature Park is available for students of all ages. Our field trips are educational, interactive, and in most cases, are guided by trained docents. The park has a covered picnic area for up to 200 children at one time (more by special arrangement). There are soda machines, accessible walkways, restrooms and up to two miles of trails if the entire park is visited. Most classes use about 1 mile of the trails during their visit to see all the rescued native wildlife. The average length of stay is 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
Mountain lions, bobcat, coyote, fox, black bear, raccoon, deer, elk, pronghorn, hawks, owls, prairie dogs, endangered Mexican wolves and javelina are among the 24 species of native wildlife found at the park. The habitats are constructed out of recycled materials in most cases and are built by youth in the New Mexico Youth Conservation Corps program.
Admission fees for field trips are only $2.00 per person! Please make reservations in advance by calling 505-281-7655.
EXTRA: Now offering hayrides for one dollar per person. Everyone must participate to get the ride.
Call
of the Wild Overnight Gray Wolf Adventure
Offered year-round, $100 per person, occupancy 2
Support the endangered Mexican Gray Wolf recovery. Plan an overnight adventure with the wolves at Wildlife West Nature Park.
Photographers, Wildlife Enthusiasts, and Wolf Lovers: This is your opportunity to experience and photograph Mexican Gray Wolves up close from a primitive immersion wolf blind at Wildlife West Nature Park.
Your
experience includes:
- An overnight stay in our enclosed, primitive, immersion wolf blind.
- A close-up, non-threatening, eye level viewing of two endangered Mexican Gray Wolves as they interact with each other and their surroundings.
- A behind-the-scenes tour of indigenous New Mexico Wildlife. Get close-up to rescued non-releasable native New Mexican wildlife including Mountain Lion, Deer, Elk, Mexican Gray Wolves, Pronghorn and Raptors.
The minimum stay in the blind is from 30 minutes before sunset to 30 minutes after sunrise. Call 505-281-7655 or 877-981-9453 for reservations.
Call of
the Wild Overnight Cougar Adventure
Offered year-round, $100 per person, occupancy 2
Plan an overnight adventure with the cougars at Wildlife West Nature Park.
Photographers, Wildlife Enthusiasts, and Cougar Lovers: This is your opportunity to experience and photograph cougars up close from a primitive immersion cougar blind at Wildlife West Nature Park.
Your experience includes:
- An overnight stay in our enclosed, primitive, immersion cougar blind.
- A close-up, non-threatening, eye level viewing of our cougars as they interact with each other and their surroundings.
- A behind-the-scenes tour of indigenous New Mexico Wildlife. Get close-up to rescued non-releasable native New Mexican wildlife including Mountain Lion, Deer, Elk, Mexican Gray Wolves, Pronghorn and Raptors.
The minimum stay in the blind is from 30 minutes before sunset to 30 minutes after sunrise. Call 505-281-7655 or 877-981-9453 for reservations.
Book Both and Save!
Combine the Overnight Gray Wolf Adventure and Overnight
Cougar Adventure for $75 per person per night.
If you want to experience both of our overnight adventures,
you can save $25 per person per night. One person can stay in each blind
for one night ($150 total) or you can spend one night in one blind and
then the next night in the other ($150 per person).
Call 505-281-7655 or 877-981-9453 for reservations.
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