Yellow River Game Ranch
I am never sure whether to feel happy or sad whenever I get to visit the Ranch. On one hand I am happy that these animals get to live, basically get a second chance, and at the same time provide some up close encounters for the kids, sort of entertainment. On the other it makes me feel that this is just another form of making money that, while providing entertainment, lacks what it is perceived to offer. Many of the animals are caged indefinitely without even the chance of freedom. I can only hope that our kids take the time to appreciate Nature for what it is and the impact that We can have on it in both large and small scale.
Now enough of me on a soap box. All the kiddos were going to be away for some or all of Spring Break this year so we thought it would be fun to do something out of the ordinary with them before seeing them off. We didn’t tell them what we were doing until we got there and even then I don’t think they really understood what we were going to do until we started seeing and feeding the animals. We packed a backpack full of old food stuff and picked up some corn and apples at the concession as well.
It was a hot day, especially for the beginning of spring, and many of the animals were content to lay in the shade and ignore whatever tempting goodies we might have to offer. Others however took their place in a gorge fest of oats, apples, carrots, peanuts, corn and whatever else the kids could scavenge off the ground.
It was fun to watch them all try to interact with the different animals. Violet was fearless. Isaac was cautiously curious. Piper needed insurance she wouldn’t be eaten. Jacob was all boy (not feeling well but all boy nonetheless). We fed all that we could, even the bears who were laying with their mouths in the pan the food landed in and lazily eating one bit after another. The goats, lambs and ponies were the most active and the loved the quaker oats packed from the house. The big cats were lazy, the coyote paced in ground wearing circles and the turtles hid in their shell to stay out of the sun – or for other reasons unknown. One of the last animals we got to see was a pair of raccoons laboring on a spinning wheel – obviously working off the pounds they had packed on from the morning shift – I don’t know why it was funny but after seeing all the other critters stuffing their faces it was.
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