Western North Carolina Nature Center

75 Gashes Creek Road

Asheville, NC 28805-2529

(828) 298-5600 – Local Phone

Website: http://www.wncnaturecenter.com/

With over 40 acres of Southern Appalachian habitat, the WNC Nature Center is a prime attraction in the Asheville area for families, residents, and visitors. At the WNC Nature Center, it’s our goal to provide a fun, educational, and safe interaction with local wildlife.

Conservation Efforts:

The Western North Carolina Nature Center is home to the Red Wolf, an endangered species.

Participation in SSPs (Species Survival Plans):

The Nature Center also participates in the SSP Breeding Program with the endangered Red Wolf  (Canis rufus).  They have had several teams of wolves procreate over the decades, but currently have a retired couple (male & female) that are no longer viable as parents.  The Center witnessed breeding activity last spring and no pups where born.  They also have a young 3 year old female who was the daughter of their current two retired wolves.  Their retired female showed signs of hip problems in some of her offspring, so this younger daughter will not be bred (genetic isolation).

North Carolina Zoological Park

4401 Zoo Parkway

Asheboro, NC 27205-1425

(336) 879-7000 – Local Phone

Website: http://www.nczoo.org/

Visit the North Carolina Zoo for fun with family and friends, for face-to-face animal encounters, to enchant and educate children or perhaps to enjoy the glorious gardens. Connect with wildlife from two different continents as you explore 500 acres of exhibits carefully constructed to resemble natural habitats.  Walk from Africa’s grasslands to North America’s Arctic coast. Discover more than 1,100 animals and 40,000 plants along five miles of shaded pathways.

 

North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island

374 Airport Road

Manteo, NC 27954

(252) 473-3494 – Local Phone

Website: www.ncaquariums.com/roanoke-island

Welcome to the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island! Marvel at the largest collection of sharks in the state. Interact with scuba divers, touch an alligator and feed the stingrays as you explore the “Waters of the Outer Banks.” Meet our newest aquarium resident, Opal the octopus, and plan your visit now!

 

North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores

1 Roosevelt Drive

Pine Knoll Shores, NC 28512

(252) 247-4003 – Local Phone

Website: http://www.ncaquariums.com/pine-knoll-shores

Feel the spray of a mountain waterfall. Watch river otters play. Touch a stingray. Look a shark in the eye. Explore shipwrecks – without getting wet. See a rare white sea turtle and let your spirits soar as raptors and waterbirds fly overhead. Thousands of aquatic animals take you on a journey from the state’s grand peaks to the open Atlantic, much as a raindrop makes its way to the ocean.

North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher

900 Loggerhead Road

Kure Beach, NC 28449-3786

(910) 458-8357 – Local Phone

Website: http://www.ncaquariums.com/fort-fisher

Welcome to the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, located in Kure Beach, NC at the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Open 362 days a year, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily. Visitors enjoy “The Waters of the Cape Fear”, as they take a journey down the Cape Fear River – from freshwater streams and swamps, to coastline habitats, to reefs and the open ocean.

Natural Science Center & Animal Discovery of Greensboro

4301 Lawndale Drive

Greensboro, NC 27455

(336) 288-3769 – Local Phone

Website: http://www.natsci.org/

Roam through the Dinosaur Gallery and come face-to-face with a 36 foot Tyrannosaurus rex model. Discover Earth’s masterpieces in the Gem and Mineral Gallery. Enjoy touch labs featuring aquatic life. Visit live snakes, amphibians and sea creatures. Wander though Animal Discovery, our new outdoor zoological park, and come face to face with tigers, gibbons, wallabies, lemurs, howler monkeys and many, many others!