Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo



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Featured Exhibits

Biggest Expansion Ever as
Safari Ride Opens

We've just doubled our exhibit space to include a new 25 acre experience called
The "Global Wildlife Safari Ride.”

Fun, feeding and photos on teh new Safari Ride

“We have been working on this project for the last three years “says Zoo Director Richard Hahn.

“It is our biggest expansion ever and our most impressive to most people,” says Callan Hahn, designer of the new area.

The Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo is unusual among the mid Atlantic area zoos as the only one with an escorted truck (ride through) safari.

Also known as the FuFeFo (for fun, feeding and foto), the adventure is a one hour ride that winds through four different paddocks encompassing twenty five wooded acres.

For many riders, half the fun is bouncing along in the army surplus troop carrier called a deuce and a half that lumbers through and over mud, rocks, water and stumps with the dexterity of mahout's elephant on shikari in India. It essentially makes its own roads and is not for the faint of heart.

This is a fun, feeding and "foto" opportunity. All riders must be at least 36" tall and children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. (Sorry, FuFeFo is not suitable for guests with mobility issues. For safety reasons, babies and guests under 36" tall will
not be allowed on the ride.)

Furred and feathered friends to be encountered along the way include giant birds like Ostrich and Emu, hoofed mammals from six continents including African Zebra, North American bison, Asian and African antelope, European deer, Eurasian wild sheep, South American Llama and unusual cattle, donkey and goat breeds from around the world--all there for the fun, feeding and photographing.

Global Wildlife Safari Ride Departures
Weekdays at 11:30 and 1:30;
Weekends at 11:00, 12:30, 2:00 and 3:30.
The Safari Ride must have a minimum of 10 people to leave the loading area.

For best availability, we recommend arriving early and purchasing your Safari ticket when you enter the Zoo. You will have a seat reserved on the next available departure.

Fun, feeding and photos on teh new Safari Ride

Tickets are $10 per child, $15 per adult

All tours are subject to availability and do not include park admission. Park admission is required. Prices are subject to change without notice. Prices listed are per person and do not include tax. Animal interactions may vary.

The Scariest and Most Beautiful Venomous Snakes we have found.You can't see this variety of deadly snakes anywhere else
in the northeast! You'll see dozens of different species of venomous serpents from every part of the globe, including Africa's exquisitely camouflaged Gaboon Viper, Asia's exceedingly rare albino Indian Spectacled Cobra, a most unique rattlesnake that is cross between Timber and Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes and South America's bold and beautiful Bushmaster.

Converted into a special, permanent attraction in 2005, Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo dares you to explore the World of Venomous Snakes in "Hot Stuff, Hotter than Ever! " Hot Stuff honors the Preserve's early beginnings as the 2 acre "Jungleland Snake Farm" in 1933. Learn about how venom works, how snakes are feared and worshipped by different cultures, and how to tell killer snakes from imposters.

In "Hot Stuff" will be some some of the most beautiful of the most venomous beasts in the world including albino Indian Cobras and white Diamondback Rattlesnakes.

Favorites with many people, especially children, are several large ponds where wild Canada geese and Mallard ducks bring their new goslings and ducklings to feed from your hand.
Tell and Touch demonstrations at the Conservation and Jurassic Theaters allow adults and children alike to get their first and/or only opportunity to touch a python, chinchilla, alligator or other yucky living things. “It's a good place to expand your horizons and those of your children.” says Brandi Owens, Educator and Volunteer Coordinator. “We try to explain to our visitors that we are all connected to the natural world and its inhabitants whether we like our fellow earth creatures or not.”
Australian and Madagascar reptiles and giant lizards, pythons and anacondas make Catoctin Zoo of the most complete mid sized zoological attractions in the country.
Discover a new Butterfly Garden, an Invertebrate exhibit, and a Naturalized Garden pond with hundreds of beautiful Japanese Koi that you may hand feed.
We have even tamed the gravel paths on the main slopes by making them beautifully paved - easier to use for strollers and wheelchairs.