Reptile Gardens | An Animal Habitat Adventure

in #adventure6 years ago (edited)



21131461-F1D6-4071-B29F-7DFE2D494F60.jpeg


We are pretty fortunate to live in an area that has the largest collection of reptiles in the world, but more than that it’s a true animal sanctuary.


3E629C36-291B-4C14-A47B-56035B86BC8B.jpeg


Reptile Gardens is located right outside of Rapid City, SD on route to Mount Rushmore. It’s open March - November and admission fees differ depending on the time of year but average around;


  • $14/adults
  • $10/5-12 yr olds
  • 4yr old and under are Free


    The best part is once you purchase a ticket it’s good all year. That’s right, once you have your ticket you can go back anytime you like.


The park was established in 1935 and has gone on to win many awards including holding the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest reptile collection in the world. Unlike a normal zoo though, they focus on educating the public about the wildlife around them, while taking in animals that have debilitating injures. Most of the animals roam free within their divided areas and are very well taken care of. As someone who’s not really a fan of the traditional zoo, that’s pretty important to me.



There are so many animals at Reptile Gardens that I better get started!



lance-9 divider odrau steem


The Snakes


I’m gonna be honest, I’m not a huge fan of snakes... but I still find this part of the sanctuary completely fascinating. They give you the ability to get up close and personal without of course being in any danger, which... let’s be honest, is a win-win. They also educate visitors of the local snakes in the area and how to properly live among them, ensuring the safety of not only ourselves, but the snakes as well. The sanctuary is one of the countries go to locations for anti venom, all while taking in injured snakes for rehabilitation from the surrounding areas.



They have a huge selection of snakes, but here are some of my favorites;



C34E9EF6-1B35-4B14-B1BE-2D4C72540DD9.jpeg

Timber Rattlesnake
Venomous
Range: Eastern United States




E3AE4627-2A31-4459-B4BE-1EEBD89C0D33.jpeg

West African Gaboon Viper
Very Venomous
Range: Sub-Saharan Africa




75593C85-A3BF-4832-BA48-0B39E7DD787E.jpeg

Asian Green Vine Snake
Mildly Venomous
Range: Southeast Asia




A272CDBA-8FE7-432A-92F4-7FC2EA8BB004.jpeg

Baja Rattlesnake
Venomous
Range: Baja California Peninsula




360785AC-0944-4D03-ACF0-169E99B79BBF.jpeg

Copperhead
Venomous
Range: Eastern United States


lance-9 divider odrau steem


The Bio Dome



All the snakes are housed inside of this stunning Bio Dome that also includes many tropical plant varieties among other things. Since I just showed you a bunch of photos of snakes I thought some of you may need a bit of a palette cleanse, so let’s have a look at those flowers...





—-



83B15E2C-A389-425B-B442-ECC5BE59238D.jpeg


26759F7E-1389-4212-9771-47AF14843934.jpeg



Alright, now within this bio dome are all these different areas to explore. One of which includes some of the cutest and most photogenic turtles I have ever met... you ready for this?


C722146D-5107-4C82-A41F-2F379541FA7B.jpeg


These two were just too much...




—-

Then if you keep exploring, you will find some tiny, colorful and oh so poisonous frogs...




—-


Within the dome there is quite a lot to see, it’s actually like being in a rainforest; Lizards are roaming around the floor while cockatoos are perched in the trees, It’s truly amazing.


lance-9 divider odrau steem


The Alligators



The Gardens has a very large population of gators including Maniac, who is one of the biggest in the world. They do educational talks throughout the day to debunk many myths about these creators as well as let you explore them up close, to see their true beauty.



I had never realized how absolutely enchanting their eyes were... and I definitely took advantage of the ability to take some photos...



2C50CBF6-54A6-4F31-86F2-4917DE613DA5.jpeg


D1260DEA-D654-44CF-A9E2-70B227310D83.jpeg


B70FF4F9-BAF5-40C7-B446-F2FEDC0B2378.jpeg


4DB131B9-0D99-46F9-919C-48B5A403BA34.jpeg


They were awe inspiring...


lance-9 divider odrau steem


The Galapagos Giant Tortoise



Right outside the dome there is a beautiful garden area that you will find some ancient creatures roaming. They come from the Galápagos Islands off the western coast of South America and are an endangered species. To see them in all their stunning beauty so up close is a once in a lifetime experience...


126C19DB-3DEE-4592-81F9-4EA7E4AF358D.jpeg


This is Quazi, he’s 113 years old and loves long walks through the park, and eating watermelon...


2A01EFFC-9F2B-4524-8972-D7EB0CE2BE1D.jpeg


He is over 3 ft tall and weighs around 600lbs...


D4AB8CD5-62F0-4920-884A-11732BAF836F.jpeg


This is probably my favorite part of the sanctuary because it is surrounded by lush gardens and is just so peaceful.


lance-9 divider odrau steem


The Gardens


The whole grounds are a beautiful park setting, with every plant you can imagine. They label each one continuing with the theme of teaching individuals about the life around them, even the agricultural life. This also provides a beautiful setting for the animals as well as the individuals coming to learn about them. I could make a whole post about the plant life in this park, but for now I will just share some of my favorite photos.



D2A9ADDA-2980-4E6A-AECA-59F89C8F7ED2.jpeg


CDB7CFAA-62F8-48B2-A9C8-3D1D55D00BF3.jpeg


029C6EC8-75A4-4F50-B513-4CEA631E05F5.jpeg


This place truly is a beautiful sanctuary..


lance-9 divider odrau steem


The Birds



In the garden sanctuary you will discover many tropical birds perched within the trees filling the park with their unique songs. They also do an educational bird show where you get to learn so much about these creatures, it was really enjoyable.


79BB22B8-B9DF-456B-AA6C-5EA818C05F97.jpeg


97BAF2F8-174D-4C39-8E6A-182698AAEC55.jpeg


6D7F28DC-26CD-49CD-A566-0010F4BEF560.jpeg



Then in another area you will find something extremely rare to see so close up, an American Bald Eagle...


04C23B62-DCC8-49AB-B215-297F9B2467C5.jpeg


American Eagles are The United States National Bird, and it’s illegal to keep them in captivity unless they cannot be released back into the wild. This is Cheyenne and she was found in the area with a badly damaged wing and near death. She was brought to the sanctuary for rehabilitation, but her injures were so severe that she is unable to fly and therefore has been given permission from the US Fish and Game Commision to stay at the sanctuary. She is absolutely breathtaking..



There are many other birds around the park and will try to share more photos of them in the future.


lance-9 divider odrau steem


As you can see this park is full of animals and plants that you have the chance to learn about while getting to experience them up close and personal. Because of this it’s one of our favorite places to visit. We hope if you are ever in the area you get a chance to see these beautiful creatures...


EA173AC1-200A-4698-97EC-BD74CEB21257.jpeg



I hope you have enjoyed going on this adventure with us! Until next time,




862CEDF3-EBE6-48C0-B40C-9D3A49997C36.jpeg



All photos and content are our own (with information gathered from the educational signs and facts we learned at the park). Please do not use any part of this post without our expressed permission. Thank you.

Sort:  

It's indeed a nice place. Around here we do not have much of that, the only times i have seen a gathering of reptiles was in a movie. 😊😊
I've seen a crocodile once and that was at my school, in the sciences. And i do not see these things often, i find it hard to differentiate between alligators and crocodiles.
However, i do not like snakes.
Nice shots

Thank you!


This post was shared in the Curation Collective Discord community for curators, and upvoted and resteemed by the @c-squared community account after manual review.

I am Pricasso most wonderful artist and this was most magical, Pricasso loves animals and nature this may just have given me new inspiration for a most magical masterpiece.

Be blessed
Yours Always
Pricasso

That's cool the ticket is good for a long time. Looks like there's a lot to see there.

Right? It’s so nice to be able to enjoy it through the year. There is so much to see!

Amazing post, lele <3 I love all the details that you've captured here, each area's photos and texts are just incredible. I feel like you've taken me there ! The close up shots are so gooooooood <3 <3 <3

Gorgeous post! Made my day reading it!!!

Awe thank you spider!! I really enjoyed getting up close to all of these gorgeous creatures and being able to get some shots. Your kind words just made my day 🤗, thank you.

Wow you got some great pictures here, lovely photo tour! Sounds like an amazing place to take the family, my kids would love this! Much love - Carl

Hey thanks Carl! Oh yeah, my 4 yr old can’t get enough of this place... it’s a lot of fun.

Hi llfarms,

Your post has been upvoted by the Curie community curation project and associated vote trail as exceptional content (human curated and reviewed). Keep creating awesome stuff! Have a great day :)

LEARN MORE: Join Curie on Discord chat and check the pinned notes (pushpin icon, upper right) for Curie Whitepaper, FAQ and most recent guidelines.

You are amazing in everything, Lele :) The photos are so pro. And I find that alligator shot really captivating.

Wow thank you 😊

I was impressed with how stunning they really were up close... I couldn’t stop taking photos of them!

❤️

I can't believe I wasn't aware of this when I visited Mount Rushmore a few years ago. If I ever go back I will def visit. Some great photos @llfarms

Thank you! Yes, it doesn’t look like much from the outside so it’s easy to miss but it’s somewhere you will definitely have to visit if you come back!

Congratulations @llfarms! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :

Award for the number of upvotes received

Click on the badge to view your Board of Honor.
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

To support your work, I also upvoted your post!

Do not miss the last post from @steemitboard!


Participate in the SteemitBoard World Cup Contest!
Collect World Cup badges and win free SBD
Support the Gold Sponsors of the contest: @good-karma and @lukestokes


Do you like SteemitBoard's project? Then Vote for its witness and get one more award!