Wild things are happening at Fossil Rim center

By MINDY POEHL | Central Texas Edition

Max, a seven-week-old cheetah cub at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center drinks his formula from his surrogate mother, Mary Jo Stearns, who is an animal care specialist. -- Photo by Mindy Poehl

Dec. 9, 2004 - Wild, endangered species wander around on 1,650 acres of land, come up to cars and stick their heads in the windows and enjoy their cozy home away from home in a safe setting. That environment is Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, located in Glen Rose. It is open to the public for scenic drives and exciting animal encounters.

Fossil Rim is known as "the Africa of Texas." It is a non-profit organization that is committed to conservation, education, research, recreation and professional training. At Fossil Rim, located just 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth and 65 miles northwest of Waco, visitors can encounter hundreds of rare and endangered animals from around the world that roam free on the beautiful, pristine countryside.

"We are here to try to help conserve selected species and wildlife," said Bruce Williams, director of conservation. "We carefully choose the programs that we become involved in. We pick things that are important and then we make a long-term commitment to them."

Through these activities Fossil Rim provides a diversity of compelling learning experiences which invoke positive change in the way people think, feel and act environmentally. Fossil Rim is involved in the Species Survival Plan (SSP), which is a program in which zoos and wildlife centers around the country work together to restore populations of endangered animals through managed captive breeding. Fossil Rim has 14 animals involved in the SSP, including Attwater's Prairie Chicken, cheetah, southern African black rhinoceros, southern African white rhinoceros, red wolf, Mexican gray wolf, Brazilian maned wolf, addax, ocelot, reticulate giraffe, Grevy's zebra, red crowned crane, Arabian oryx and scimitar horned oryx.

Fossil Rim was started in the mid to late 1970's as a private wildlife collection. In the early 1980's it began propagation of endangered species. Just three years ago it was restructured as a non-profit organization.

"We didn't want the future of Fossil Rim to be dependent on an owner," Williams explained. "And, people don't give money to businesses, because that money will eventually go to someone. That's not the case with a non-profit organization."

Fossil Rim not only strives to protect endangered species, but it offers many activities and learning experiences to the public. Besides personal car tours, guided tours are offered, as well as a behind the scenes tours where guests get to see animals involved with the SSP program. Fossil Rim also includes day camps, memberships, gift shops, a cafe, lodging, safari camps, summer camps, internships and special events hosted throughout the year.

"We want people to have an experience they learn from and that they'll appreciate. We want to change the way people think about nature, because this world is highly urbanized," Williams said. "Fewer people are connected to the land."

Some of the visitors favorite animals are the giraffes, cheetahs and rhinos.

"Most people have never had the opportunity to see a herd of giraffe like they are in the wild. People get to see them walking around in a fairly natural environment," Williams said. "The cheetahs are a wonderful cat and its a treat to get to see them."

Fossil Rim is home to a seven-week-old cheetah cub, named Max. Animal Care Specialist, Mary Jo Stearns, cares for baby Max because his mother will not raise him.

"We had to pull him after three days. His mother only had him. Female cheetahs won't raise only one cub; it's that way in the wild and in captivity," Stearns explained. "We think it's because they don't have enough stimulation to produce milk for one cub."

Max makes cheetah cub number 98 that has been born at Fossil Rim. He is a valuable cub to the cheetah population because this is the first time his 12-year-old father has bred. Most cheetahs cannot produce after 10 years.

"It's a testament to how far we've come," Williams said. "The animals are living longer lives and we see an improvement in nutrition and husbandry."

As an accredited member of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) Fossil Rim cooperates with other institutions involved with the SSP to collaboratively dedicate excellence in animal care, welfare, conservation, education and research.

Cheetahs are involved with the program and Williams views them as an integral part of the SSP.

"If we (members) work together we can benefit a lot of animals," he said. "We manage the cheetah population in captivity and fairly routinely we send animals to one another. Max could go to another zoo to mate or we could get another cub his age to raise him with."

Fossil Rim is home to white rhinos and black rhinos. Adult male white rhinos can weigh up to 6,500 pounds and live up to 46 years. They are distinguished from black rhinos by their mouths. White rhinos have a big mouth and black rhinos have a narrow face with hooked, narrow lips, Williams pointed out.

"White rhinos give birth to an 80 or 90 pound calf. It's amazing to see an animal that large have such a small baby, but they grow up to five pounds a day," Williams said.

Because the white rhinos are involved with the SSP, Fossil Rim has the space to house many of them. They live in groups of eight to 10 females with a dominant male. At Fossil Rim, they are allowed to live socially as they would in nature.

Fossil Rim is also home to a new addition of three female Mountain Bongos. They arrived on Sunday Oct. 24, from their previous home at the Oregon Wildlife Foundation as a part of the species survival plan for this endangered animal and they will be out of quarantine on Dec. 20 for the public to view. The Mountain Bongos are endangered antelope from East Africa that no longer occur in the wild, Williams explained.

For more information on the 1,234 animals living at Fossil Rim or to learn about upcoming events, visit www.fossilrim.org.