 Our top pick to take children is the Western North Carolina Nature Center, a 42-acre Natural Heritage sanctuary located just a few miles from downtown. The Nature Center provides a home for injured, orphaned or imprinted animals that could not survive on their own, and it is one of 28 in the country participating in the red wolf re-introduction program. It provides an opportunity to learn, to touch and to know our rich natural heritage through educational and interactive exhibits.
Enjoy diverse wildlife, gardens, trails, indoor exhibits and farm animals. Along with deer, foxes and bears, the most recent additions are the red and grey wolves and the bobcats and cougars. More recent improvements also include the "hands on" Nature Lab and Educational Farm where kids can pet a corn snake or even hold a turtle.
The WNC Nature's Center's current involvement in butterfly conservation includes education on backyard butterfly gardening through a partnership with the North Carolina Wildlife Federation and the National Wildlife Federation. They have a butterfly garden with signage to provide general butterfly education to visitors.
Enjoy nature plantlife on the Trillium Glen Nature Trail, a 2/3 mile loop in their nature sanctuary. The center is open seven days a week, year-round. For more, go to the WNC Nature Center web site.
See these Animals!
Predatory Mammals
Bobcat
Cougar
Fox, Gray
Fox, Red
Wolf, Gray
Wolf, Red
Large Mammals
Bear, Black
Deer, White Tailed
Small Mammals
Bat, Big Brown
Least Weasel
Meadow Vole
Opossum, Virginia
Otter, River
Rabbit, E. Cottontail
Raccoon
Skunk, Striped
Squirrel, S. Flying
Birds
Eagle, Golden
Hawk, Red-Tailed
Heron, Green
Owl, Barred
Owl, Great Horned
Owl, E. Screech
Turkey, Wild
Vulture, Black
Insects & Spiders
Spider, Black Widow
Spider, Fishing
Spider, Brown Recluse
Butterflies
Reptiles & Amphibians
Frog, Bull
Frog, Grey Tree
Frog, Pickerel
Frog, Spring Peeper
American Hellbender
Lizard, N. Fence
Newt, E. Red Spotted
Salamander, Marble
Salamander, Mole
Salamander, N. Red
Snake, Black Rat
Snake, Corn
Snake, Amelanistic Corn
Snake, E. Garter
Snake, E. Hognose
Snake, E. King
Snake, E. Milk
Snake, N. Copperhead
Snake, N. Pine
Snake, N. Water
Snake, Rough Green
Snake, Scarlet King
Snake, Timber Rattler
Toad, American
Turtle, Southern Bog
Turtle, E. Box
Turtle, E. Painted
Turtle, Red-bellied
Turtle, Yellow-bellied Slider
Livestock & Small Animals
Cow, Belted Galloway
Donkey, Sicilian
Goat, African Pygmy
Goat, Angora
Rabbit, Domestic
Rabbit, Flemish Giant
Sheep, Cotswold
Sheep, Dorset Horn
Poultry
Chicken, Black Austrolop
Chicken, Dominique
Guinea Fowl
Peafowl, Indian
Turkey, Bourbon Red
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