CUMBERLAND, Ohio — Spring is in the air and the animals are in the pastures, which means that The Wilds is open for the season.

A safari park and conservation center, The Wilds combines cutting-edge conservation science and education programs with hands-on experiences.

Established in 1984, The Wilds resides on nearly 10,000 acres of reclaimed surface mining land. The Wilds is home to more than 30 rare and endangered species from around the globe. The animals are provided wide, open pastures to roam, coexist with and amaze guests.

Over the past few months, The Wilds has welcomed five Sichuan takin kids (a subspecies of goat-antelope), three white rhinoceros calves, nine Pere David’s deer fawns, and three scimitar-horned oryx calves.

Visitors can choose to ride in a pick-up truck to feed giraffes or meet a rhino on a Wildside Tour or feel the breeze on an open-air safari tour while capturing photos. Some of The Wilds’ newest experiences include the Secrets of the Zoo Wildside Tour and WildNights at the Outpost experience.

During the Secrets of the Zoo Wildside Tour, guests may experience a special variation of a Wildside Tour led by one of The Wilds’ animal management team members, who appear on the National Geographic WILD TV series, Secrets of the Zoo.

Guests who opt for a WildNights at the Outpost experience will spend the night in the middle of The Wilds’ pastures with rhinos and other rare species nearby.

Adventure-seeking guests can also opt to soar over animal pastures on a zipline safari tour, enjoy a relaxing fishing safari tour on one of nearly 100 lakes at The Wilds, or saddle up on a horseback safari tour through the quiet prairies.

From June until September, The Wilds will offer additional tours at sunset including sunset safari, sunset wildside, sunset horseback and sunset zipline options.

From May-October, The Wilds is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (The last tour departs at 4 p.m.) Pricing varies depending on the tour and advanced reservations are required.