Animal Park NC

10/22/2026

Don't worry, Chanel—the weekend is almost here!

And looks like it's going to bring some gorgeous weather.

Boop this beautiful striped skunk snoot if you're coming to see us at the Animal Park! https://animalparknc.org/tours/

10/17/2026

Help us welcome a new resident! A male lion has just joined us as a potential companion for our beautiful (and also new) Nala Lion. Longtime Park volunteers provided several excellent name options for this gent, and our Lifetime Adopters and other close friends voted to make the selection: Augustus.

We believe Augustus is 10–12 years old, and we could immediately tell he's very good-natured. He arrived and settled in calmly, and hasn't been picking any fights with male lion neighbors Omot and Kabaka. He does, however, stand his ground when they make their presence known.

He seems to enjoy lounging in the shade, batting around his boomer ball toy … and keeping an eye on his other neighbor, Nala. (She's been peeking at him, too!)

Augustus came to us with a few mobility issues in one back leg, including joint inflammation that may require medication from time to time. But he clearly isn't going to let that stop him from impressing Nala—or anyone else. He's quickly gaining fans among staff and volunteers.

While his habitat is not on the tour path, a few lucky tour guests have already caught a glimpse of this handsome fellow and/or heard his resounding "oof" vocalization. We're thrilled to provide Augustus a new home at the Animal Park!

10/13/2026

Playtime or naptime? Which direction are you leaning today?

Playtime demonstrated by Geralt and Elric Gray Wolves. Naptime demonstrated by Omot Lion. Worktime demonstrated by no one …

10/09/2026

🎃Who's loving spooky season? Us too!

If you always feel like candy, costume, and pumpkin time is over too soon, mark your family calendar for Pumpkin Prowl at the Animal Park, coming Nov 7!

We'll have all sorts of wild fun—and so will our animals—so get your tickets early at https://animalparknc.org/tours/events/pumpkin-prowl/.

10/01/2026

What's caught Oscar's attention? He just learned that today is another "day" you may not have had top of mind—World Vegetarian Day!

While most of our residents at the Animal Park are carnivores, with some omnivores rounding out the dietary preferences, we have several vegetarians of our own.

Oscar Egyptian Uromastyx, Willard Sulcata Tortoise, and Natasha Russian Tortoise are living (and loving) a 100% plant-based lifestyle. Here's to the herbivores!

09/28/2026

We know, we know—there is indeed a "day" for everything. But while your scroll may not have been interrupted 100 times by this one already, is very important!

Keeping your pets up to date on vaccines helps everyone stay safe from this deadly disease.

And do you know who DOESN'T have to worry about rabies? Scrump Virginia Opossum! Her species' typical body temperature is too low to provide a good home for the virus to take hold.

So if you see an opossum hissing or drooling or otherwise acting perturbed, it's likely just using its defensive mechanism of looking unappetizing to ward off, well, YOU … or any other perceived threat.

Once you skedaddle, it'll likely be just fine and go back to its business of pest control—the more ticks opossums eat, the fewer chances we all may have to contract a tick-borne disease. Power to the opossums!

09/23/2026

Peek-a-boo with Hobbes Tiger!

Like the rest of us, Hobbes has been doing a lot of lounging in the shade lately to beat the heat. But looks like the first weekend of fall will bring sunny skies with gloriously cooler temps! Nothing "mid" about those mid-70s, if you ask us—that's as good as weather gets.

Make the most of it by visiting us Saturday or Sunday. Book your family, adult, or twilight tour now: https://animalparknc.org/tours/.

Experience all the Animal Park has to offer!

09/18/2026

Sometimes welcoming a new animal resident doesn't go as planned. A red fox recently joined us at the Park after being confiscated by the state when they closed down the last fox fur farm operating in NC. For her first home outside a small kennel, our facilities team did a wonderful job renovating a quiet, shady space just for her, complete with den and tunnel areas, cozy bedding, and plenty of privacy.

From the moment she arrived, our keepers were enthralled by her beautiful coat, black with sweeps of white, like constellations taking over a night sky. They named her Orion.

As Orion was settling in—understandably shy, but starting to get used to nutritious food, species-appropriate enrichment, and the choice to explore her habitat—our observant keepers noticed that something didn't seem quite right. A visit to our local veterinary partner indicated that she likely had cancer, which was confirmed by the veterinary team at NC State. They believed it would be treatable with chemo. But on September 3, Orion died in her sleep. We estimate she was around 8 years old.

In our brief time with her, we could tell she was very curious. She would scurry off if anyone got too close, but keepers, other staff, and volunteers noticed that if they kept their movements slow and their voice soft as they visited or worked near her, she would relax and watch them with interest. And she was beginning to make her likes and dislikes clear: We had not yet convinced her to eat her vegetables, but she very much enjoyed the mice in her diet—a nutritious whole-prey treat for her species.

Orion may not have been with us for long, but she was loved, and we’re glad she helped the visitors who glimpsed her learn more about her species. We’ll miss her pink nose, her skunky smell (i.e., a fox’s natural musk), and her gentle curiosity.

Rest easy, sweet girl.

09/16/2026

From Twilight Tours to silent auction to live music to delicious food and drinks—Lions, Tigers & B**r 2026 was a night to remember!

THANK YOU to all the guests who came out to be part of our special evening last Friday, and to the food and beverage donors that made it all possible: , , . , , , , , , Texas Roadhouse Burlington, , , and .

Our gratitude as well to the organizations and individuals who donated items for our auction and raffle. We're already looking forward to next year! Meanwhile, watch this space for news of Pumpkin Prowl and other Park events coming soon.

09/13/2026

A small Park resident can make an outsize impact. Blitz Eurasian Lynx may not have been a tiger or lion. But he brought big-cat energy to everything—confident, charismatic, and commanding attention. So we’re heartbroken to share that after weeks of declining health, when veterinary treatment could no longer keep him comfortable, we said goodbye on September 2. He was 16.

Blitz arrived at the Park in 2017 after retiring as an educational ambassador. In personality and appearance, he was finely balanced. Piercing golden eyes and soft, sweet blinks. Loud, emphatic huffs and even louder purrs. A beautiful fluffy coat accented by an imperfectly shaped nose from an old injury … somehow making him all the more perfect.

Blitz found a lot to enjoy in life. Pork loin. Stalking small animals that wandered into his habitat. Boxes and other cardboard creations, at least until he remembered someone was watching. Banana peels and limes for rolling and drooling on. Watching the “Binturong TV” offered by his neighbors. Watching everything, in fact, from flat-cat position at the top of his tower, his eyes and sideways ears visible above his hammock and his enormous feet dangling below.

There were only a few things Blitz held in disdain. He had no use for bubbles, which some animals enjoy as enrichment. And then there was salmon. When an Adopter once offered him a piece, he huffed, swatted it away, and stalked off, muttering about the offense. Message received: Keep your salmon to yourself.

Understandably for a retired “teacher,” he sometimes appeared to have HAD ENOUGH with groups of high-strung children. He’d give them a pointed look while lying extra-flat, ears extra-back. But he appreciated when respectful groups admired him, and seemed to grasp that he was still teaching, as a representative of his species.

Above all, Blitz loved his people. He honored friends by hopping down from his platform to say hi when he saw them approach. His keepers swapped stories of trying to sneak past his habitat, quietly doing their checks, knowing that if he saw them, he was coming over to demand their attention for however long he wanted. No one, in the end, could resist his charms.