Jar of Fun #2

The Jar of Fun is a pretty simplistic concept.  Reach into the jar, grab a slip of paper, go where the slip of paper sends you.  Today, it was anything but simple.

The first piece of paper Matt pulled out was for Lincoln Caverns, near Huntingdon. The big reveal goes something like this:

Me: It's Lincoln Caverns

Matt: Mommy, what is it?

Me: It's a cave that you walk through.

Matt: I don't think I want to do that.

Cathy: Me neither.

Me: Should we pick something else out of the jar?

Kids: Yes.

This was a little disappointing since I thought we'd all agreed on the destinations before we put them into the jar. I do recall the lack of enthusiasm they had for Penn's Cave a few years ago... I assumed it was because that was a water cavern and both kids were concerned about the depth of the water, the risk of falling out of the boat, and the speed at which I could pluck them back out of the water if they should fall in.  But, maybe there was more to it...

Needless to say, Lincoln Caverns is out of the jar, along with Indian Caverns, which had also been in the jar.  However, I purchased a Groupon for Indian Caverns over a month ago, so we'll all be going there some rainy day this summer - it just won't be because we pulled it out of the Jar of Fun.

The next slip of paper to come out is for the Whittaker Center for the Sciences and Arts in Harrisburg and the three of us were quite happy with this choice. I grabbed the computer to look up their hours, directions, etc. only to find that they aren't open on Mondays.

Matt's third reach into the jar actually produced a destination for today's adventure.  The winner? T&D's Cats of the World - a wildlife refuge dedicated to providing a safe home for unwanted, abused and mistreated exotic and wild animals.  The animals come to T&D's from a number of locations and we heard many of their stories today.  For example, there were three beautiful young tigers that had originally been props for a children's photography business.  Interestingly, there were regulations limiting the cats to 20 minutes of work every hour (the reason there were three of them) and only until they were five-months old.  At that point they were considered too large and dangerous to interact with children; they were scheduled to be put down before T&D's rescued them.  

Other animals had been raised, often illegally, as household pets - including a number of raccoons, monkeys, small cats, bears, and even a deer.  Some came there because of zoo closings (including a zoo in Scranton) or injuries that would make it impossible for them to survive in the wild.  All told, there are more than 200 animals in this privately-owned refuge.

T&D's is open from May through September from 12pm to 6pm each Saturday and Sunday. If you choose to visit during that time, you can wander the grounds freely; volunteers can be found by virtually all of the animal exhibits both to be sure that the animals are protected and to answer any questions the public may have. In June, July, and August, they also provide two tours, at 10am and 2pm, Monday through Friday. During the week, you can only go at one of these two times and you are required to stay with your tour guide for your visit.  I thought our tour guide was fantastic and I'd certainly recommend this approach.  

Admission was $10 for adults and $5 for kids ages 12 and under. They only accept cash though, so come prepared.  There was one family in our group - a mom, dad, and a roughly four-year old girl - that didn't realize this and planned to use their credit card.  Rather than sending them away, our guide put them on the honor system, asking that when they get home, they send a $25 donation to the center.  I was so impressed with their kindness and imagine that there are few places and few people who would be so trusting.  

First up on our tour - monkeys and lemurs.  It's surprisingly not uncommon for people to have these types of animals as pets though these folks often discover that they cannot properly care for them over the long-term... I thought back to the episode of Friends where Marcel starts to hump everything, including Rachel's Curious George doll and how Ross ends up sending him to live at the San Diego Zoo. (This episode is The One With the Fake Monica, if you are interested) 

To provide an example of the poor conditions some of these animals live in before they come to T&D, we heard about one particular monkey (though I cannot remember specifically which breed it was) that lived in a large bird cage before it was rescued. The monkey had a difficult time acclimating to the much larger environment and the staff worked very hard to rehabilitate the monkey.  We were told that the monkey's bore quite easily which is why their cages are full of toys and climbing materials. We learned about prehensile tails - tails that can be used to grab and hold.  We also learned that at T&D's, the monkeys can (and do) watch TV.  There are a number of sets inside the monkey house and while I don't know this for a fact, I suspect that because these animals were pets before coming here, they likely watched a lot of TV. 

Our tour guide was fantastic with the kids and offered them a number of opportunities to feed some of the animals on the property.  Matt quickly learned that Cathy wasn't the only kid to drop things on the ground... he quickly scooped up all the dropped food and set about feeding the animals with a steady hand.

Feeding the white-tailed deer...

... and the peacocks!

The main draw of the attraction really is the collection of big cats, including tigers, lions, mountain lions, leopards, and lynx.  During the ride down and in talking with our guide before the tour started, Matt was really interested in seeing a cheetah. He can talk endlessly about how fast they are and I'd bet he remembers this from our visit to the National Zoo back in April.  Unfortunately, there are no cheetahs at T&D's.  Instead, they do have a several serval.  Our guide talked about the difference between these two cats: a cheetah uses its fast speed to chase prey and can quickly adjust to a change in running direction by using its tail for balance. A serval on the other hand hunts from the grass, leaping up to 10 feet in the air to catch birds as they fly by. The tails are remarkably different but the two cats otherwise share many features.

We talked about animals such as the cheetah again while visiting the wolf pack... seems that while some animals use quick bursts of speed to catch their prey, wolves have remarkable endurance.  These animals can run at slow speeds (he suggested 5 MPH) for hours eventually wearing down their prey.  I have to admit that I was a little envious of the wolf... not the speed, but the distance.  I would love to be able to run for hours without tiring.

The tigers were very enjoyable to watch and they truly reminded me of giant kittens.  We watched some roll around together, some lounge in the water and some kick and chase a ball around their pen.  The tigers seemed to range between 300 and 500 pounds depending on their age, gender, etc.  But the one thing they all have in common is a healthy appetite.  T&D's gets a lot of donations from area grocery stores once meat has passed it's expiration date and can no longer be sold to the public. They also receive donations from area farmers whose farm animals died within hours of T&D's being notified. Volunteers pick up the donation which is then butchered (if need be) or simply fed to the animals.  They go through over 12,000 pounds of meat a month... suddenly my grocery bill doesn't seem so bad!

The Lions were also great and the kids really enjoyed watching them. T&D's has two male lions and two female lionesses, though the women were hiding somewhere in the grass and we couldn't see them. The two male lions we watched were not as active as the tigers... not by a long shot.  But not long after we'd walked away from their pen, we could hear them roar and let me just tell you it was loud and cool.  Our guide let us know that there's nothing aggressive about the lion's roar - it's simply how he marks his territory (much the same way the coyote and wolves were doing minutes earlier).

My own little lion and lioness!

The tour lasted just over two hours and was really enjoyable and educational for everyone.  Matt gave it a five (maybe he's starting to understand the rating system!) though Cathy abstained from voting.  I tried to engage the kids in conversation on the drive home about the things like liked, didn't like, etc. and was told that they liked it all.  I hope that is a good sign!

I'd have to say that I think it was a great find for the Central PA area and I could envision us heading down there again some time.  So, for Jar of Fun #2, the third time (or the third pick) really was a charm!