Fossil Rim, Glen Rose

Admission to the park is $5.00 per adult, no charge for children under 12. (2003) This is for the whole day where you can make full use of the park and facilities, but if you are just wanting to see the tracks (which are only a few), you may want to just visit the County Courthouse in downtown Glen Rose where they have a track set in stone on the side of the gazebo.

The other tracks you will see are of the duckbilled dinosaur which was only 30ft long. Best time to view the tracks is late summer when the water level is usually low. You can ring the park to check before visiting. This is a good time also when the summer holidays are also over. When we were there in October, the weather was perfect and it was fairly busy.

Fossil Rim is a wonderful wildlife centre where you can take a scenic drive through 1,500 acres of large pasture land and wooded hills viewing some 1,100 exotic, threatened and endangered animals.

The drive is at your leisure along 9.5 miles of paved roads. Some of the decents from the hillier areas are a little steep. The park was designed to allow a free roaming environment for the animals and birds, most of which will come right up to the car looking for food. Bags of food pallets can be bought when buying your entrance tickets. There are two sizes you can choose from. We tried to keep half for the 2nd part of the drive but really most of the feeding will be done in the first half before you reach the Overlook so be liberal.

Fossil Rim is world renown for its leadership in areas of conservation and education. They have managed to save several endangered species from extinction. They have many educational programs for school children and their internship program is one of the best known in the country.

Open year round 9:00 am - 5:00 pm. Adults $16.95, Seniors $12.95, kids $10.95 (2003)

Park Closes at 7:30 March through October
Park Closes at 5:30 *November through February

Interactive Map http://www.fossilrim.com/visiting/map.php# Interactive Map

If you choose not to do your own drive tour there are various tours you can take. One will take you behind the scenes to areas which are not open to the general public. You can see wolves, black rhino and other endangered species. The tour is about 2 hours. You will get a free scenic wildlife drive pass as well. Another is an All Day Adventure tour with a guide which takes you through the backroads of the wildlife center. You can talk to the animal care specialists and have lunch with a member of the park.

There is also a Wildlife Feeding Tour which is only on Saturday mornings (for 2 adults only) You can help prepare the food and accompany an expert on their routine inspection/feeding routine.

The American White Tails usually prefer areas with plenty of vegetation where they can hide. In winter their coats are a brownish grey with light underbelly’s. In summer their coats can change to reddish brown. They were pretty active when we were there although they are usually most active in the early morning and late evening.

The captive oryx as seen on this protected reserve have saved this species from going into extinction. In their native lands in Northern Africa, hunting, competition with domestic livestock for food and droughts are slowly reducing the numbers.

You won’t find these Sable Antelope getting up close and personal. The are nomadic by nature and in their native land Africa, tend to stray from protected reserves which makes it difficult to protect them. They can certainly defend themselves however by attacking with their horns and hark pointed hooves.

This large domesticated bird originates from Africa and is the largest bird in the world. Full grown adult birds can stand up to 8 ft tall and weigh in at 300 lbs. One of their eggs is equivalent in volume to 24 chicken eggs.

The Llama is known for the name ‘Beast of Burden’ and in the US they have become popular as pack animals and companions. They appear very graceful creatures but when agitated they can bite and spit. They don’t hold back on coming up for food either.

This huge bird is the second largest living flightless bird in the world. They are native to Australia. They can weigh up to 120lbs. Their 3 toed hoof-like feet allow them to take strides of 9 feet or more. Along with the Ostrich, this is probably the first animal/bird you will see when entering the park.