The Wilds, Ohio

Exotic animals, including rhinos, giraffes, and camels, roam fourteen square miles of denuded coal mining lands, fenced off as a preserve by a conservation consortium that includes zoos and wildlife science organizations. Designed as a research facility for the preservation of endangered species, the Wilds can be visited on safaris, where tourists are loaded on to buses for a closer look at the animals. The electric utility AEP donated the land for the project, lands where the giant crane Big Muskie once roamed.