Deer Farm and Petting Zoo

…continuing with the recent visit by Laurie’s sister Bonnie, her husband Bill and their 11 year old granddaughter Avery.

Following our visit to Cades Cove, the drive across the ‘missing link’ of the Foothills Parkway, lunch at Bob’s Burgers, Avery’s mountain coaster ride at Goats on the Roof in Pigeon Forge…we still weren’t done for the day!

Our next stop was at the Smoky Mountain Deer Farm, Exotic Petting Zoo and Horseback Riding Stables!

Right away, Avery was into more goats!  As might be expected, she loved holding this baby goat… The rest of the goats were more interested in the food offered by visitors to the park…us included.  Mama goat (a doe or nanny) was mighty busy too!

Since this attraction has Deer Farm in its title, it was no surprise to find ourselves overwhelmed with a big herd of hungry deer!  It was fun feeding them even if they were a little pushy.  Many of these are Fallow Deer, a common species native to Europe that has been introduced to at least 24 other countries and territories including the USA.  Sika Deer are also part of the herd at the petting zoo.

Small herds of Fallow Deer in the United States can be found on one of Georgia’s barrier islands; in the State of Texas; at Illinois’ Argonne National Labs; the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in Tennessee and Kentucky and; at Point Reyes National Seashore in California.  Other sightings have been made.  In Australia, Fallow Deer are considered to be a destructive invasive species. 

The Sika Deer is also known as the spotted deer and it’s a species that is native to much of East Asia.  It is one of the few deer species that doesn’t lose its spots when they reach maturity.  Sika deer have been introduced to at least 22 different countries and 13 states in the USA have sika deer herds roaming around. (None in Tennessee) 

Then there was this Dromedary (one hump) Camel.  Avery reported that he was  gentle but messy eater! 

There are roughly 14,000,000 camels in the world, with most of them located in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa.  About 90% of them are Dromedary Camels with the remainder being the Bactrian (two hump) variety.  There are about 700,000 feral (wild) Dromedary Camels roaming the wilds of Australia.  These camels had been brought there in the late 1800s and early 1900s as a means of transportation in the deserts.  Some were brought to the United States and even Canada as well but they have not survived…

Factoid:

·       There are 2 different species of Bactrian Camels.  The Wild Bactrian Camel is considered as a separate species from the domesticated version.  Only about 1,400 Wild Bactrian Camels survive in the deserts of Mongolia and China.

I’m not an Emu fan…despite the fact that they are a cultural icon of Australia.  They’re featured on that country’s coat of arms and various coins.  From my viewpoint, they aren’t attractive and they can be a bit unpredictable.  Avery decided not to feed this bird!

The Emu is the second-largest living bird by height…after its relative the Ostrich.  A native of Australia, it is the tallest native bird, reaching up to 6’3” and weighing up to 132 lbs.  They are listed as a ‘least endangered’ species and are found in most of the country.

Factoids:

·       Over 1,000,000 emus are currently ‘farmed’/raised in the USA for meat, feathers and hides. 

·       The heaviest and scariest bird in Australia is the Southern Cassowary.  Found in Queensland this bird can reach 154 lbs. and can stand 6’ tall.  Their blade-like claws are capable of killing humans and dogs if these birds are provoked.

Note the stripes on this donkey’s legs.  That indicates that it’s really a “Zonkey”…a cross between a donkey and a zebra.

Technically, a ‘zonkey’ is the hybrid of a zebra sire and a donkey mother.  Hybrids of a donkey father and a zebra mother are called a ‘zedonk’.  A ‘zorse’ is a cross between a horse and a zebra.  Zebra/donkey hybrids do occur in nature.  For example this happens in South Africa where the 2 species live close to each other…but wild hybrids are very rare.

Then we stopped by and paid a visit to this rather friendly Rocky Mountain Elk.  These elk are a subspecies that is found in the Rocky Mountains and other ranges of western North America.  They have been introduced into several eastern states in the United States.  The first state to introduce these elk was Pennsylvania.  As of now, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia and West Virginia have taken steps to introduce their own herds in the wild.

Note that I said ‘introduce’ instead of ‘reintroduce’ Rocky Mountain Elk in the eastern USA.  That’s because they are replacing extinct Eastern Elk.  The last Eastern Elk was shot in Pennsylvania on 9/1/1877 and the subspecies was formerly declared extinct in 1880.  The Eastern Elk was larger than its western cousins.  A full-grown bull could weight up to 1,000 lbs. and stand 5’ tall at the shoulder, while sporting a rack of antlers that were 6’ in length!

  

There were lots of other critters around the petting zoo, including these miniature horses and donkeys.  We saw pot-bellied pigs, Scottish highland cattle, reindeer, zebra and Watusi cattle…just to name a few of the larger critters on display. 

Factoids:

·       Miniature horses are usually bred to be friendly with people.  They are often kept as family pets although they still need to be treated like an equine.  They are also trained as companion or assistance animals for people with various disabilities.

·       FYI…the Watusi or more properly, the Ankole-Watusi is a modern American breed of domestic cattle.  They were derived from a group of cattle breeds from central Africa.  There are about 1,200 of these Watusi cattle in the USA.

Of course, as might be expected, the Deer Park Petting Zoo has a couple of Llamas for visitors to share their feed purchases with.  These llamas were very polite and not too greedy.

Before the Spanish conquest of the Americas, llamas and alpacas were the only domesticated ungulates in use.  They were kept for their value as beasts of burden as well as their flesh, hides and wool.  Llamas, alpacas, vicunas and guanacos are all related to the camel family.  All llamas and their cousins, the alpacas, are domesticated.

I felt sorry for this lone kangaroo.  Not only was he alone but this is one of the few animals in the petting zoo that can’t be fed by visitors.  Talk about a boring life… I think that it’s a Red Kangaroo, which is the largest of all the kangaroo species.  Counting all species of kangaroos, given Australia’s estimated kangaroo population of over 34,000,000, they outnumber the country’s human population of roughly 25,000,000!  

Factoid:

·       A big male Red Kangaroo (a buck) can be 6’ 7” tall and weigh 200 lbs!  When we visited Australia many years ago, we observed that they were that country’s ‘deer’ equivalent when compared to the USA.  By contrast the deer population in the USA is estimated at 30,000,000+.

Well heck!  Avery just had to stop and pick up one more baby goat.  After all, they are so precious and she loves animals…

As we departed the petting zoo, we spotted this family of Canadian Geese grazing in the grass next to the parking area.

The Smoky Mountain Deer Farm Exotic Petting Zoo and Horseback Riding Stables has been in business for about 30 years.  It’s a fun place for kids and adults who love animals.  This attraction is located at 478 Happy Hollow Lane in Sevierville Tennessee.  Phone: 865-428-3337.  Their website can be found at: https://deerfarmzoo.com/.

Well, why not!  It was hot out and we were getting a bit tired so we needed a boost!  On the way home, we decided to stop at Bruster’s Real Ice Cream in Maryville Tennessee for a cool treat. 

I didn’t take photos of the ice cream but I should have taken a photo of the work area.  Bruster’s is a franchised operation with 200 independently owned locations in 20 states, Guyana and South Korea.  What makes Bruster’s different is the fact that each location makes its ice cream fresh on site.  This is to avoid ice crystal formation.

Bruster’s staff were very friendly and the ice cream was about perfect, creamy and luscious!  There are 4 Bruster’s locations in the Knoxville area.  This particular Bruster’s Ice Cream store is located at 1400 West Broadway in Maryville Tennessee.  Phone: 865-980-8285.  Their website can be found at https://knoxvillebrusters.com/.

Wishing everyone a terrific July 4th!  Happy Birthday America!  

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave