Visiting Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo in Washington, D.C.

Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo can provide you and your family with a slightly different animal centered adventure. Catoctin sounds exotic and its is. This is not a rehash of the mega sized, public, metropolitan zoos you may have seen in Washington D. C. or elsewhere around the nation. Catoctin is a private preserve that is small but well organized to provide homes for some 400 animals on about 35 acres of land while still leaving room for human visitors to come and share the day.

The Development of Catoctin. This wildlife refuge and zoo has been in existence since the 1960's and has seen many changes in the decades since its opening. While it does not have the public funding of others zoos, it has placed its sometimes less reliable funding to work attacking the issue that most needed attention over the years. As a result, visitors who return to Catoctin notice that animals now are much better situated and housed than perhaps was possible initially. Steps have been taken to provide animal dwellers with grounds that attempt to recreate their natural habitat and provide them with the kind of space that is more conducive to their well being and contentment.

Care has also gone into better accommodating human beings who come to Catoctin as visitors. Like any zoo, Catoctin connects many exhibits and park subdivisions by long and winding paths. In the past these paths were covered with gravel. While the gravel may have given a natural look to the park, they were less than helpful to visitors who were trying to maneuver strollers or wheelchairs through the gravel. A response to the needs of visitors was undertaken and now all pathways are paved ways perfect for foot and wheel alike.

What's There When You Get There. Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo is located not far from Frederick, MD at 13019 Catoctin Furnace Rd. in Thurmont , MD. It's surroundings are really quite lovely and you should know that you are not far from the well known U. S Presidential Retreat , Camp David. Presidents since the time of Eisenhower have come and relaxed here away from the bustle of Washington, D. C.