Animal Lovers and Idaho

Humans are not alone on this world. We are surrounded by a vast and diverse biosphere of more animals, insects, and plants than you can imagine or comprehend. A lot of the country has sort of forgotten this as people have moved into cities and away from the wilder parts of the United States, but most of us still have a strong connection to the animal life that we used to be so intertwined with. There are animal lovers all over the planet and I would contend that one of the best places for an animal lover to live is in Idaho. There are so many opportunities in the state for them to interact with and discover a bunch of different and beautiful kinds of wildlife. If you are skeptical and want to know more, I would recommend visiting Idaho and exploring all of the different options that will become available, but the next best thing to do is just to learn about what you can do from me! So, here are a bunch of the reasons why Idaho is a great place to check out and interact with animals and why you will love the place if you love unique species of fauna.

I want to start with some of the stuff that is possibly in Idaho but not actually unique to Idaho. Boise is home to two specific places that you can go and be guaranteed to see a bunch of animals that are really cool. The first is Zoo Boise which can be found along the Boise River Greenbelt. For a relatively small zoo in a low population area when compared to some of the great zoos across the country, Zoo Boise has quite a collection of incredible animals and all of them are available on a daily basis for your viewing pleasure. There are a lot of cool animals native to Idaho that you can see a bunch of different ways, but no other part of Idaho is going to have giraffes, lions, leopards, penguins, Komodo dragons, and a bunch of other animals that are unique to some parts of the world that are very different from Idaho. An really, those few animals that I mentioned are only a fraction of what there is to see at Zoo Boise. You can spend several hours and even several days going to the different displays these animals live in and never get tired or bored with what there is to find.

Another cool place to go in the Boise area where you can always find interesting animals is the Aquarium of Boise. Water life has a whole different look and feel to the land life of Zoo Boise. Land life is pretty easy to find and identify with. Those animals grew up and evolved with us as a species in pretty much the same environment, so we can understand them and how they work. Fish and other marine life, on the other hand, are very different. Sometimes, stepping into an aquarium can feel like stepping into an entirely different world than the one you are used to. The Aquarium of Boise is no different, and when you visit you are going to be given the opportunity to see all kinds of foreign and familiar animal life that have made the world beneath the waves their own. There are sharks, exotic pufferfish, rays, turtles, and a bunch of other kinds of sea life, some of which you will have the opportunity to touch. The Aquarium of Boise is an especially fantastic place to give kids and adults alike a new perspective on the world they live in. At the very least it will distract them for a few hours while you enjoy checking out the beautiful fish.

Of course, you can find aquariums and zoos anywhere you go. These two in Boise are particularly good but they are not unique to Idaho. What is unique to Idaho is the World Center for Birds of Prey, a facility that can be found south of the Boise area. What is the World Center for Birds of Prey? It is an operation focused on the replenishment of bird species that are endangered and introducing new birds into an environment where they can help wild populations come back from the brink. There are quite a few birds of prey that are struggling to survive in a human world and the World Center is doing everything it can to help them out. However, for an average visitor to the center, the most important thing is going to be the different birds they have in captivity. They have pretty much every species of bird you can think of, most of them injured in some way and so unable to return to their own habitat. If you want to find a bird that will leave you amazed, the World Center for Birds of Prey will do that for you. There is not really another place like it.

But Idaho is not the place it is because you can find animals in cages, even if the cages are big and humane. Idaho is the place it is because so much of it has not been touched by human influence. If you really want the ideal experience with animals, I would tell you to simply get out into the wilderness of Idaho and find what you are looking for on your own. There are tons of places where you can go bird watching or just wander through the forest searching for different kinds of animals. Idaho is absolutely teeming with mammals, birds, and insects that will open your mind to the true nature of the way the world works. Just make sure you follow the rules of the road when it comes to wildlife watching. Do not do anything that would interfere with the lives of the animals you are observing and do not attempt to hurt them. A lot of hunting happens in Idaho, but if you are not doing that, just watch and keep a safe distance.