By ASHLEY WORLEY/Staff Writer
Under a wooden, thatched-roof platform overlooking the edge of a yellow field, people mill about watching, waiting. A mother holds her son, a boy of about 5 years of age in a bright red shirt. Zebras and kudu graze in the distance; a pair of lions nap in the midday sun.
The little boy shrieks when a giraffe stretches its head over a wall; it is inches away from the boy. Curious, the giraffe noses the boy’s shirt, poking out its purple tongue. The boy’s squeal bubbles over into laughter.
Nearby, a young girl’s black hair stands in a vertical clump on one side of her head.
“That giraffe loved you,” her mom says.
“He licked my hair!” she cries, still astonished.
At Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, such sights and sounds are common. Interactive experiences brings together visitors and over 3,000 animals up-close, sometimes even close enough to touch.
ZOO RESIDENTS
In the Wild Bird Walkabout, a walk-through aviary, birds flash feathers of every color: blue, white, teal, green, yellow. Cockatiels and parakeets overhead swoop low and fill the air with cackling, chirping and the fluttering of wings.
A little girl gets a seed stick and extends it cautiously to a group of birds packed onto a tree branch. A sky-blue and white parakeet feeling peckish hops on the stick and starts snacking.
The girl holds the feed stack at an arm’s length as a little boy stares in wonder.
“Woah!” he says, “You got one already?”
Not far away, one of the zoo’s more eccentric residents spins in a circle and scratches at an imaginary hole. His black ears pull back against his fluffy face, seeming to squint and smile at the curious faces looking at him on the other side of the glass.
Sox the red fox, an East Texas native, was rescued as a baby after being hit by a car. He was left with neurological, hearing and vision damage that prevents him from returning to the wild. But thanks to Caldwell Zoo, Sox has a home where he is active, healthy and just a twinge odd.
“If an animal runs into trouble, we do our best to nurture it back to health,” the Caldwell Zoo’s website says. “We believe in helping animals in need, no matter where they’re found. Some members of our animal family were saved right from our own East Texas backyard.”
ENGAGEMENT
None of this would’ve been possible without the vision of DK Caldwell, the zoo’s late founder, who “believed in learning through fun,” according to the website. “In 1953, he and his wife, Lottie, opened the Children’s Zoo and Play School as a gift to the Tyler community.”
His legacy of presenting fun and educational wildlife resources, especially for children, is carried on today. The zoo’s interactive programs provide unique experiences for children 4-18.
Besides summer camps and field trips, the zoo offers ZooSchool, a once-a-month educational program, and ZooCrew, a two-week volunteer opportunity for teens.
FROM PAST TO FUTURE
For some, Caldwell Zoo is a nostalgic place, holding fond memories.
Lucy Holden, an 18-year-old college student from Van, watches a pair of African elephants tussle and charge playfully in their pool. The two pause to float on their sides or rub water from their eyes with their trunks. Then, they collide once more, sending gargantuan splashes out of the pond and onto the grass.
“We used to come here a lot,” Holden says. “I think probably the last time I was here I was 14. Being here brought me back to my childhood.”
When walking past construction of the zoo’s upcoming South America section, Holden brightens. A sign announces that capybaras will have a home at the zoo when the exhibit opens.
“I can’t wait for this to be done!” she says. “We’ll have to come back for the capybaras. I’m bringing Jordan, my baby nephew, with me.”
For them, and many other families, DK Caldwell’s tradition lives on.
A girl holds out a feeding stick in the aviary at Caldwell Zoo as one of feather creatures nibbles away. The aviary is a popular attraction at the zoo in Tyler. Photo by Ashley Worley.
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