Oatland Wildlife Center Photos near Savannah Georgia

Last fall, my parents and I went on our second trip to the east coast (first time happened back in 2018).  Unlike the first trip to the east coast (where we mainly just got lunch in Savannah before pressing onto Charleston SC), during the 2019 trip, we actually stayed 3 days and 2 nights in Savannah (stayed at the Cottonsail Hotel).  One of the days I was there, I visited the Oatland Wildlife Center.  Basically a wildlife center situated right near the swamplands there.  After leaving the Wildlife Center, my parents and I visited an old plantation sight.

Here, my dad was driving me to the Oatland Wildlife Center.

Check out this building.  It is the visitor center area.

Here was an opossum sleeping

Soon after leaving the visitor center, I ventured to the trails.  The trail system looks like this.  Some parts are board walk, while otehrs are a dirt path like this one.  By the way, it was still nice, hot and humid even in October.  Weather doesn't really seem to start cooling down in the south at least till November

Here is a barred owl.  We get barred owls here in Snohomish too.  If you got out night, sometimes you can hear them.  They make what sounds like a "who cooks for you..." type of noise.

Here is another owl right next door to where the barred owl was.  

Here is the alligator exhibit area.  Didn't actually see the gators though.  Some of the animals seemed to be sleeping when I was there.

Here is a sign showing some of the birds that are spotted in the area

Going further on the trail.  Lots of woods

Here is a live cougar (mountain lion).  In Florida, they are known as panthers (though the Florida panthers look almost identical to mountain lions).

After leaving the cougar exhibit, I was on my way to the bobcat exhibit.  

Here you go by some swamplands along the boardwalk.  I bet there are alligators and other wildlife in this area.  By the way, during the 2018 trip to the East Coast, I actually went on an airboat ride during the Florida leg of the trip and actually saw some alligators and other wildlife indigenous to the south.  Like Florida; Georgia, South Carolnina, North Carolina, and Virginia all have their own swampy regions, especially along the coast.  The swamps disappear as you head west towards the Appalacians though.

Here is a picture of the boardwalk

Here was the bobcat exhibit.  Unfortunately the bobcat was sleeping, so I wasn't able to get photos of it.  By the way, if you have seen some of my trail cam footage, you would know that we do get bobcats in my neck of the woods near Snohomish Washington.  Sometimes they have made appearances on my trail cams (not all the time, but sometimes they are there, though coyotes are common than bobcats).

Here was the red fox exhibit.  Was hoping to get photos of the foxes there, but the foxes weren't out.  By the way, the map showed that the area was under construction, so it is possible that they were taken off exhibit for now.  Not sure when the foxes will be back.  Would have liked to stick around longer and see if the foxes come out, but I was only at the park about 2 hours and then I had to hook back up with my parents.  We still wanted to see the city and all.

Here is a hawk at the wildlife center.

Barn owls.  Some of the owls were kept in a different area of the park from where the barred owls were

Here is a great horned owl.  We also get great horned owls in my neck of the woods too and sometimes they can be heard hooting at night.

Bald eagles.  By the way, I am sure bald eagles in the wild would be an unusual sight in Georgia.  Sure they are more common in my neck of the woods in Washington State, but in Georgia, I am sure they are going to be less common.

Here is the bald eagles sign

Here was a woodpecker I saw at the park.  Looked like he was looking for ants to eat

Briefly saw this farm stead area.  There really wasn't much to see here, plus I was on a time frame, so I couldn't stay there for long.  Might be a good picnic type area

Here is a sign for the pond viewing area

By the way, near the picnic table is a sign warning about alligators in the area.  You don't see these here in Washington State (though we get bears and cougars instead).  Apparently, alligators can be seen along the trails at the park, so one does have to be careful on where they wander around too.  Though sticking to the main paths is your best bet.  Didn't encounter any alligators myself though (they were probably napping). 

Like red foxes, the wildlife center also has some gray wolves.  By the way, wolves are another animal that would make unusual sights in the wild in Georgia.  You might get red wolves in some areas (especially in North Carolinia), but not gray wolves.  Gray wolves are more common way up north (near the Canadian border, along with Yellowstone).  Instead you are probably more likely to encounter foxes (red and gray foxes) or coyotes in Georgia

this wolf was sleeping.  It was nice, hot and humid when I was in Savannah, so I guess the hot weather made the animals sleepy.  Probably better to go earlier in the day to see more animals.  I was on a time constraint, so I wasn't able to stay long enough to see the wolves, bobcats or foxes wake up and come out

check out the swamplands here

you can see a bridge under construction in the distance

here is a bison (buffalo).  These guys would also be an unusual sight in the wild in Georgia.  They are most common in Montana and Wyoming.  I recall going to a wildlife refuge once near Polson MT and there you can see buffalos in the wild.

here is the sign for the red fox exhibit.  Checked back to see if they ever came out.  Still no sign of them.  Like at Northwest Trek, it does seem like the foxes at Oatland Wildlife center are hit and miss, though i suspect that they may have been taken off exhibit when I was there as there was no sign of them.  Might have had to do with the construction in the area.  When the foxes will be back?  I have no idea

Visited the farm area briefly.  Couldn't stay there for long as my parents were on their way to pick me up (they went to the bonaventure cemetary while I was at the wildlife center).  

Back on the highway.  Next stop was a plantation sight to the south of the park

Here we were driving along that expressway that runs parallel to the city.  Interstate 16 doesn't connect directly to the expressway, so one has to navigate some of the city streets to get there.  Alternatively, the expressway is a part of a highway the eventually connects with Interstate 95 to the southwest. 

Here, we were getting off the highway

Here was the Wormsloe Historic site area.  The actual mansion was off limits to visitors, but the park area was open to the public.  Was curious to see a plantation while in Georgia.  We don't have plantations in Washington (farms instead).

Check out these woods.  The trees almost form arches over the road.  By the way, instead of driving, we walked.  By the way, I am sure the park can have an eerie feel after dark.  Wouldn't be surprised if there are ghost stories there like there are in many plantations

Here is the visitor center.  Like most tourist attractions, one does have to pay to get in and see the park

Here, we were driving into the historic area

Here, we got out of the pickup truck and were on foot.  

Here is a monument site here.  By the way, to my african american buddies here, sorry to break it to you, but if you are alive prior to the civil war (pre 1865), there is a really good chance you would have been a slave and working on a plantation much like this one.  Can't you imagine what it must have been like working at a place like this?  Sure slavery has ended along time ago, but one can't change the past and I am sure the memories are still there for some people in the south.  No offense intended.  Just stating the facts.  By the way, slavery was also common in places like Colonial Williamsburg, Thomas Jefferson's homestead at Montichello (near Charlottesville Virginia), and George Washington's Mansion area near Mt Vernon too.  If you were alive back in the colonial times, you might have been working for some of the founding fathers literally to say the least. Life probably would have been rough for African Americans back then as many of them would have been slaves in the south prior to the Civil War.  I am sure some people would have been easier to work for than others, and vice versa is also true.  If you were an African American alive back then and you were free, well consider yourself lucky as not everyone had that luxury back in the day.

Visited this museum area

Here we were getting lot of walking in.  By the way, even in the city, my parents weren't interested in doing trolly tours (besides the ghost tour we did in the evening), so we walked most of the time (with the exception of driving to Oatland Wildlife Center as well as the historical site).

Here is a sign showingo ff some of the wildlife spotted in the area.  Apparently red foxes can be seen in the woods somtimes too.  I didn't see any myself, but I am sure they are around.  By the way, an area like this would be great for setting up a trail camera.

Here is an area where slaves would have worked back in the 1800's.  Imagine what it would have been like for the people working here back then.

leaving the wildlife center

Other pictures from Savanna (not all of them, but some):

Here is the hotel I stayed at in Savannah: the Cottonsail Tapestry hotel

our room overlooked the savanna river and you can see the aquarium in the distance

Here is a picture of the riverfront area

You can also see the bridge over the river nearby too.  My family would eventually cross the bridge en route to Charleston SC, but that didn't happen until the end of the Georgia leg of the trip

Here is the City Hall anding area.  Yeah there are some paddleboats people can ride on in the area.  I didn't do it, but might be worth checking out someday (either that or doing a helicopter tour of the area)

Savannah's candy kitchen.  I do have to admit that it is hard to stay on a diet when on a road trip.  Too many places to tempt you.  Also, many restaurants serve biscuits with meals too (along with things like shrimp and grits, po boy sandwiches, fried chicken, and others).

On the first night my family was in Savannah, we went to the pirate house restaurant for dinner.  Apparently, Savannah might have been where the writer of Treasure Island may have gotten his inspiration.  One of the supposed ghosts that haunt the restaurant is known as Captain Flint (who was a deceased character in Treasure Island).  Could the novel have been inspired by real life events?  I have no idea.  By the way, the bar does offer some really good rum and margarita cocktails.  Considered doing their zombie cocktail, but it was too expensive

Pirates poster.  By the way, when we were in Florida (prior to the Savannah leg of the trip), we visited St Augustine and actually went to the Pirate museum there.

doing a selfie at the pirate house

After dinner, we went on a tour of the pirate house restaurant.  By the way one insteresting thing I learned about the history is that it shares a similar history to the Shanghai Tunnels in Portland where there was a time where apparently, people can be sold into slavery and what would happen is at at restaurants like this, unsuspecting people could order a drink and bartenders working for the slavers could be told to make the drinks strong enough to make people drunk and then once they are drunk they are kidnapped and sold into slavery (either that or working on the ships).  By the way, the Shanghai Tunnels in Portland Oregon have a similar ledgend where there were some bars above the tunnels and some of the bars would have trap doors that lead into the tunnels.  Unsuspecting victions would go to the bar, given too much to drink, and then once they are drunk or drugged, someone would open a trap door that leads into the tunnels where they would be held until they were sold into slavery in Shanghai China.  Yeah, one would have be careful on who to trust back then, especially if you were there on your own.

Meet my new "girlfirend": Elizabeth Swan (aka Keira Knighly) from Pirates of the Carribean (just kidding).  Thought I would get my picture taken with her.

Here is a pirate manakin.  By the way, the Pirate house is rumored to be haunted, so yeah

Here is the convention center in the distance

Driving around Savannah.  On that day, it was our last day in Savannah, and we would soon head to South Carolina.  It was nice and hot when we were in Savannah too.

Walking along the river front.  By the way, open container laws are pretty lax in Savannah as technically you can have a cup of beer, cocktail or whatever cocktail you want while walking around in public, so there was at least one bar that offers cocktails to go (such as pina coladas, zombies, margaritas, etc).  Many cities and states don't allow open containers, so that was unique in Savannah

Here is the paddle boat in Savannah.  If we had more time I would be tempted to do a cruise on it and see the area that way.  That would have to be something for another time though.

Here, I was walking with my parents

Joe's Crab Shack.  We almost went there for dinner on the second night we were in Savannah, but we ended up going to a fancier restaurant instead.  Yeah, my parents can get an expensive taste on restaurants sometimes.

Here is a random rooftop bar I visited.  You could have a beer or cocktail and watch ships come through.  The hotel we stayed at had a similar rooftop bar too.

Here was the last day in Savannah.  We were checking out of the hotel and getting ready to get back on the road.  But first, we walked around the city once more

Here was a random squirrel in Savannah.  Small animals like squrrels tend to be a common sight in the city compared to other animals such as deer, raccoons, foxes, and the like

Here was cemetary my family visited in the city

Me sitting on a random bench.  Apparently, at least parts of the movie of Forest Gump was filmed in Savannah Georgia and Forest (Tom Hanks) would have sat on a bench much like this one in the movie.  Not sure if it is the exact same bench, but it is pretty similar to the one in the movie

random church in the city

Before getting back on the road, my family got some lunch at this Paula Deen restaurant (Lions and Sons if I remember correctly).  They have an all you can eat buffet there with fried chicken, pulled pork, mashed potatoes, biscuits, veggies and the like.  Defnitely not the best place to go if you are on a diet, but the food was rather tasty.  By the way, I didn't see Paula in person (apparently she shows up there sometimes, but I wouldn't know how often, plus we weren't there long enough to see her).

Here is the shop at Lions and Sons.  Yeah there is a gift shop at the Paula Deen restaurant

After visiting the restaurant and getting lunch, it was time to start heading back to the car.

Here, we were driving over the highway 17 bridge and heading to South Carolina.  Next stop on the trip was Charleston several hours later.  By the way, there is no direct freeway connection to Charleston from the South, so we took highway 17 there (mostly a 4 lane divided highway, though it does have a short 2 lane section just after the bridge as it loops back to interstate 95) 

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