Our Animals at Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure

Here in our zoo, you can get face-to-face with a rare white camel, an Indian rhino, a curious orangutan, an ornery aardvark or many of the other 105 species of wildlife at home in our zoo. Great care has been taken to provide our animals spacious and naturalistic environments throughout 65 acres of beautifully landscaped park.

Our Zoo Crew
As you stroll through the zoo, we hope you take the opportunity to visit with one of our zookeepers. This dedicated crew is a huge reason why visiting Rolling Hills is such a unique experience. They are specially trained to enhance the quality of life for our animals, which in turn helps the animals thrive and be extra responsive to zoo visitors. Our zookeepers know the animals well and are happy to relate their own insights about the many animal personalities here at Rolling Hills.



Ostrich



Large is the best way to describe an ostrich. Standing eight feet tall and weighing 200-350 pounds, this flightless bird can never take to the skies because its inadequate wings cannot support its massive body.

The wings are unique in that two of the wing fingers end in a claw or spur that can be used in fighting. These soft wings are also useful in displaying and courtship.

Since they cannot fly, these ratites have large, powerful legs built for running. With a stride of 10 to16 feet, the ostrich can run up to 40 miles per hour in short bursts. When danger threatens, the easiest escape is running away. If they must defend themselves, they have a four- inch claw on each foot and a forward kick that is powerful enough to kill a lion with a single blow.

The female ostrich (hen) also produces the largest bird egg. This three-pound egg is the equivalent in volume of two dozen chicken eggs.

A male (rooster) will have a harem of three to five females which usually lay their large eggs in a group nest that the male has scratched out of the ground. The dominant female, called the main hen, shares the task of incubating the eggs with the rooster. Her brown dull feathers provide perfect camouflage during the day while the black male conceals them during the night. The main hen puts her eggs in the center of the nest giving them the best chance of survival. If the nest becomes too crowded, she will roll out the surplus eggs leaving hers safely tucked in the middle.

Shortly before the eggs hatch, the chicks will start calling from inside the shell. Once they are hatched, the parents will know them by their call.

The ostrich is also known for having the largest eye of any land mammal measuring two inches across. With excellent eyesight and acute hearing, these birds often act as sentinels for other grazing mammals.

Do these African birds really hide their heads in the ground? No, they would suffocate. But when an ostrich senses danger and cannot run away or fight, it flops to the ground and remains still with its head and neck flat on the ground in front of it. Because the head and neck are lightly colored, they blend in with the color of the soil. From a distance, it just looks like the ostrich has buried its head in the sand because only the large body is visible.