The 90 minute guided wildlife, farm and nature tour is given by bus through the Penn's Cave grazing pastures, mountain trails and forests, which have been preserved as a natural habitat for birds and animals.

Mammals at Penn's Cave Wildlife Park:

WHITE-TAILED DEER - our State Game Animal. Male deer, or bucks, shed their antlers yearly, usually in late winter, and grow a new set each spring. Well-nourished females, or does, often have twin or triplet fawns every year. In spring and summer, deer eat green plants, and in fall and winter they switch to acorns and other nuts, twigs and buds.

ELK - The elk is the second largest member of the deer family, with only moose being larger. A mature bull will stand nearly five feet at the shoulder and weigh up to 1000 pounds. Females, or cows, will weigh up to 600 pounds. The call of a male elk is known as bugling, which is a low whistle that ascends into a series of short grunts. The lusty bulls sometimes finish the call with a sharp cough like a bark. The dominant bull gives constant attention to his harem of cows, usually five or six females, and the breeding groups remain intact through the early winter, when the bulls may leave the cows and calves and again form small bachelor groups. The cows that have been bred usually give birth to a single calf.

MOUNTAIN LION - This large North American cat, which is native to Central Pennsylvania, goes by a number of names, including cougar, puma, panther, and catamount. Males usually weigh 160 pounds, and females weigh approximately 90 pounds. Its coat varies from tan to dark brown, and its underparts are often white. A long, thick tail provides balance during leaps and climbs. Except during breeding season, the cougar is a solitary animal. The female mountain lion usually gives birth to two or three spotted kittens. Cougars usually live to be eleven years old.

WOLVES - Wolves are members of the Canidae or dog family. They have been further divided into three subfamilies based mainly on dentition (number, shape and size of teeth). The first and largest, the Canine, contains wolves, dogs, coyotes, foxes, and jackals. A wolf's color is extremely variable, particularly in northern latitudes. Some wolves are snowy white, black or gray, or a mixture of fawn, cream, gray, white, and black. Usually as the wolves age, their coats become lighter

We also have wild mustangs, wild burrows black bears, bison and Texas longhorn Cattle.

Common large birds in the Penn's Cave Wildlife Park include the Ruffed Grouse, our State Bird, which is predominantly gray or reddish brown, Wild Turkeys, and Mallard Ducks. Distinguished from domestic turkeys by the brown tips on tail feathers, Wild Turkeys feed on insects, fruit, nuts, grains and green plants, and are frequent guests at the elk and deer feeders. Mallards remain all year because the water is free of ice. The drake has an iridescent green head, white neck band and reddish chest; the hen is mottled brown. Other birds on the grounds are: barn swallows, killdeer, robins, cardinals, wrens, blue jays, house sparrows, evening grosbeak, ring-neck pheasants, American kestrel, crows, downy woodpeckers, screech owls, great blue heron, red winged blackbird, ruby-throated hummingbird, chickadees, starlings, eastern bluebirds, red-tailed hawks, turkey vultures.

Native trees and wild flowers of the Penn's Cave Wildlife Park include White Pine, White Oak, Red Maple and Northern Red Oak. Hemlock, mountain laurel, and wild berries abound, as well as shasta daisies, buttercups, wild aster, violets, and daylilies.

The first word that comes to mind is 'natural'. The 1,500 acres of Penn's Cave's forests and fields have been preserved as a natural habitat for birds and animals, without damage to the ecology, utilizing existing logging and tractor trails to guide your tour through the wildlife park and farm. You'll be entertained as well as educated -- even life-long Pennsylvanians will learn something new about the geology, biology and geography of the center of our state. Spend the day and bring the family... see the cavern by boat; take a ride on the wild side through the park and farm; pan for gems in the sluice; stop at the gift shop for fun and educational souvenirs and gifts; eat in the snack bar or picnic in the natural - pastoral setting. There's something for everyone. The farm-wildlife park is open daily April through November. Tour times vary, so please call for information.

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