RainForest Adventures in Sevierville, Tennessee

If you want to see some of the most exotic animals in the world, you don't have to travel to the Amazon, or to see rain forests in Central Africa, or Southeastern Asia. You can see hundreds of exotic animals, including tropical birds, lizards, snakes, and frogs in RainForest Adventures in Sevierville, Tennessee. The next time you are near the better known nearby areas of Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg and you want to do something different, you might want to visit.

RainForest Adventures in Sevierville, Tennessee is open 364 days a year, as it is closed only on Christmas. The attraction has been themed by a zoological contractor who is also responsible for Animal Kingdom at Disney World. There are more than 600 live animals, which represent 130 species.

One kind of bird at the facility is the blue and gold Macaw, a type of bird the average person will often not be able to distinguish between the males and females, as both are up to 30 inches long and have tail feathers. The birds eat seeds and fruit. The Moluccan Cockatoo eats fresh greens, fruit, and seeds and is the second largest of all Cockatoo species. Although most such birds live into their 30's or 40's, some live into their 80's. The Umbrella Cockatoo lives in dense forests, and even though he is not as colorful as other cockatoos, he may make up for that by being very friendly around people. The Congo Gray Parrot may have the largest vocabulary potential of any parrot. The Gouldian Finch is a beautiful bird that has yellow, green, purple, blue, and black colors, with a red beak, and it eats seeds. There are many other birds including parakeets, cockatiels, and weaver finches.

Mammals at RainForest Adventures include the Red Kangaroo, which is the largest type of kangaroo and can weigh up to 200 pounds. There is also the African Crested Porcupine. Before sending its quills toward an enemy it will stamp its hind feet and rattle its quills. A kinkajou looks a little like a bear and a little like a monkey, and it weighs only four to eight pounds. Its natural diet includes fruits and small invertebrates. The serval can jump six feet into the air to catch a bird to eat and may kill up to 3,000 rats in a year. Some poachers sell the skins of servals, claiming they came from cheetahs. Black and white ruffed lemurs come from Madagascar and nowhere else on earth, although you can see them at RainForest Adventures. Coatimundi display behaviors from both raccoons and monkeys. They weigh eight to ten pounds. Sugar gliders can glide great distances when they open a flap of skin between their front and back legs. You can also see a mongoose, African hedgehog, and other mammals.

Reptiles include snakes, such as venomous King Cobras, Albino Cobras, Forest Cobras, Egyptian Cobras, Eastern Diamond Rattlesnakes, Western Diamond Rattlesnakes and others, and non-venomous snakes including the African Rock Python, the Blood Python, the Cuban Boa, the Milk Snake, and others. There are also a variety of turtles and tortoises including the African Spur High Tortoise, which can weigh up to 60 pounds; the Eastern Box Turtle, the Diamond Back Terrapin, and others. There are also a variety of crocodiles and lizards.

You will also see amphibians. Poison Dart Frogs eat insects, including ants that help produce a toxic blend of proteins that cause the frogs to be poisonous. Milk Frogs also eat insects. African frogs will eat anything that will fit into their mouths, including other frogs.

There are plenty of bugs too. Bugs pollinate our food, but also sting us, bite and sting us and even may even eat our homes. You may see tarantulas, Texas Tarantulas, scorpions, Black Widow Spiders, Indian Tarans, and others.

In the Aussie Walkabout you will see kangaroos, wallabies, pygmy goats, emus, rabbits, rheas, and an aviary.

By going to the official website at www.radventures.com, you can get a $2 discount per person. Single admission tickets are $11.99 each for adults, $9.99 for those 55 and older, and $6.99 for those 3-12. Regular season passes are $19.99 per person for adults and $14.99 for children 3-12.

RainForest Adventures is also available for special events such as birthday parties, family reunions, corporate events, motivational meetings, and fund raisers.

Citations: Rain Forest Adventures, no author listed, Travel.yahoo.com
Rain Forest Adventures, no author listed, Radventures.com