Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary entrance.
Encounters up close and personal with both wild and domestic animals is heartwarming, memorable and continually fascinating. This experience has become possible for thousands of people of all ages because of the efforts of the staff and management at Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary.
This unique place has a history that began as the Yellow River Game Ranch in 1962. At that time, it was the first-of-its-kind establishment in Gwinnett County, and worked to provide a home for injured and orphaned wildlife, as well as a place where hundreds of families came to interact with deer, rabbits, goats and more.
This venue served as a treasured experience and memory to thousands of guests until it finally closed its doors in December 2018. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources worked to re-home many of the resident animals leaving only the bison, pigs, vultures, turtles and the bears to be cared for by dedicated volunteers.
White Turkey sitting on a sign.
When Jonathan and Katy Ordway heard about the closing of the old Yellow River Game Ranch, they reached out to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to inquire about buying the property. They had visions of saving the existing wildlife and teaching their children how to care for wild animals, and to learn the value of these creatures to nature. Immediate major improvements to the property were necessary. The most important was to create a large bear enclosure complete with a pond, waterfall and a sleeping house. To make this process easier, the Ordways built strong relationships with other sanctuaries and even Zoo Atlanta.
With the help of talented curators, keepers, staff and volunteers, the new Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary is promoting animal appreciation and providing wildlife education. They continue to work closely with both the GDNR and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ensure everything is in the best interest of the animals. Their plan includes various programs for schools, home-schoolers and the general public. Their goal is to provide the animals with enrichment activities, high quality diets and well-maintained habitats.
Porcupine with quills out.
A bison at the sanctuary.
The sanctuary currently consists of 25 acres, with five of them undeveloped, but earmarked for expansion. Visitors can expect to spend two to three hours exploring the one-mile trail loop, a combination of paved and natural dirt paths. When people enter the trail to look at the wildlife up close and personal, the first section they see is the enclosure for fallow and white-tailed deer. Right next to this portion they see the main attraction: the large area for the American black bears as they wander and sleep and hang out in their natural habitat. Next comes the stations for turkey and black vultures, American bison (a holdover from the original ranch), a great horned owl, a Eurasian lynx, spider monkeys, a rare black coyote, raccoons, gray foxes, red-ruffed and ring-tailed lemurs, opossums and rabbits.
Ring-tailed Lemur.
Pretty lynx.
The Ordways have already added an area to accommodate four exuberant and very interesting otters from Louisiana. They are also in the process of building an area that will highlight animals particular to Georgia from the mountains to the seashore. This is a must destination for anyone who loves to watch or interact with animals of all kinds!
The sanctuary is located in central Gwinnett alongside the Yellow River and just minutes from Stone Mountain Park. More info: (678) 395-3453 or yellowriverwildlifesanctuary.com.
Photos: by Bill Vanderford
