It's A Wild World

Last Sunday was not a good boating day up north, so we decided to go to the Wild Center Natural History Museum at Tupper Lake. We had read quite a bit about the facility, and it was a perfect day for a drive through the Adirondack High Peaks Mountains. When we left Ticonderoga it was 65 degrees, but up in Tupper Lake it was 56 degrees. What a difference from all the hot weather we have been having!

Although many people had the same idea as we did on this blustery afternoon, we still really enjoyed our visit to the museum. Not only were there displays inside about the Adirondack wildlife and its return to this mountain region, but there were also several trails to explore outside.

It is hard to see in the picture below, but the lobby floor is actually lower than the surface of the outside pond, with the water up to the window sill. The outside walls of the building have become the pond’s perimeter wall, almost like a dam. It is a weird sensation being level with the water’s surface instead of looking down into it.

190 solar panels on the roof of the museum help provide electrical power to the buildings. As always, you can click on the pictures to get a better view (and helps to read what this sign says).


One of the main exhibits centered around how moose are making a comeback to the Adirondacks, and included a movie about how they are being tracked. This was our greeting as we entered the lobby.

Several interior walls of the center were actually gigantic fish tanks with different types of trout, bass, sturgeon, and other native fish. Live displays also included everything from turtles, frogs, and snakes to mushrooms and ground cover.

Of course our favorite display, and the reason we really went there, was Otter Falls. There are four otters living at the center (all either abandoned or injured at one time, and not eligible for release), but they usually only have two out in the public display at a time. A natural environment has been recreated behind a huge Plexiglas wall, so the public can watch the otters’ antics. A stream with a waterfall, logs, branches, rocks, and a den are all included in their habitat. These animals are mesmerizing to watch and swim so fast that it was nearly impossible to take pictures of them. A staff member gave an informative talk and threw a few toys plus hard boiled eggs, strawberries, and frozen ‘fish-sicles’ in their water to give them variety in not only their diets, but also their activities. One otter named ‘Squirt’, stole both eggs and a strawberry, swimming and carrying them all at once in his tiny front paws, and proceeded to shell the egg and eat all the items up on dry ground. Then he walked over to his den, pulled in some pine branches after him (almost like pulling up his ‘blanket’), and took a nap.

After observing and learning about otters, I started thinking about all their characteristics. They have very few enemies, are high energy, almost always in the water, and their main goal in life is to have fun! They don’t stop until they run out of energy and curl up, falling asleep instantly until it’s time to go out and start all over again. Suddenly it dawned on me that this sounded just like Dave! I told him that if he ever decided to get a tattoo, it would have to be of an otter since they certainly do symbolize his traits.

To taunt him even further, after kayaking near Vergennes, VT on Monday, an otter scooted across the road and disappeared into the aptly named Otter Creek. We have rarely seen these creatures in the wild, so this was quite a coincidence. I think fate stepped in once again.