I've always been impressed by people with some land that they stock with various exotic animals. There used to be one about an hour from here. (bison, zebras, camels, llamas) Now that we face the seriously possibility of remodeling my dads house, I'm intrigued by the possibility of putting some rare or exotic animals on his 50 acre ranch. About all I've come up with so far is bison. I suggested emus as there have been some emu ranches in the area in the not to distant past but my wife vetoed the idea of emus. Besides bison what other rare or exotic animals (mainly for viewing) might be appropriate for southern Arkansas?
I would veto the idea of Emus - dumbest creatures this side of anywhere - they make sheep look like Einstein- and those claws can gut dogs
Yankees, but don't feed them with your bare hands. They could give you rabies. I personally am not a fan of the whole exotic animal thing. We have one about 45 minutes away that has a history of people getting mauled by the big cats. There are other things people can do to have a destination farm. Christmas tree farms, corn mazes, upick crops, weddings/parties.
I envisioned the farm as being "drive thru, people stay in their vehicles". The terrain of the farm is pretty conductive to that.
I would look to Native American animals but things people are unlikely to see elsewhere - if you could start a breeding program. For something endangered that would get a lot of attention The desert park in Alice has one of the best natural displays anywhere https://alicespringsdesertpark.com.au/ one of the big draws is a night display area which is like a cave
I started with bison because most people have never seen them and they normally can live okay in the same environment as beef cattle.
They are cool! I've seen them up close at Blue Mounds State Park in SW Minnesota. Of course, they may be a bit more dangerous to spectators than your average Holstein, so you'll have to be careful in that regard.
How about zebras and giraffes? I know they are warm weather animals and the wildlife ranch about an hour from here used to have some zebras.
Start by talking to Fish and Game officials and your liability insurance agent before you make any decisions. Lots of restrictions on wild game farms, invasive specie problems, fencing requirements ... the list is large.
I've settled on bison, zebras, camels, and giraffes. All suitable for American beef pasture land and our extremely hot summers. All semi domesticate able. All rarities for most American southerners. What say you?
All good stuff. Run a breeding programme for pandas or something. If it's endangered, breed it/save it.
Sloth; they're cool. Seem petting zoo friendly enough, have a petting zoo as well for enterprise in the community giving the people one more attraction/something to see and visit; so like lambs, rabbits, piglets, goats... And a sloth/Found a petting zoo too at the same site but on the side of your bison and zebras, but make yours 'the petting zoo with the sloth' (as well as the other petting zoo animals, maybe a pony too, kids like that sort of stuff). Could even maybe educate with that too and do school days or tour schools with a sloth teaching them about science and sloth physiology or its habitat and whatnot; the world's your oyster. Plus they're cute.
I like the idea of Bison. As you know they are adapted to most of the U.S. And you said 50 acres? The most Bison stocked would be what?.... 25 head? 50 acres may seem like a lot of land , and it is, when it comes to fencing and stuff but not so much for stocking large mammals. If I were to get a 50 acres of land I would go with cattle for liquidity and exotic animals as a hobby. Put the exotic animals under cover when it would be convenient for feeding and vet care. And I like goats for keeping vegetation under control. They also sell. You gonna have to pay taxes on that ground and you never really own it. I would start by doing some research and investigating my fences, water....streams and such, outbuildings, timber, and general lay of the land. You don't want cattle with 2 legs longer than the others from walking up and down hills all day.
That is how I envisioned it. Cattle for money and the bison as a hobby, something to look at. And I might have an opportunity to acquire another 100-150 acres in the future. My dad ran about 90 head of cattle on that 50 acres for a number of years.
Bison may bring more than beef. Strong fences required I reckon. 100 to 150 acres is a lot to take care of. A full time job at least, I'll bet.
It could be neat to have a pair of zebra and see a foal. Or bison for that matter. I would wonder how to keep an African animal sprite and healthy. You want healthy stock and healthy stock causes more trouble as far as fencing and stuff goes. A small pasture with a three sided shed might work for Zebra. And a place to expand.
LOL. There was some south american antelope that got loose around my area about ten years ago. Nobody knew where it came from but it was being spotted by a lot of farmers and such who didn't know what the heck it was. There was a lot of local press about it because some were saying they saw a unicorn and fish and game were trying to figure out what people were spotting. It eventually ended up mixing in with a bunch of dairy cattle and staying put there among the herd but the authorities kept it a secret as to where that farm was because by that point there were hunters who were actively looking for it to add to their trophy walls.
That's the thing about herd animals. They like to be among other herd animals. So If one animal gets out they won't stray far. If they all get out. Goodbye
