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Native Animal Habitats

Never far from the plantation were the native animals that lived in the woods, swamps and waters of the Lowcountry. Our naturalistic habitats feature non-releasable animals and include a waterfowl aviary built over a tidal swamp, river otter and alligator habitats along a creek, and upland locations for birds of prey (owls, hawks and eagles), foxes and deer.

Animal Exhibits Include:

Cypress Aviary

The Cypress Aviary is the only known aviary built over an existing cypress swamp, which is a natural habitat for the birds that can be found in the exhibit. Great blue herons, egrets, ibises, black-crowned night herons, fulvous whistling ducks, wood ducks, redhead ducks and a hooded merganser, call this half-acre aviary home. Visitors stroll through on a boardwalk and can observe the birds feeding and flying in their native habitat. Some of the birds came from wildlife rehabilitation centers and cannot fly, but the birds that can fly enjoy 90-foot aviary that gives them lots of room to stretch their wings.

Birds of Prey Aviaries

Birds of prey are carnivorous (meat eating) birds. They have very strong feet and sharp pointed nails called talons at the end of each toe. They use their feet and talons to capture their prey, and they use their sharp, curved beaks to pick apart their food. These aviaries house birds of prey that have permanent injuries and cannot survive in the wild. The birds were acquired from raptor rehabilitation centers in all parts of the country. Bald eagles, red-shouldered hawks, red tailed hawks, barred owls, great horned owls, and turkey vultures are housed in these aviaries.

Otter Pond

The North American river otter is one of the most active and entertaining animals on exhibit at Brookgreen. There are two female river otters in the exhibit and they were joined recently by a male otter. The new male came to us from the Nashville Zoo in early December, and is now enjoying life with our females in our naturalistic exhibit. The new male is 16 years old, but river otters can live 22-23 years in captivity.

Alligator Swamp

American alligators are North America's largest reptile. There are currently two alligators in our exhibit, a male and a female. Both came to Brookgreen when they were about 20 years old, in 1975. Alligators can live 80-100 years in captivity. The male is about 11 feet long and probably weighs at least 500 pounds; the female is about 9 feet long and probably weighs at least 300 pounds.

Fox Glade

Red and grey foxes call the fox exhibit home. Grey foxes are often mistaken for red foxes because they also have some orange-red fur. The grey fox has grey fur on the top of its head, down its back, and on the top surface of its tail. A red fox is pictured to the right. The grey foxes are excellent tree climbers, but the red foxes cannot climb trees. However, the red foxes in the exhibit have learned the trick from the greys, so visitors are surprised to find them by looking up instead of down!

Forest Edge Wild Turkey Exhibit

The eastern wild turkey is South Carolina's official State Wild Game Bird. This recently constructed exhibit houses male and female wild turkeys that were born in captivity. The wild turkey is one of the largest birds in North America; an adult male can grow to four feet long from the beak to the tail. Turkeys have several oddly named appendages: the caruncle, snood, wattle and beard. A caruncle is a red fleshy growth on the head and upper neck of the turkey, a snood is the red fleshy growth from the base of the beak which hangs over the side of the beak, and a wattle is the red, loose appendage at the turkey's neck.

White-tailed Deer Savannah

The white-tailed deer is the most common large mammal in the United States. "White-tail" refers to the white underside of the tail. If alarmed, the deer raises or "flags" its tail showing the bright white underside. This communicates danger to other deer and helps a fawn follow its mother in flight. White-tailed deer are not long distance runners, but can achieve speeds of up to 40 mph for short distances. They are also excellent swimmers and will enter bodies of water to escape predators.