Let me tell you something from the heart.
As 2025 winds down at The Wilds, our team finds ourselves looking out across nearly 10,000 acres and thinking about the stories unfolding in front of us. Every single day, wildlife shows us what resilience looks like.
And, every single day, your generosity makes those moments possible.
Some guests see open fields. You help us see possibility.
Across these hills and valleys, animals take their first steps, herds form and grow, and species once considered lost begin to write new chapters. That kind of hope does not happen on its own. It happens because people like you believe in what The Wilds stands for.
You help newborns thrive.
You support partnerships that reach far beyond Ohio.
You inspire the next generation to fall in love with conservation.
And there is one story we cannot wait to share with you.
If you have ever stood near a scimitar-horned oryx, you know how unforgettable they are.
Their elegant horns.
Their steady strength.
Their calm but determined nature.
These antelope once moved in vast herds across the Sahel region of Africa. They are built for the desert. They are built for survival.
But by the late 1980s, the wild herds were gone. The species was declared extinct in the wild, and the world lost something irreplaceable.
That could have been the end of the story. It was not.
The Return to their Native Ranges
Thanks to supporters like you, calves at The Wilds grow up with space to run, forage, and build the strength they will one day need. Through global conservation partnerships, many of those calves travel to protected reserves in Africa, where they step back into a landscape their kind had not touched in decades.
I remember standing in Chad, watching oryx that once lived at The Wilds take those first steps into the desert. Since then, some have sired calves of their own.
A species is living wild again, and your generosity is part of that remarkable return.
How You Can Help Our Work Continue
When you give to The Wilds Fund, you help more than the oryx…
- Your support protects every species in our care.
- You help our team deliver specialized care, ensure healthy genetics, and strengthen breeding programs that may one day return animals to the wild.
- You also make education possible.
Because of you, young conservationists walk our trails, meet animals up close, and discover their own spark to protect wildlife.
Our Wild Wish
Our Wild Wish is simple. Give wildlife the gift of a future. A year-end gift to The Wilds Fund fuels urgent animal care, conservation breakthroughs, and education programs that inspire visitors of all ages.
Hope grows here, and you help plant the seeds.
Thank You.
From the oryx pastures of The Wilds to protected deserts in Africa, your generosity reaches farther than you may ever see. Thank you for believing in resilience, in recovery, and in the brighter future we can create together for wildlife.
With gratitude,
Dan Beetem
Director of Animal Management
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