We almost drove right past it. We were expecting a rustic nature center with people wearing pith helmets, or perhaps a small museum. But Animal Adventures is a lot more low-key, tucked away on a pretty country road in Bolton, about 40 miles west of Boston.
It's not at all flashy. The outdoor space looks like a petting zoo or small farm, complete with iconic red outbuildings, and the low-slung main buildings are white and trailer-like. Chickens hunt and peck in the grass. An old, enormous, fluffy brown dog ambles over to say hi; he's so friendly that he noses my kids' hands away and immediately leans against them, asking to be petted.
Animal Adventures is home to more than 200 creatures, common (goats, ducks, chickens) to exotic (Asian water monitors, a Eurasian eagle owl, a shaggy binturong). Inside the main building, the lights are low and the paint is peeling a little bit. The space is surprisingly quiet. Then again, alligators, crocodiles, and turtles don't make that much noise, do they? You walk among the tanks and the wood-and-mesh pens, listening to the well-informed and friendly tour guide, and it feels a bit like you've sneaked into a garage owned by Indiana Jones. But my kids didn't even notice the informal setting; they were just enchanted by all of the animals.
We joined another family on an hourlong tour that had started about 15 minutes before we arrived. While my son gawked at the croc skulking in a pool, my daughter was charmed by a baby alligator named Snappy, which our awesome guide, Danielle, handed to her to hold (after securing the reptile's mouth).
We peeked into tanks and tubs inhabited by turtles and tortoises, stared at gigantic snakes - albino Burmese pythons! Anacondas! - looked at and held all sorts of lizards. From there, we got to see lemurs cavorting in their habitat, coati climbing around their mesh-walled structure, a wallaby, a young kangaroo, floppy ferrets, soft chinchillas, and a screechy Fennec fox.
Outside, my kids were excited to feed fresh strawberries to the goats and to toss a shiny apple to a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, who snorted thanks and carried the fruit off to a corner. Out back, we visited a couple of red foxes and a lynx, who was busy snacking and didn't feel like coming outside. (None of the animals are caught in the wild; some are given to them by specialty breeders, others are rescues or orphans.)
The family-owned and operated business has been around since 1988; they have an outpost at Kimball Farm in Westford in summer. The Bolton location is home base, where the animals live when they're not touring schools, birthday parties, or other events. Animal Adventures is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to
5 p.m., and Sundays from noon until 5. Tours during regular hours are $12 per person; children ages 2 and 3 are $6, under 2 are free.
We left after one last peek at the bear-like binturong and another visit to the goats. The strawberries were long gone by then, but the animals came running up to the fence, just in case we had more treats for them.
WHO: Globe Correspondent Lylah M. Alphonse, her 6-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son
WHAT: Exotic animals, up close
WHERE: Animal Adventures, 336 Sugar Rd., Bolton; 978-779-8988; www.animaladventures.net