Featured image: Magnolia Wilds
Looking for an easy way to reduce stress, connect with nature, and make some fantastic memories? Check out our favorite animal encounters where you can get up close and personal with laid-back capybaras, silky lop-eared bunnies, and playful pygmy goats.
Whether you grab your girlfriends to sip wine with horses or take the family on an adventure safari, these wild experiences are sure to bring a smile to your face.
Cow Hug Therapy at The Gentle Barn
Who knew that simply resting your head on a cow’s warm flank could reduce stress? Or that rubbing a pig’s belly could heal past hurts? At The Gentle Barn just outside of Nashville, rescued animals’ stories of resilience inspire visitors to find peace and joy.
Since Ellie Laks founded the Gentle Barn in 1999, close to a million visitors have experienced the transformative power of animal therapy, engaging with the creatures that call this sanctuary home.
Barnyard Therapy invites visitors to flirt with emus, kiss llamas, and hold chickens, finding childlike joy again. In Equine Therapy, develop confidence and leadership skills as you groom and walk horses. Youngsters come to practice reading to nonjudgemental animals, and learn kindness as they interact with cows, pigs, horses, and chickens.
Maybe you just need a good hug. Then choose Cow Hug Therapy, and feel yourself relax as your body breathes in time with the gentle bovine.
Alpaca Yoga at Winchester Creek Farm
Peek out from under your down dog to see alpacas roaming freely in the surrounding hills. As you practice your standing mountain pose, breathe deeply and take in views of the Smoky Mountains. If the yoga doesn’t relax you, communing with curious, kind alpacas with irresistible eyelashes certainly will.
Just 30 minutes south of Asheville in Waynesville, Winchester Creek Farm offers yoga classes in the company of adorable alpacas. After a 45-minutes session, participants feed, pet, and take pictures with the animals. Snap a selfie with chocolate brown Cocoa Kiss, or pose with Teddy, an adorable cream-colored Huacaya Alpaca.
Yoga classes are for 18 and up, but anyone can book a tour to spend time with the alpacas and the farm’s menagerie of mini horses, highland cows, pygmy goats, sheep and lop bunnies.
Wine & Horses at Equine Social
Laura Martin, a California wine lover, moved from the West Coast to Nashville to combine her two passions: charcuterie and horses. This unlikely combination was the inspiration for one of the area’s most unique wine experiences, Equine Social.
What’s the best way to enjoy wine and charcuterie? In good company, of course. At Martin’s beautiful horse barn and private tasting room, guests enjoy a decadent selection of meats and cheeses under the gentle watch of the majestic quarter horses. Don’t worry, you won’t have to share. Martin supplies a charcuterie bowl of goodies for you to feed to the horses.
Relax in the rustic chic atmosphere and sample five different wines. Every guest takes home a gift of Space Cowboy Coffee, another of Martin’s endeavors. So pull on your cowboy boots and grab your country-loving friends for the most unique happy hour around.
Goat Yoga at Goat Daddy’s Farm
You might find it hard to pay attention to the yoga instructor with playful goats hopping around and nudging you for some love. After class at Goat Daddy’s Farm and Animal Sanctuary in Elgin, South Carolina, head to the farm’s store for complimentary hors d’oeuvres and mimosas.
The fun continues on a tour of the 66-acre farm to meet Abu the Camel, Puff the Bearded Dragon, Toph the Pot Bellied Pig, and more of the 120+ animals that call this South Carolina animal sanctuary home. Goat Daddy works with local vets and rescue organizations to provide forever homes to exotic and domestic animals.
If yoga’s not in your practice, just tour the farm. You’ll get a tray of treats to hand out as you visit the farm’s residents, with plenty of time for photos as you cuddle a goat or kiss a pig!
Visit the dairy goats, sample some cheese, or even try your hand at milking. Hate to leave? Check into the onsite Airbnb for hiking, relaxing in the hot tub, and more time with the goats.
Sip with Sloths at Magnolia Wilds
There’s a world of animal encounters waiting for you at Ethel, Louisiana’s Magnolia Wilds. What began with founder John “Gabe” Ligon’s passion for animals grew into a haven for exotic animals, conservation initiatives, and educational programs.
With over 50 species of animals, the opportunities for interactions are endless. You can sip wine with sloths, swim with otters, or walk about the 32-acre animal preserve. Your guide will share fascinating facts about the kangaroos, hyenas, zebras, capybaras, lynxes, and other animals on the property.
Raptors & Reptiles at Georgia Southern University Center for Wildlife Education
One of the premier wildlife education centers in Georgia started with a mistaken identity. During a tense moment in the final quarter of a Georgia Southern University football national championship game, an impressive bird flew over the stadium. A sports broadcaster mistakenly referred to the soaring turkey vulture as a bald eagle.
Harry Matthews, a bird enthusiast and university supporter, decided the school, located in Statesboro, needed the real thing, and in 1990 the search for a bald eagle began. Decades later, the campus Center for Wildlife Education is one of Georgia’s largest wildlife centers. Birds of prey, from tiny owls to stately eagles, along with reptiles, amphibians, and a few mammals are on display. Daily educational programs give visitors a chance to get up close and personal with raptors, reptiles, and more.
Take a Safari at Wild Acres
Add a wild twist to your next brunch with a painting safari at Wild Acres in McHenry, Mississippi. Nosh on fresh fruit and pastries while you create your painted masterpiece, mimosa in hand. After the guided painting class, you’ll take a safari to see the ring-tailed lemurs, Bengal tigers, monkeys, and kangaroos.
If you’d rather get up close and personal with the animals than paint, you can swim with capybaras, or cuddle the babies in the nursery. Who knew a baby porcupine could be so cute?
