Video series gives behind-the-scenes look at The Wild Center’s animal ambassadors

The Wild Center debuted its new documentary series, “Wild Tales,” over the weekend with the first episode now live on its YouTube channel. The long-form videos feature the Adirondack animals that call The Wild Center home, along with the Animal Care Staff that create a safe and enriching environment for them 24/7.

“Wild Tales” gives a behind-the-scenes look into The Wild Center’s animal ambassadors, such as fish, otters, birds and other creatures. Each episode of the series averages 15 minutes and covers the day-to-day activities in the Animal Care department, such as medical procedures, vet visits, animal enrichment, possible pregnancies and more.

“The Wild Center is home to roughly 300 Adirondack animals,” said Leah Valerio, curator at The Wild Center. “These creatures are more than my colleagues, they’re my friends. This series gives viewers an idea of what goes into taking care of these creatures – cleaning, feeding, teaching them, with a lot of fun along the way!”

The Wild Center celebrated the new series with a red-carpet event and world premiere party held on Friday, Aug. 26. Event attendees walked the red carpet, took “paparazzi” photos and received “ottergraphs” from Ollie the Otter. They also had the chance to meet some of The Wild Center’s newest animal ambassadors including Bianca, the albino porcupine and Norris, the woodchuck, who made his public debut.

During the premiere event, The Wild Center screened the first two “Wild Tales” episodes inside its Flammer Theater. Episode one highlights the staff that cares for these precious animals, while episode two features Norris the woodchuck going in for a surgery, and an inside look at an intriguing feather collection project.

“Visitors to The Wild Center have gotten to know and love many of our creatures in person,” said Nick Gunn, marketing director of The Wild Center. “Wild Tales now lets people see more of our animal ambassadors, like Norris the woodchuck, who made his on-screen and public debut in the same night.”

The first episode is now available on The Wild Center’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/wildcenter. Each subsequent episode of season one will debut on Thursday evenings. Individuals are encouraged to subscribe to receive notifications when a new video is published.

More information about Wild Tales is available here: wildcenter.org/wildtales.