march '17 : animal park wildenburg.

in the heart of the hunsrück mountains there's a little treasure to be found: the animal park wildenburg. it is a fairly huge park, with big compounds for all its animals to roam around in and lots of opportunities to see them in a habitat that is actually native to them. you can visit several types of deer, goats & birds, a lot of domestic animals such as pigs, rabbits & guineapigs and of course very rare animals, like wolves ( obviously the biggest attraction of the park ). there are lots of opportunities to feed most of the animals or at least to witness a feeding as well. also, kids can get cozy with animals in a petting zoo ( which i took advantage of, of course, because i'm ALWAYS down to cuddle with animals <3 p="">

the park was so big that we rarely encountered other visitors and first thought that we were the only ones visiting. the weather wasn't actually the best and it was also mid-week, so i guess people rarely find their way up to the animal park anyway. we couldn't find a single person first to pay our entry fees and had to search for someone. they told us then, that they trusted their visitors to just throw in some money inside a money box at the entrance, and if not they would at least pay their fee when leaving the park. i was really astounded by that agenda, they surely must be very faithful in humanity & their benevolence, haha. i wonder how many people visit and don't ever pay the small fee and how it is in any way possible that this park is surviving. but it seems to be working out, so who am i to object?

either way, i loved this park, especially because we had it almost to ourselves. no annoying people ( except us :P ) destroying the magical mood of the woods & seeing the animals in a very natural & almost undisturbed surrounding.

baby goat nibbling on green leaves.

beautiful peacocks were crossing our ways often enough.

very curious raccoon.

the goats were all forming a guard of honour - well, to receive some delicious pet food.

eagle owls are the best with their tiny feather ears.

some of the terrain was really rocky, perfect for all rock-climbing animals like goasts and moufflons.

and then there were the wolves. i didn't have a good time taking photos, because the fence they were behind was this close-meshed monster that absolutely destroyed every shot. so... that's why you see all the rhomb shadows. after editing some of them, i ended up liking a few, because the effects that formed were really interesting to look at. ( as seen in the photo above )

i love wolves! they are so primal & exude an exciting power that just captivates you. i never was afraid of wolves and also will never understand why there are people on this earth who are scared of them. wolves are such intelligent animals, very good observers & only through human interference they were bedevilled as the evil predators everyone is scared of. they live in some kind of symbiosis with other animals in the wild, never hunting too much of a certain stock. one says, that some animals can't survive without the wolf, and the wolf can't survive without its prey. it's some kind of symbiosis or check/balance thing.

for several years now, wolves can be found roaming around in german woods again, even though it's not a very big population, but probably only stray ones who somehow managed to make their way through densely populated regions. i wish wolves were more numerous in our woods, but unfortunately humans changed their former habitats into customized human territories. maybe they can find their way back, again, but it feels like it's still very far into the future.

the wolves living in the animal park were really lovely, cuddling & sleeping very closely next to each other. they looked so soft & kind, i did not ever want to leave them and watch them as long as possible.

such beautiful animals, right? and, yeah, still sorry for the annoying fence shadows.

the walk through the park was very scenic.

fresh fir needles.

we met some lovely sika deer.

and pot-bellied pigs. this one looked very jolly and friendly :)

there was a small rain shower coming down at one point and it brought a little rainbow! can you spot it?

red deer were running around as well.

and these were so shy and skittish: white fallow deer. they are extremely special. there's something so ghostly & haunting about them and i felt really lucky to shoot this rather bad picture of them.

this chicken won me over with its extraordinary feather dress :)

guinea fowl & rooster in peaceful coexistence.

after our animal park visit we decided to check out the wildenburg, a castle that is located right next to the park. the buildings in the forefront are part of the castle as well, it's the lower bailey of the actual castle. the tower in the back is a fairly new building and has a vantage point function. it was built into the remains of the upper bailey.

i don't know what these tags were about, but it made for an interesting photo?

a little gate that we passed through on our way up the mountain to the castle. loved the candle arch in the beams up above.

wildenburg castle. it's mainly just ruins, but you had a very nice view over the hunsrück mountains from there. it seems like i didn't shoot a photo of that at all, though :P

the tower.

mom descending the tower to smoke a cigarette :) i don't know, but somehow i like this shot a lot, even though i cannot put a finger on why i do. maybe the shadows?

goodbye, little castle!

some ruined walls down the pathway towards the park.

the upper bailey is standing very prominently on a very high cliff.

several rock formations were really intriguing to me.

i secretly call this pillar of strength ;)

the lower bailey was nicely reconstructed & modernized. in the summer months there is a cafe & restaurant serving you some food, but while we were there it was closed.