COLLECTIVE EFFORTS
FACTOID
There are 1 1/2 miles of
trails through Wonders
of Wildlife.
More than 2,000 artists, sculptors, woodwork-
ers, ironworkers, taxidermists, illustrators, design-
ers, scientists, biologists and engineers helped
create WOW’s realistic wildlife habitats. Among
the displays they contain are the mounts of
dozens of record-setting big game animals includ-
ing whitetail and mule deer, elk, wild sheep and
other historically significant North American game
animals. It’s the greatest collection of record big
game mounts ever assembled.
FACTOID
From inception to
completion, it took
nine years to build
Wonders of Wildlife.
FUN FACTS …
• Approximately 35,000 live fish,
mammals, reptiles, amphibians and
birds call Wonders of Wildlife home.
• Forty conservation organizations
such as the National Wild Turkey
Federation and Safari Club
International partnered with Bass
Pro Shops in the venture.
• An extensive collection of fish,
wildlife and habitats from seven
continents are represented in the
complex.
AQUARIUM
LOWER LEVEL
Cut through the Great Barrier Reef to visit
the International Game Fish Association’s
Hall of Fame.
HOME WATERS
FACTOID
The huge museum encompasses
350,000 square feet, making it larg-
er than the Smithsonian National
Museum of Natural History (325,000
square feet) in Washington, D.C.
• Five of the world’s oceans supplied
fish for WOW’s aquariums.
• Almost $300,000,000 was spent to
build the vast complex.
• Residents from all 50 states and vis-
itors from more than two dozen
countries have visited WOW since it
opened in September 2017.
No surprise from a company with “Bass” as the first word in its name, Bass Pro Shops’ WOW shows plenty of love to
bass. Besides the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, there are a number of smaller exhibits where bass are the stars of the show.
Lunker Lake, for instance, is home to bass that any angler would be glad to have on the line. Here, bass that weigh
between 10 and 20 pounds swim languidly through their domain, safe from the wily ways of fishermen.
Likewise, numerous exhibits are devoted to the world that bass inhabit – including swamps and rivers – and that they
share with other fish ranging from bluegills and crappies to giant catfish and gar. ■
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