You are here >
In to Las Vegas >
Las Vegas Attractions >
On The Strip >
Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat
The Secret Garden at The Mirage
Purring with content at The Secret Garden within The Mirage Hotel are Siegfried and Roys pampered pussies, well tigers and lions to be exact! With lush foliage native to their natural habitat, soothing music and the best medical care money can buy.
The owners prefer the place to be looked at as more of a conservation effort than an attraction. The white tigers at the garden were on the brink of extinction 50 years ago. In fact, none were believed to be alive until one was spotted in South Africa in 1957.
Siegfried & Roy have put in a lot of commitment to help animal preservation, in the early '80s they began a breeding program with the Zoological Society of Cincinnati with two striped white tigers and a snow-white tiger cub. They now have 48 white tigers. In 1995, there were fewer than 10 white lions, after partnering with the Johannesburg Zoological Gardens in South Africa, there are now 19.
Not only is there exotic white tigers and lions at the Secret Garden but also a rare snow leopard, a black panther and Gildah the Asian elephant, who at four tons and 53 years is both the heaviest and oldest animal in the garden. The rarest animal housed in the Secret Garden is the heterozygus tiger, a golden tiger capable of producing pure white, white striped and golden striped litters.
This is probably the only place where a person could get extraordinarily close to these powerful, magnificent creatures. A must see whilst visiting Las Vegas.
Dolphin Habitat at Mirage
Observation and education is the focus at The Dolphin Habitat, a place allocated as a research habitat. At the 2.5 million gallon facility, a team of marine biologists help to educate students from the Clark County School District throughout the school year, pointing out highlights and answering any questions.
The habitat includes a 22-foot deep viewing tank, with both an outdoor and underground viewing area, four interconnected pools that imitate the dolphins' natural environment (only one pool is open to public viewing), and includes an imitation coral reef system and sandy bottom.
A family of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, living at the observation centre, gave birth to calves, Duchess and Squirt and videos can be viewed highlighting this celebratory occasion.
The owners, most importantly, want people to recognise that none of the dolphins have been taken from the wild, only animals already in captivity are residing at the habitat.
Further Information
The Mirage hotel-casino is located on the Strip between Flamingo and Spring Mountain Road.
Opening times are: Monday - Friday, 11 a.m. 5.30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Admission to both exhibits is $12 on Wednesdays, and after the Secret Garden closes, admission to the Dolphin Habitat is $6. Children under 10 are free when accompanied by an adult. An audio tour is also available at The Secret Garden at no extra charge.
< Back to attractions on the strip
|
|
|
