The centerpiece of animal attractions in Charleston is the South Carolina Aquarium (scaquarium.org). Visitors can begin in the Great Hall, where two-story windows afford a panoramic view of the harbor, and a 15,000-gallon tank teems with fish representative of those that live at the aquarium. Animal exhibits include the Mountain Forest Aviary, a recreation of the Blue Ridge Mountain habitat of the bright red Northern Cardinal; in addition, guests can sometimes see a family of otter cavorting under the man-made waterfall. At the Touch Tank, guests can get a hands-on introduction to hermit crabs, sea urchins and other non-vertebrates, while over at Toddler Cove, clown fish, blue tang and moray eel give the youngest visitors a glimpse of life on a tropical reef.
Just outside of Charleston, the Center for Birds of Prey (thecenterforbirdsofprey.org) is a nonprofit organization on a 150-acre campus in Awendaw. Open daily, the center is dedicated to the study and welfare of native birds. The organization conducts daily tours and hosts special events. In 2011, events included International Vulture Awareness Day and Owls by Moonlight, the latter a get-together featuring a reception and an opportunity to view the night-flight habits of wild owls.
About 38 miles from Charleston, Edisto Island Serpentarium (edistoserpentarium.com) is a reptile-centric attraction in which visitors can view the species from low-walled enclosures. From there guests can see snakes bask on rocks, while the alligators "flaunt their individual personalities," as their website puts it.
Audubon Center (sc.audubon.org) at Francis Beidler Forest, boasts a "real swamp" experience from its center in Four Holes Swamp, about an hour from Charleston. A magnet for fans of birds (and bugs), the facility offers naturalist-guided tours. Special events in 2011 included Storks & Corks, an evening with wine and the wood storks at the center's Kathwood Ponds near Aiken.
Middleton Place (middletonplace.org) in Charleston is a National Historic Landmark renowned for its intricate gardens. The 65-acre facility includes the Plantation Stableyards, which recreates life on a farm in the 18th- and 19th-century Deep South. Costumed interpreters demonstrate farm skills, while heritage breeds like cashmere goats, river water buffalo and Rhode Island Red chickens complete the display.
Middleton Place includes a riding stable that provides equestrians of all skill levels access to wooded trails or riding rings. The stable offers lessons, guided rides and pony parties; the facility is also home to the Middleton Place Hounds, a recognized fox-hunting club that specializes in "drag hunts," in which the hunters do not kill the quarry.
Just outside Charleston in Johns Island County Park (ccprc.com), the Mullet Hall Equestrian Center offers one of the few public equestrian trails in the Low Country. Though the center does not rent horses or give lessons, visitors with horses may access the 20 miles of trails that lead through oak forests and farm fields.
