FRANKFORT, Ky. - It’s a place to learn about Kentucky’s native wildlife species and ecosystems.

The Salato Wildlife Education Center is operated by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and basically what we're here to do is to educate our visitors about Kentucky's native wildlife, natural resources and the role of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources as it pertains to the management of these resources. 

Located in Frankfort, just minutes from Interstate 64, The Salato Wildlife Education Center welcomes more than 50-thousand annual visitors that come to see a variety of wildlife, including a bear, eagle, bobcats, deer, bison, birds of prey and more.

The neat thing about the Salato Center is that we only house native wildlife, wildlife that you can actually find in the state of Kentucky, and we have a lot of different things here at the Salato Center. Inside the visitor center where we are now, we have smaller exhibits like snakes, frogs, turtles and fish. Outside are the larger exhibits, the larger enclosures and a lot of the larger animals. 

Larger animals like the black bear.  

Salato offers educational workshops and seminars to make Kentuckians more aware of the animals they may come in contact with and ‘Be Bear Aware”

It's not every day you're going to get to see an up-close encounter with a 600 pound black bear.

They can eat stuff like food and salad and stuff.

I think he was really good at tearing down the sheets.

It was really good at eating stuff. They can get into coolers real easily.

A lot of folks who come here have never touched a snake before and maybe they've been a little uneasy or afraid. This is a great opportunity to kind of conquer a little bit of that fear, in a controlled setting, with professionals, and touch that snake for the first time. We have lots of people that the first time they ever touched a snake was probably at the Salato Center or a facility just like this.

I thought it was pretty cool.

The Salato Wildlife Education Center is funded through the sale of hunting and fishing licenses and boater registrations, and through donations to the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a private, 501(c)3 organization that raises funds to support conservation education in Kentucky.

The Salato Wildlife Education Center is your unique opportunity to experience the diverse wildlife that call the state of Kentucky home.

Home to a unique experience for visitors of all ages.