This animal conservancy has several endangered animals to view

FAIRHOPE ― Four African elephants captured the hearts of Somerset County and western Pennsylvania residents and visitors when they arrived at the International Conservation Center more than a decade ago.

Now the ICC plans to expand its conservation and community outreach efforts, bringing new animals to live on its sprawling 1,000-acre compound and adding more activities and events onsite for the public to attend.

Ayeshah Al-Humaidhi, director of the ICC, and Jill Sampson, curator of large animals, gave a guided tour of the center to local media Monday to talk about the new animals, the educational programs being offered and a new opportunity that's coming soon – group camping at the center.

When did the Pittsburgh Zoo create the International Conservation Center

The ICC is located at 1487 Glen Savage Road in Fairhope; it is operated by the Zoological Society of Pittsburgh as an extension of the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium. The land for the center was purchased in 2006, and Jackson, the center's 11,000-pound male African elephant, arrived in 2008.

"It's exciting for us to show what we're doing here," Al-Humaidhi said. "We're not just about the animals that we've brought in. We emphasize local conservation, to conserve and protect our own wildlife in Somerset County – it's beautiful here. There are a lot of great opportunities to learn what we have in this amazing place."

ICC's elephant population is growing

Bette, the first female African elephant, came in 2009 from the Philadelphia Zoo, and in 2012, two more females, Sukiri and Seeni, arrived from Botswana. The four elephants spend much of the year outside, roaming freely and chomping on trees and grasses around the grounds, but there are also sand mounds under a roof in the elephant barn where they can lay if they wish, Sampson said.

In the winter and early spring, the keepers work indoors with the elephants, training them to participate in their own care and doing individual health checks.

"The center has very specialized processes, with every intent to achieve the best possible outcomes for the animals," Sampson said. "They're a great example of how one species affects the habitat of many species."

Al-Humaidhi said the ICC plans to expand the elephant herd in the next year or two, bringing several more females and another male to the center.

"It's important to have a healthy population in America to help those in the wild," she said. "We don't take any from the wild so we have to breed them. We make their habitat as natural as possible. What we can learn from them will help researchers in the wild states."

The ICC also plants and harvests its own hay for the animals to eat, recycles much of its water to reuse, and collects the animals' manure to spread on the hay fields, Al-Humaidhi said. Both Al-Humaidhi and Sampson have been employed at the ICC for two years.

Kids at play: Somerset's Union Street Playground: A day in the life of a local historic site

New animals at the ICC

New to the center is Lorenzo, a 2-year-old Bactrian camel; he has two humps and is an endangered species. Sampson said the ICC plans to add a female camel in the fall.

The center also is introducing four reindeer, two male and two female, to the grounds. They are living at the center now but are in quarantine, as is standard procedure when bringing in animals from other facilities, Sampson said.

Two groupings of bison will arrive this summer, as the center works to breed "purely native bison," Al-Humaidhi said. Bison in the western part of the U.S. are interbreeding with cows, she said, so the center's goal is to breed and raise native bison and then release them back onto their native lands.

The bison won't have much hands-on experience with their human caregivers, as "we don't want them to think approaching humans is the thing to do," she said.

More activities for the public

The ICC is not open daily to the public like the Pittsburgh Zoo, Al-Humaidhi said, but the center wants to increase its community engagement by offering more public events, including one in the fall for Halloween and in the spring for Earth Day, to give visitors an opportunity to learn more about the animals and the ICC.

Open-air wagon rides offer guided tours of the ICC facility on Saturdays during the summer and fall; for more information or to make a reservation, visit pittsburghzoo.org/icc. Guests are welcome to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy in the lodge or at the nearby pond, according to the website.

The ICC also is offering a summer day camp program for children ages 8 and above, and an overnight camp experience for children aged 12 to 14. The two-day mini-camps have been so well received that more camp dates have been added, Al-Humaidhi said. The camps include games and hikes to identify native trees and search for local wildlife, such as frog walks and bird walks. Registration for these camps can be made at pittsburghzoo.org/icc.

Summer reading: Catalog refresh and summer programming kick off at the Mary S. Biesecker Library

Camping under the stars at the ICC

And sometime this summer, a camping area will be ready to welcome groups like the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, youth groups and corporate retreats to rent for overnight camping, Al-Humaidhi said.

The camp area at the ICC has four cabins with twin-size bunk beds (each cabin sleeps eight), a mess hall, a bathhouse with restrooms and showers and a fire pit area; a fence around the perimeter is being installed. Tent camping is also an option. The campground will be available to rent once the site is ready, probably around mid-summer. Watch for more updates online at pittsburghzoo.org/icc.

The ICC has also created an onsite educational program where schools and groups can come for field trips, with lessons tailored for children from pre-K through 12th grade, according to the website. A virtual educational program with the ICC is also available for long-distance learners; visit the website for more information.

During the winter and early spring, the ICC offers a Wild Encounters program where visitors get a 45-minute, semi-private interactive experience with the keepers and the elephants. More information on this program is available on the ICC website.

Al-Humaidhi said the ICC staff are going out into the community more as well, taking part in local fairs and events to share information about the programs and activities they offer.

"We're in the process to make (the ICC) a destination place, to make it more community available and to bring more money into the county through tourism," she said. "We fill a really interesting niche and added value to the county.

"It's such a unique opportunity here, to see elephants in the pasture like that. It's amazing to see them in this environment."

International Conservation Center

Where: 1487 Glen Savage Road, Fairhope, Somerset County, PA

Available: Wagon rides, wild encounters, field trips, summer camps

Website: pittsburghzoo.org/icc

Contact:  814-267-5567 or  [email protected]

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Somerset's animal sanctuary expanding public activities