Accessible Animals
for the Blind

While some zoos have cutouts of animals to make them more accessible to the blind, it is nice when some choices are a available beyond going to the zoo.  [Zoo accessibility]  Among the choices are full sized statues of unusual or dangerous animals or animals that are so small that handling by hundreds of people would endanger the animals; scale models of animals to make large animals subject to comparison where a full sized one would be out of reach (giraffe, elephant); and animal groupings that show animal relationships (diorama type)

Please use the contact at the bottom if you wish to tell us about sites of interest to blind users.

Almost anywhere in the country, live animals are available for handling by going to PetSmart or PetCo or other more local pet stores.  Beyond cats and dogs, ferrets, rabbits, mice, rats, snakes, lizards, larger turtles, and various birds may be found.  Horses are available at riding venues found in most cities and mules, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese are often available at working farms, urban farms, and petting zoos. Geese are notorious for pecking and others may or may not be on a working farm. Elephant rides are offered at zoos and on some occasions at fairs.

In the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, there are natural sized bronze sculptures of mice, frogs and snakes at the Dallas Zoo Children's area. It is reported that at the tiger exhibit are bronze casts of a footprint and tooth.  
Two major sculptural collections of oversized animals provide limited access because of their size.  Near the downtown Dallas convention center, at Pioneer Plaza, a bronze herd of long horn cattle is being driven by cowboys on horses. The figures are about twice life sized so reaching to the top is difficult, fairly good action especially in horses.
At Las Colinas in northeast Irving is the stunning bronze Mustangs herd which portrays a herd of wild horse with young as if running down a creek and crossing a pond. Sprays of water simulate hooves hitting water in a neat abstraction of a creek in an urban setting. The herd is 1 1/2 times life sized so access is limited but young horses provides more access.
Several of the horses are mid-stream and are not accessible. 
The Museum of Nature and Science [formerly Natural History Museum and Science Museum] in Fair Park has a full sized bronze mammoth with huge crossed tusks that are accessible as are the legs.  A phone call connected me with someone who said the museum has a policy of allowing blind access to accessible display animals and those in storage.