California Living Museum, Native wildlife zoo in Kern County, US.
The California Living Museum (CALM) is a 14-acre zoo in Bakersfield, Kern County, holding over 80 species of California native animals that cannot be released into the wild. Its natural exhibits include an open black bear area, a Cats of California exhibit with mountain lions and bobcats, a bird of prey exhibit, a waterfowl pond, a deer yard and an underground reptile house. Plant walks replicate Kern County environments, from mountain trees to a miniature Kern River riparian strip and a Mojave Desert community.
The museum opened in 1983 and was later placed under the management of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools in 1998. That change gave the site a formal role as an educational institution connected to local schools.
The DiGiorgio Education Center displays fossils from the Miocene and Pleistocene periods found in the Kern County region. These remains show visitors what kinds of animals lived across this part of California long before the present day.
The museum is in Bakersfield and is closed on Mondays. The DiGiorgio Education Center is the first stop, with the gift store, reading library and children's discovery rooms. The reptile house is underground, and the waterfowl pond draws spring and fall migrants.
Every year the museum takes in between 300 and 500 injured wild animals from across California, treats them, and releases many back into the wild. This makes it one of the most active wildlife rehabilitation centers in the region, a role that most visitors are unaware of.
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