Safari park

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A safari park is a zoo-like commercial tourist attraction where visitors can drive in their own vehicles and observe the wildlife, rather than viewing animals in cages or small enclosures. The main attraction is large animals from Sub-Saharan Africa such as giraffes, lions, rhinoceros, elephants, zebras, and antelope.

Giraffes being fed by visitors in the West Midlands Safari Park

A safari park, while larger than a zoo, is usually a very small area compared to game reserves in Africa. For example, African Lion Safari near Cambridge, Ontario, Canada is 750 acres, or 3 square kilometers. For comparison, Lake Nakuru in the Rift Valley, is 168 square kilometers, and a typical large game reserve is Tsavo East, also in Kenya, which encompasses 11,747 square kilometers.

Safari parks often have other associated tourist attractions: golf courses, carnival rides, miniature trains, and gift shops.

The predecessor of safari parks is Africa U.S.A. Park (1953-1961) located in Florida.

The first drive-through safari park outside of Africa opened in 1966 at Longleat in Wiltshire, England. Longleat, Windsor, Woburn and arguably the whole concept of safari parks were the brainchild of Jimmy Chipperfield, former co-director of Chipperfield's Circus, as detailed in his autobiography, "My Wild Life", the autobiography of Bob Lawrence (owner of West Midlands Safari Park) and literature from the parks up until the 1990s. The former Windsor Safari Park was located in Berkshire, England, but closed in 1992 and has since been made into a Legoland.

Most safari parks were established in a short period of ten years, between 1966 and 1975.

Great Britain : Longleat (1966), Windsor (1969-1992), Woburn (1970), Blair Drummond (1970), Knowsley (1971), Bewdley (West Midlands Safari, 1973)
France : Thoiry (Réserve Africaine, 1968), Peaugres (1974), Sigean (1974), Saint-Vrain (1975-1998)
Nederlands : Hilvarenbeek (Safari Beekse Bergen, 1968)
Germany : Stuckenbrock (Hollywood und Safaripark, 1969), Hodenhagen (Serengeti Park, 1974)
Sweden : Kolmården (Safari Park, 1972)
United States
- Florida : Loxahatchee (Lion Country Safari, 1967)
- California : Irvine (Lion Country Safari, 1970-1984), San Diego (Wild Animal Park, 1972)
- Texas : Grand Prairie (Lion Country Safari, 1971-1992), San Antonio (Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, 1984)
- Oregon : Winston (Wildlife Safari, 1973)
- Ohio : Port Clinton (African Safari Wildlife Park, 1973)
- Virginia : Shenandoah Valley (Virginia Safari Park, 2000)
Canada
- Ontario : Rockton (African Lion Safari, 1969)
- Quebec : Hemmingford (Parc Safari Africain, 1972)
Mexico : Puebla (African Safari, 1972)
Israel : Ramat-Gan (1974)