Safari park
A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial drive-in tourist attraction where visitors can drive their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals.
A safari park is larger than a zoo and smaller than a game reserve. For example, African Lion Safari in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada is 750 acres (3.0 km2). For comparison, Lake Nakuru in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya, is 168 square kilometres (65 sq mi), and a typical large game reserve is Tsavo East, also in Kenya, which encompasses 11,747 square kilometres (4,536 sq mi).
Many parks have conservation programmes with endangered animals like: elephants, white rhinos, giraffes, lions, tigers, cheetahs and wild dogs.
General overview of a safari park
The main attractions are frequently large animals from
Also in the reserves there are animals that are not from Africa:
.Most safari parks have a "walk-around" area with animals too small or too dangerous to roam freely in the reserves, like: small birds, squirrel monkeys, penguins, marmosets, tamarins, mongooses, meerkats, lemurs, gorillas, reptiles, hornbills, red pandas, snow leopards, otters and warthogs. Some also have: children's zoos, aquariums, butterfly houses and reptile and insect houses. Besides animals, in the walk-round area, there are public facilities like toilets, snack bars and cafés, play areas and sometimes amusement rides. There can be walk-through exhibits with animals like kangaroos, lemurs and wallabies. The Knowsley Safari in England keeps Siberian tigers and giraffes in their walking area.
Safari parks often have other associated tourist attractions: golf courses, carnival rides, cafés/restaurants, ridable miniature railways, boat trips to see aquatic animals like sea lions, life-sized recreations of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, plant mazes, playgrounds, monorails, cable cars and gift shops.[citation needed] These are commonly found in the walk-around area. On river safari areas, there may be islands with primates; Longleat keeps gorillas and black-and-white colobus on their islands, which are used to house chimpanzees and siamangs; African Lion Safari in Canada has black-and-white ruffed lemurs, ring-tailed lemurs, lar gibbons, siamangs, Colombian spider monkeys, Geoffroy's spider monkeys, pink-backed pelicans and black swans in the waters.
History and list of parks
The predecessor of safari parks is Africa U.S.A. Park (1953–1961) in Florida.[1]
The first lion drive-through opened in 1963 in Tama Zoological Park in Tokyo. In double-glazed buses, visitors made a tour through a one-hectare enclosure with twelve African lions.
The first drive-through safari park outside of Africa opened in 1966 at
Between 1967 and 1974,
Royal Burgers' Zoo at Arnhem, opened a "safari park" in 1968 within a traditional zoo. In 1995, Burgers' Safari modified this to a walking safari with a 250-metre (820 ft) boardwalk. Another safari park in the Netherlands is Safaripark Beekse Bergen.
Most safari parks were established in a short period of ten years, between 1966 and 1975.
- Africa
- Egypt: Alexandria (Africa Safari Park, 2004)
- South Africa: Limpopo and Mpumalanga (Kruger National Park, 1926)
- Americas
- Brazil: São Paulo (Zoo Safári, 2001 - this park was formerly known as Simba Safari from 1972 to 2001)
- Canada:
- Ontario: Hamilton (African Lion Safari, 1969)
- Quebec: Hemmingford (Parc Safari, 1972), Montebello (Parc Omega, 1985)
- Chile: Rancagua (Safari Park Rancagua, 2009)
- Guatemala: Escuintla (Auto Safari Chapin, 1980)
- Mexico:
- Amacuzac (Zoofari, 1984)
- Puebla (Africam Safari, 1972)
- Puerto Rico: Vega Alta (Safari Park, 1970). The name of the park was simply "Safari Park".[5]
- United States:
- Arizona: Camp Verde (Out of Africa Wildlife Park, 1988)
- Arkansas: Gentry (Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari, 1970)
- California: Escondido (San Diego Zoo Safari Park, formerly San Diego Wild Animal Park, 1972)
- Florida: Loxahatchee (Lion Country Safari, 1967)
- Georgia: Pine Mountain (Wild Animal Safari, 1991)
- Louisiana: Epps (High Delta Safari Park)
- Maryland: Largo (The Largo Wildlife Preserve, 1973–1978, now the site of Six Flags America)
- Nebraska: Ashland (Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari)
- New Jersey: Jackson Township (Great Adventure, 1974, now the site of Six Flags Great Adventure & Wild Safari), West Milford ("Warner Brothers Jungle Habitat", 1972–1976)
- Ohio: Port Clinton (African Safari Wildlife Park, 1973), Mason (Lion Country Safari at Kings Island, 1974–1993)
- Oregon: Winston (Wildlife Safari, 1973)
- Texas: San Antonio (Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, 1984), Glen Rose (Fossil Rim Wildlife Ranch, 1984), (Texas Safari Park, 2023)
- Virginia: Doswell (Lion Country Safari at Kings Dominion, 1974–1993), Natural Bridge (Virginia Safari Park, 2000)
- Asia
- Bangladesh: Gazipur (Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park, 2013), Cox's Bazar (Dulahazara Safari Park, 1999)
- China: Shenzhen (Safari Park, 1993), Shanghai (Wild Animal Park, 1995), Qinhuangdao (Qinhuangdao Wildlife Park, 1995), Guangzhou (Xiangjiang Safari Park, 1997), Jinan (Safari Park, 1999), Badaling (Safari World, 2001)
- India: Etawah (Etawah Safari Park, formerly Lion Safari Etawah, 2018), Rajgir (Rajgir Zoo Safari, 2022)
- Indonesia: Mount Arjuno and Bali (in Bali includes Marine Park)
- Israel: Ramat Gan (Ramat Gan Safari, 1974)
- Japan: Himeji (Central Park, 1984)
- Malaysia: Alor Gajah (A'Famosa Resort, 2001), Gambang (Bukit Gambang Safari Park)
- Pakistan: Lahore (Lahore Zoo Safari, 2009, formerly Lahore Wildlife Park, 1982)
- Philippines: Busuanga (Calauit Safari Park, 1975), Morong (Zoobic Safari, 2003), Carmen (Cebu Safari and Adventure Park, 2018)
- Singapore: (Night Safari, 1994)
- Taiwan: Guanxi (Leofoo Village Theme Park)
- Thailand: Bangkok (Safari World, 1988)
- United Arab Emirates: Dubai (Dubai Safari Park, 12 December 2017)
- Vietnam: Phú Quốc (Vinpearl Safari, 2015)
- Europe
- Austria: Gänserndorf (Safaripark, 1972–2004)
- Belgium: Aywaille (Le Monde Sauvage, 1975)
- Denmark: Knuthenborg Safari Park, 1969), Ebeltoft (Ree Park – Ebeltoft Safari, 1991)
- France: Thoiry (Réserve Africaine, 1968), Peaugres (Safari de Peaugres, 1974), Sigean (Réserve africaine de Sigean, 1974), Saint-Vrain (Parc du Safari de Saint-Vrain, 1974–1999), Obterre (Haute Touche Zoological Park, 1980) owned by the National Museum of Natural History, Port-Saint-Père (Planète Sauvage, 1992)
- Germany: Gelsenkirchen (ZOOM Erlebniswelt Gelsenkirchen, 1949), Tüddern (Löwen-Safari, 1968–1990), Stuckenbrock (Safariland Stukenbrock, 1969), Hodenhagen (Serengeti Park, 1974)
- Great Britain: Longleat (1966), Windsor (1969–1992), Woburn (1970), Knowsley (1971), Lambton (Lion Park, 1972–1980), Bewdley (West Midlands Safari Park, 1973), Blair Drummond (1970), Highland Wildlife Park (1972)
- Italy: Bussolengo (Parco Natura Viva, 1969), Fasano (Zoosafari Fasanolandia, 1973), Pombia (Pombia Safari Park, 1976), Murazzano (Parco Safari delle Langhe, 1976), Ravenna (Safari Ravenna, 2012)
- Netherlands: Hilvarenbeek (Safaripark Beekse Bergen, 1968)
- Portugal: Santiago do Cacém (Badoca Safari Park)
- Russia: Zadonsky District (Кудыкина гора)
- Spain: Penagos (Cabarceno Natural Park, 1990)
- Sweden: Kolmården (Safari Park, 1972–2011), Smålandet (Markaryds Älg & Bison Safari)
- Oceania
- Australia
- New South Wales: Warragamba (African Lion Safari, 1968–1991)
- South Australia: Monarto (Monarto Safari Park, 1983)
- Western Australia: Wanneroo (Wanneroo Lion Park, 1971–1988)
- New South Wales:
- Australia
See also
- SimSafari: a computer game simulating the management of a safari park
- Effects of the car on societies
References
- ^ Life, Vol.49, No.5, August 1, 1960, pp.1,30.
- ^ The lions and loins of Longleat The Sunday Times Retrieved February 18, 2011
- ^ Gail Vines (2 December 1982). "Safari parks, after the honeymoon". New Scientist: 554–557. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
- ^ Sansom, Ian (15 May 2010). "Great dynasties of the world: The Chipperfields". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
- ^ 10 lugares que ya no existen en Puerto Rico: Aquí una lista nostálgica de lugares que ya no existen excepto en la memoria. Primera Hora. 1 October 2013. Accessed 21 September 2020.
References
- Copperfield, Jimmy (1975). My Wild Life. Macmillan. London. 219 p. ISBN 0-333-18044-5.
External links
- Media related to Safari parks at Wikimedia Commons