Asafari park, sometimes known as awildlife park, is azoo-like commercialdrive-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 agame reserve. For example,African Lion Safari inHamilton, Ontario,Canada is 750 acres (3.0 km2). For comparison,Lake Nakuru in theGreat Rift Valley, Kenya, is 168 square kilometres (65 sq mi), and a typical large game reserve isTsavo East, also inKenya, 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 andwild dogs.
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(November 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The main attractions are frequently large animals fromAfrica which people can see in wildlife reserves such as:giraffes,lions (includingwhite lions),white rhinos,African bush elephants,hippopotamuses,zebras,ostriches,lesser andgreater flamingos,ground hornbills,guineafowl,African buffaloes, sometimesdromedary camels,great white andpink-backed pelicans,African sacred ibises,Ankole cattle,cheetahs,leopards,hyenas,chimpanzees,baboons,African wild dogs,Barbary sheep,crowned cranes,Egyptian geese,saddle-billed,yellow-billed andmarabou storks,Nile crocodiles (in a side paddock),Nubian ibexes, and manyantelope species including-wildebeest,hartebeest,topi,gazelles,elands,lechwe,addaxes,oryxes,bongos,kudus,nyalas,impalas,springbok,blesbok,sitatunga,duikers,waterbucks,sable antelopes, androan antelopes, just to name a few.
Also in the reserves there are animals that are not from Africa:Asian species include:Asian elephants,Indian andSumatran rhinoceroses,gaur,water buffaloes,nilgais,blackbucks,banteng,markhor,Malayan tapirs,wild asses,sambar deer,Indian hog deer,yaks,gibbons,tigers (includingwhite tigers),Asian black bears,Eld's deer,babirusas,chital,dholes,barasinghas,painted storks,peafowl, andBactrian camels;North American species include:American black bears,brown bears,wolves (includingArctic wolves),American bison,elk, andwhite-tailed deer;South American species include:llamas,alpacas,jaguars,capybaras,anteaters,South American tapirs,rheas, andblack-necked swans;Australian species includekangaroos,wallabies,emus, andblack swans;European species include:European bisons,Eurasian wolves,mute swans,fallow deer,red deer, andmoose.
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 andwarthogs. Some also have:children's zoos,aquariums,butterfly houses and reptile andinsect 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 likekangaroos, lemurs and wallabies. TheKnowsley Safari in England keepsSiberian 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 likesea lions, life-sized recreations ofdinosaurs and otherprehistoric animals, plantmazes,playgrounds,monorails,cable cars andgift 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 andblack-and-white colobus on their islands, which are used to house chimpanzees andsiamangs;African Lion Safari in Canada hasblack-and-white ruffed lemurs,ring-tailed lemurs,lar gibbons, siamangs,Colombian spider monkeys,Geoffroy's spider monkeys,pink-backed pelicans andblack swans in the waters.
The predecessor of safari parks is Africa U.S.A. Park (1953–1961) in Florida.[1]
The first lion drive-through opened in 1963 inTama Zoological Park inTokyo. 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 atLongleat inWiltshire, England.[2][3] Longleat, Windsor, Woburn and arguably the whole concept of safari parks were the brainchild of Jimmy Chipperfield (1912–1990), former co-director ofChipperfield's Circus, although a similar concept is explored as a plot device inAngus Wilson's "The Old Men at the Zoo" which was published five years beforeChipperfield set upLongleat.[4] Longleat'sMarquess of Bath agreed to Chipperfield's proposition to fence off 40 hectares (100 acres) of his vast Wiltshire estate to house 50 lions. Knowsley, theEarl of Derby's estate outsideLiverpool, and theDuke of Bedford's Woburn estate inBedfordshire both established their own safari parks with Chipperfield's partnership. Another circus family, the Smart Brothers, joined the safari park business by opening a park atWindsor for visitors from London. The formerWindsor Safari Park was inBerkshire, England, but closed in 1992 and has since been made into aLegoland theme park. There is also Chipperfield's "Scotland Safari Park" established onBaronet Sir John Muir's estate atBlair Drummond nearStirling, and the American-run "West Midland Safari and Leisure Park" nearBirmingham. One park, along with Jimmy Chipperfield atLambton Castle inNorth East England, has closed.
Between 1967 and 1974,Lion Country Safari, Inc. opened 6 animal parks, one near each of the following American cities:West Palm Beach, Florida;Los Angeles, California;Grand Prairie, Texas;Atlanta, Georgia;Cincinnati, Ohio, andRichmond, Virginia. The first park, in South Florida, is the onlyLion Country Safari still in operation.
Royal Burgers' Zoo atArnhem, opened a "safari park" in 1968 within a traditionalzoo. In 1995, Burgers' Safari modified this to a walking safari with a 250-metre (820 ft)boardwalk. Another safari park in the Netherlands isSafaripark Beekse Bergen.
Most safari parks were established in a short period of ten years, between 1966 and 1975.
Media related toSafari parks at Wikimedia Commons| Types of zoos | |
|---|---|
| Conservation | |
| Lists | |
| Related | |
