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| West Midlands Safari Park | |
|---|---|
 Giraffes at the park | |
 | |
| 52°22′32″N2°17′18″W / 52.3754944°N 2.2882462°W /52.3754944; -2.2882462 | |
| Date opened | 17 April 1973 |
| Location | Bewdley, Worcestershire, England |
| Land area | 200 acres (81 ha)[1] |
| No. of animals | 600[1] |
| No. of species | 165 |
| Annual visitors | 750,000+ |
| Memberships | BIAZA,[2]EAZA[3] |
| Major exhibits | African Plains, Flooded Forest,Mark O'Shea's Reptile World, Sea Lion Theatre, Land of the Living Dinosaurs, and others |
| Owner | Groupe looping |
| Website | wmsp |
West Midlands Safari Park is asafari park located inBewdley inWorcestershire,England. It was opened under the name of West Midland Safari Park in Spring 1973.
The park holds over 165 species of exotic animals and features other attractions such as a smalltheme park. The park contains the largest groups ofwhite lions,cheetahs,hippopotamuses andmeerkats in the UK, as well as the largestlemur walk-through exhibit. It was also the first park in the UK to have the Africanbig five game animals.[1]
The park is a member of theBritish and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) and theEuropean Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA). TheDhole andCheetah enclosures in the drive-through safari are part of a larger heathlandSite of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which the park is restoring.[4][5]
The park was opened by founderJimmy Chipperfield on 17 April 1973 and hosted a few former circus animals. The park also had adolphin area where thesea lion theatre is today, but it was a travelling show and the dolphins were later returned toMargate. The 1970s also saw the park develop a "boat safari", although it was later removed. Anarrow-gauge railway through parts of the park was constructed bySevern Lamb in 1979.[citation needed]
In 2004, the park featured its first new animal attraction in some time with the arrival of four Africanwhite lions in the Kingdom of the White Lions exhibit. The park was the first safari park in the UK to have all five African big game animals,[1] although its leopards have since been moved to Scotland and the last remainingCape buffalo left in 2022. It was also the first park or zoo in Europe to successfully breedwhite lion cubs and has made efforts to conserve the species.
In 2006, the managing directors of West Midland Safari Park officially opened the Ongava Research Centre on the Ongava Game Reserve near theEtosha National Park, their "sister park" inNamibia. The centre focuses on researching lions and rhinoceroses and carrying capacity of the reserves, which hold many rare animals. The centre has three full-time researchers[6] who work closely withSave the Rhino and theUniversity of Cape Town.
In June 2023 following public feedback, the drive through safari must be pre booked via an allocated time slot which is included in the admission when pre booked or can be booked at the main ticket office for free at the Lost City Plaza. You can only drive through the safari once per visit[7]
On 8 February 2024 the safari announced it would be adding the 's' to Midland and renaming West Midlands Safari Park.
The African Plain is home tosouthern white rhinos,common elands,ellipsen waterbuck,African forest buffaloes,red lechwe,Burchell's zebras,Grevy's zebras,Rothschild's giraffes andAnkole cattle.
The Grasslands section is home toPersian fallow deer,blesbok andBarbary sheep.
Wild Woods is home to a group ofdholes.
Wild Asia is home tobanteng,blackbuck,Formosan sika deer,Philippine spotted deer andswamp deer. The Realm of the Indian rhino is home to fourIndian rhinoceroses.
On 8 September 2020, an Indian rhinoceros calf was born, a first for the park.[8]
White Tiger Ridge was removed during a change in road layout in 2019. Alltigers are now located in the Tiger Reserve located in the Eurasian Reserve.
Cheetah Plains is the UK's largest drive-bycheetah reserve.
The African Wild Dog Reserve is home to a group ofAfrican wild dogs.
Realm of the Lions is a fully landscaped reserve and off-road track featuring a pride ofAfrican lions.
Kingdom of the White Lions is home to a pride of rarewhite lions.
Eurasian Reserve is home to Javanbanteng,nilgai andPère David's deer. The Tiger Reserve is home toBengal tigers and endangeredSumatran tigers.
Elephant Valley is home to the safari'sAfrican elephants.
In 2021, the construction of a new elephant reserve was completed.[9] Currently the park holds one elephant: That being Five, as Sutton had moved to a different park.
Formerly the elephants' enclosure, Borderlands is home to a herd ofBactrian camels.
West Midland Safari Park is known for its efforts in conservation. The park contains many animals that are on theIUCN'sEndangered orCritically Endangered list.
In May 2014, the park's Elephant Valley became home to the first male African elephant successfully born as the result ofartificial insemination in the UK.[10]
| Opened | Name | Manufacturer | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Congo Carousel | Robert Tidman | Classic gallopers ride, operated previously at Happy Hour Amusement Park, Colwyn Bay |
| 1986 | Jungle Swings | Nick Beach | A classicchair-o-plane ride |
| 1986 | Jungle Cat Dodgems | I.E. Park | Cat-themed dodgems |
| 2006 | Venom Tower Drop | Fabbri | A 105 ftdrop tower ride similar toDetonator at Thorpe Park, but half of the train is taken off the ride. |
| 1996 | Zambezi Water Splash | Reverchon Industries | A standard two-droplog flume |
| 2002 | Black Fly | Fabbri | Afrisbee ride similar to Sky-Force atFlambards Theme Park |
| 1992 | Dr. Umboto's Catacombs | Supercar | Aghost train ride |
| 2004 | Jumbo Parade | Fabbri | An elephant-themedjets ride cheaper version of Dumbo AtDisneyland |
| 1983 | Pirate Ship | HUSS Park Attractions | A classicpirate ship ride similar toThe Bounty AtDrayton Manor andThe Blade AtAlton Towers |
| 1995 | Hurtling Hippos | Bakker Denies | A polyp ride, formerly named Tarantula, Spider and Cape Octopus; operated previously at Codona's Amusement Park |
| 1992 | Rhinocoaster | Vekoma | Ajunior rollercoaster formerly named Rollerskater |
| 1988 | African Big Apple | Pinfari | An MB28 junior rollercoaster |
| 1998 | Monkey Mayhem | Reverchon Industries | Aspinningwild mouse roller coaster, formerly named Walls Twister Coaster |
| 1999/2000 | Slippery Snake Slide | Chris Randall | A snake-themed tube slide |
| 2014 | Kong | Zamperla | A gorilla-themedMega Disk'O |
| 2023 | Dino Dashers | Zamperla | A Jump Around ride |
| Name | Opened | Closed | Manufacturer | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cobra | 1985 | 1991 | Vekoma | A standard Vekoma boomerang replaced with the Rhinocoaster |
| Safari Express | 1979 | 2014 | Severn Lamb | A 2mm narrow gauge train that took passengers from the amusement park to the car park. Closed in 2014 to make way for the dinosaur exhibit. |
| Shark Island | 2009 | 2022 | Shenyang Chuangqi A.E. | An interactive water roundabout |
| Wild River Rafting | 2006 | 2023 | Fabbri Group | a river rapids ride |
This is the UK's largest animatronicdinosaur attraction, opened in 2015.
This is the UK's largest animatronic creator attraction to featureice-age animals. It opened in 2018.
Discovery Trail consists of mostly indoor exhibits and includes animal encounters. Visitors can come near small exotic creatures while under the observation of staff members. Encounter animals includeferrets,lesser hedgehog tenrecs andlong-tailed chinchillas.
Penguin Cove is home toHumboldt penguins. Their enclosure includes a pool with a semi-submerged beach, sculptures, penguin house and public viewing areas.
This new heated indoor exhibit is home to a flock ofRainbow lorikeets. A specially designed walkthrough enclosure includes eco-heating to maintain a temperature of 18 °C.
Creepy Crawlies is the park's insect house and contains a small range of animals such astarantulas,Goliath birdeater spiders,leafcutter ants,locusts,Madagascar hissing cockroaches andscorpions.
The park's reptile house was formerly named after the famous herpetologistMark O'Shea, who occasionally performed during the reptile-encounter events. Reptiles and amphibians in this exhibit includealligator snapping turtles,American alligators,amethystine pythons,beaded lizards,black rat snakes,Borneo short-tailed pythons,Cuban crocodiles,Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes,Egyptian cobras,frill-necked lizards,green anacondas,green and black poison dart frogs,green tree pythons,Jamaican boas,king cobras,malagasy giant hognose snakes,Nile crocodiles,red-eyed crocodile skinks,red-eyed treefrogs,red-tailed green ratsnakes,reticulated pythons,Saharan horned vipers andwestern diamondback rattlesnakes.
The Sea Lion Theatre is a 525-seat venue that allows visitors to see the parks’Californian sea lions performing tricks in a 25-minute show.
SeaQuarium is the park's aquarium, containing a wide variety of exotic fish. This is also the park's chain attraction. Some of the animals includeAsian arowana,Bermuda blue angelfish,chocolate chip star,clownfish,common carp,emperor angelfish,gold-spotted spinefoot,honeycomb moray,long-spine porcupinefish,orangespine,unicornfish,orbicular batfish,pangas catfish,queen coris,red-bellied pacu,red-bellied piranhas,Red Sea sailfin tang,redtail catfish,redtoothed triggerfish,reef stonefish,Siberian sturgeons,small-spotted catsharks,snowflake moray,spotted sailfin suckermouth catfish,spotted unicornfish,tambaqui,Vlamingii tang,white-spotted pufferfish andzebra moray.
The Twilight Cave is a walkthrough exhibit containing free-flyingRodrigues fruit bats andSeba's leaf-nosed bats. Nocturnal exhibits within this area are home tonight monkeys.
The African Village is an interactive walkthrough area allowing visitors to see African village wildlife and a replica African village home. The Goat Walk contains a walkthrough area containingCameroon sheep,pygmy goats andSomali sheep.
This exhibit is home to a large mob ofmeerkats.
This is the largest walkthrough lemur wood in the UK, with three lemur species:ring-tailed,white-fronted brown andred-bellied.
A large number of lakes may be found in the amusement area. One of these has become home to the largest pod ofhippos in the UK.
Further up the bank from the Goat Walk there is a group ofostriches.Addax were formerly held here.[11]
