Lion Country Safari

Lion Country Safari is a drive-through safari park and walk-through amusement park located on over 600 acres in Loxahatchee (near West Palm Beach), in Palm Beach County, Florida. Founded in 1967, it claims to be the first 'cageless zoo' in the United States.

Lion Country Safari
26°42′58″N 80°19′20″W
Date opened	1967; 57 years ago (1967)
Location	Loxahatchee, Florida
Memberships	AZA[1]
Website	www.lioncountrysafari.com

In 2009, USA Travel Guide ranked Lion Country as the 3rd best zoo in the nation.^[2]

Background

Developed by a group of entrepreneurs, Lion Country Safari became a place where families could experience an African safari. Due to its year round climate, South Florida proved to be an ideal location for the park.^[3]

In the beginning, the park had its own 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railroad, the Everglade Express. The architects of Lion Country Safari based the design of the property on Jack Murphy Stadium. This attraction was eventually closed and the Crown Metal Products 4-4-0 locomotive was put on static display. Later, the locomotive was donated to the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami before finally being bought and fully restored by the Veterans Memorial Railroad, located in Bristol, Florida's Veterans Memorial Park. It runs on that railroad to this day.^[4][5]

Exhibits

Giraffe

The park in Florida consists of over 1,000 animals, throughout seven sections in the 4-mile preserve as well as the 33-acre Amusement Park.

Visitors who purchase a ticket enter the park in their own vehicle (no convertibles or soft top covers), driving slowly at their own pace, and view the animals while listening to a recorded narration which is available via streaming from SoundCloud. Many of the animals, such as giraffes, antelope, and zebras, are allowed to roam freely throughout the preserve, even crossing the road in front of vehicles. Others, such as lions or apes, are segregated behind fences or water barriers.

Visitors are warned to drive slowly and carefully, to avoid stopping too close to animals, and not to open their car doors or windows. The lions, whose ability to roam freely with cars was one of the park's original attractions, were separated from visitors by a fence around the road in 2005, due to visitors ignoring warnings and opening their car doors. Additionally, opening windows near the frequently seen ostrich is not recommended, as they often peck on the reflective windows and windshields of passing cars.

A unique aspect of Lion Country Safari is the chimpanzee exhibit. The chimpanzees live on an island system where they move to a different island every day, replicating their natural nomadic lifestyle. The chimpanzees live in complex social groups, as they would in the wild. Because of this, Lion Country Safari has been useful to those interested in behavioral studies of chimpanzees. One of the chimpanzees, named Little Mama, recorded as the oldest known living chimpanzee, was born around 1938, died on November 14, 2017, from kidney failure.^[6] Lion Country Safari also serves as a retirement facility for chimpanzees who were once used in research laboratories and entertainment.

After visitors have driven through the park, they can visit Safari World, a theme park featuring exhibits, and amusement park fare such as an Animal Theater, a petting zoo, mini golf, paddle boats, two water slides, a small water park, and the popular giraffe-feeding exhibit. Food is available at Lion Country Safari's main restaurant.

Animal species

Safari Tour

Las Pampas Aldabra giant tortoise Alpaca Brazilian tapir Brown pelican Greater rhea Marabou stork South American tapir Ruaha National Park Greater kudu Impala Ostrich Kalahari Bushveldt Blue wildebeest Eastern bongo Gemsbok Nile lechwe Ostrich Waterbuck Gir Forest Blackbuck Nilgai Nyala Scimitar-horned oryx Water buffalo

Gorongosa Reserve African lion Serengeti Plains Ankole-Watusi Blue wildebeest Common eland Impala Ostrich Waterbuck Hwange National Park Blue wildebeest Chimpanzee Giraffe Grant's zebra Greater kudu Southern white rhinoceros White-handed gibbon

Safari World

African spurred tortoise Alligator snapping turtle Alpaca American alligator American flamingo Black-handed spider monkey Blue-and-yellow macaw Blue-throated macaw Budgerigar Burmese python Chicken Coconut lorikeet Colombian spider monkey Crested porcupine Goat East African crown crane Koi Linnaeus's two-toed sloth Military macaw Mute swan North American porcupine

Rainbow lorikeet Red-and-green macaw Red-collared lorikeet Red-footed tortoise Rhinoceros iguana Sarus crane Scarlet macaw Siamang Southern ground hornbill Squirrel monkey Sunset lorikeet Turkey vulture Vietnamese pot-bellied pig Yellow-streaked lory

In popular culture

• Lion Country Safari plays a major role in Frederick Buechner's 1971 novel Lion Country.
• The park was referenced in The Simpsons 1991 episode "Old Money" when the family takes a trip to Discount Lion Safari.

Notes

1. "Currently Accredited Zoos and Aquariums". aza.org. AZA. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
2. "Lion Country Safari Named Third Best Zoo in Nation". WPBF 25. February 26, 2009. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
3. "Lion Country Safari History | Lion Country Safari". Retrieved 2020-05-22.
4. "Steam Locomotive Information". www.steamlocomotive.info. Retrieved Aug 22, 2021.
5. "Surviving Steam Locomotives in Florida". Retrieved Aug 22, 2021.
6. Webb, Kristina (14 November 2017). "Little Mama, oldest living chimp, dies at Lion Country Safari". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 18 April 2021.

References

• McDaniel, Sharon. "The mane attraction" The Palm Beach Post, January 6, 2006.
• Gilken, Rochelle E.B. "At Lion Country, cats cut off from cars", Palm Beach Post, December 29, 2005.

External links

• Official website
• Memories of Lion Country Safari, Irvine, CA
• Lion Country Safari on Modern Day Ruins