Jump to content

Safari park: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Added a Safari Park that was nto listed but stil exists today.
Line 1: Line 1:
A '''safari park''', sometimes known as a '''wildlife park''', is a [[zoo]]-like commercial tourist attraction where visitors can drive in their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals. The main attractions are frequently large animals from Sub-Saharan Africa such as [[giraffe]]s, [[lion]]s, [[rhinoceros]], [[elephant]]s, [[zebra]]s, and [[antelope]].
A '''safari park''', sometimes known as a '''wildlife park''', is a [[zoo]]-like commercial tourist attraction where visitors can drive in their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals. The main attractions are frequently large animals from Sub-Saharan Africa such as [[giraffe]]s, [[lion]]s, [[rhinoceros]], [[elephant]]s, [[zebra]]s, and [[antelope]].
[[Image:Giraffes at west midlands safari park.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Giraffe]]s being fed by visitors in the [[West Midland Safari Park]]]]
[[Image:Giraffes at west midlands safari park.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Giraffe]]s being fed by visitors in the [[West Midland 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 {{convert|750|acre|km2}}. For comparison, [[Lake Nakuru]] in the [[Great Rift Valley|Rift Valley]], is {{Convert|168|km2}}, and a typical large game reserve is [[Tsavo East National Park|Tsavo East]], also in [[Kenya]], which encompasses {{Convert|11747|km2}}.
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 {{convert|750|acre|km2}}. For comparison, [[Lake Nakuru]] in the [[Great Rift Valley|Rift Valley]], is {{Convert|188|km2}}, and a typical large game reserve is [[Tsavo East National Park|Tsavo East]], also in [[Kenya]], which encompasses {{Convert|11747|km2}}.


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

Revision as of 12:26, 5 January 2011

A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial tourist attraction where visitors can drive in their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals. The main attractions are frequently large animals from Sub-Saharan Africa such as giraffes, lions, rhinoceros, elephants, zebras, and antelope.

Giraffes being fed by visitors in the West Midland 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 (3.0 km2). For comparison, Lake Nakuru in the Rift Valley, is 188 square kilometres (73 sq mi), and a typical large game reserve is Tsavo East, also in Kenya, which encompasses 11,747 square kilometres (4,536 sq mi).

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

History

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 lions.

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 (1912-1990), former co-director of Chipperfield's Circus, as detailed in his autobiography, "My Wild Life"[2], the autobiography[3] of Bob Lawrence (head keeper of West Midland Safari Park) and literature from the parks up until the 1990s. Longleat's Marquess of Bath agreed Chiperfield's proposition to fence off 40 hectares (99 acres) of his vast Wiltshire estate to house 50 lions. Knowsley, the Earl of Derby's estate outside Liverpool, and the Duke of Bedford's Woburn estate in Bedfordshire both established their own safari parks with Chiperfield's partnership. Another circus family, the Smart Brothers, joined the safari park business by opening a park at Windsor for visitors from London. The former Windsor Safari Park was in Berkshire, England, but closed in 1992 and has since been made into a Legoland. There is also Chipperfield's "Scotland Safari Park" established on Baronet Sir John Muir's estate at Blair Drummond near Stirling, and the American-run "West Midland Safari and Leisure Park" near Birmingham. One park along with Jimmy Chipperfield at Lambton Castle in the North 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; Dallas, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Richmond, Virginia. The first park, in South Florida, is the only Lion Country Safari still in operation.

Burgers' Zoo at Arnhem, Netherlands, 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) board walk.

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

  • Europe
    • Great Britain : Longleat (1966), Windsor (1969-1992), Woburn (1970), Blair Drummond (1970), Knowsley (1971), Lambton (Lion Park, 1972-1980), Bewdley (West Midland Safari Park, 1973)
    • France : Thoiry (Réserve Africaine, 1968), Peaugres (Safari de Peaugres, 1974), Sigean (Réserve africaine de Sigean, 1974), Saint-Vrain (Parc du Safari de Saint-Vrain, 1975-1998), Port-Saint-Père (Planète Sauvage, 1992)
    • Nederlands : Hilvarenbeek (Safari Beekse Bergen, 1968)
    • Germany : Gelsenkirchen (Löwenpark, 1968-1989), Tüddern (Löwen-Safari,1968-1990), Stuckenbrock (Hollywood und Safaripark, 1969), Hodenhagen (Serengeti Park, 1974)
    • Italy : Bussolengo (Safari del Garda, 1969), Fasano (Zoosafari, 1973), Pombia (Zoo Safari, 1976)
    • Denmark : Givskud (Løveparken, 1969), Knuthenborg (Knuthenborg Safaripark, 1969)
    • Sweden : Kolmården (Safari Park, 1972-2011), Smålandet (Markaryds Älg & Bison Safari,?)
    • Austria : Gänserndorf (Safaripark, 1972-2004)
    • Spain : Cabárceno (Parque de la Naturaleza, 1990)
  • Africa

Controversy

Today, many zookeepers have created warning signs and dirt roads.[citation needed] Even though an impact is very rare, cars can hit animals such as wildebeests, zebras, buffalos, bears and wolves.[citation needed] Not only can the animals be hit, but people could damage their car.[citation needed] If they killed an animal by accident they have to pay for the zoo.[citation needed] Not only will people hit the animals, but vicious animals will attack people, such as tourists which open the windows so the animal will get in and out.[citation needed] Tourists will also damage vegetation, introduce pests and bring diseases to an animal's habitat.[citation needed] Organizations have talked to safari parks to not let tourists use their car to drive, but to let a tour guide have the wheel and still let the tourists enjoy the park.[citation needed] They also said to travel agents to not let people book safari parks around the world.[citation needed]

See also

  • SimSafari: a computer game simulating the management of a safari park

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Safari Park.
  1. ^ Life, Vol.49, No.5, August 1, 1960, pp.1,30.
  2. ^ Jimmy CHIPPERFIELD, My Wild Life. Macmillan, London (1975). 219 p. ISBN 0333180445
  3. ^ Bob LAWRENCE, My Wildlife. R. P. Lawrence, Kidderminster (2000). 304 p. ISBN 0953799905
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Safari_park&oldid=406070660"