Chula Vista, CA
Well, an Escondido Safari, not African. I drove the 30 minutes or so north to San Diego Zoo Safari Park near Escondido.
I visited San Diego Zoo a few days ago, and yesterday I headed out to the 1800 acre Safari Park facility of the Zoo which houses species from all continents except Antarctica. The area is semi-arid so the African animals are quite a home. The free range enclosures are huge and they emulate the natural habitat of the animals as best as they can including putting several different species in the same enclosures. The park is divided into several different areas.
I started my visit with a tram ride of the African area since the waiting line gets longer as the day goes on. Even with seeing the largest area by tram, there is still lots of walking and some of it up and down hills. There is an elevator to get you from one area to another where there is a dramatic change in elevation.
Overall, the visitor facilities are really well done, with lots of shade, lots of restrooms and areas for kids to let off steam. And of course there are frequent opportunities for purchasing souvenirs and places to eat. Oh yes, and there are photographers everywhere looking to help you remember your trip to the Safari Park, with a photo they have taken along the way. For a price of course. I found the map of the site a little confusing, I think because it wasn’t to scale but they include sign posts and locator numbers that help to keep you on track.
There are also all sorts of upgrades available in addition to your ticket. You can go on the back of a truck to tour the Africa area, which includes a stop in the giraffes pasture where they feed them to enable you to get a picture with a giraffe. There is a behind the scenes tour which allows you to see the areas that are for the zoo keepers only, and learn more “hands on”. There is a balloon ride where you can go up in a tethered hot air balloon, and some other specific animal packages. You can also pay extra to get more convenient parking (on top of the $12 just to park in the regular lot), to get to the front of the line-up for the tram, to get into a VIP area to watch the cheetahs run, etc. So bring your wallet.
The Safari Park facility is used for research into breeding and conservation and their mandate is to bring back as many endangered species as possible. The facility includes the world’s largest veterinary hospital and they have an extensive Conservation Research facility which includes holding frozen samples for breeding purposes. They have several global awards for conservation and breeding research.
In 2014 one of their Northern White Rhinos died at the zoo which leaves only 5 in the world, including a female at Safari Park. They hope in the future to use invitro fertilization to impregnate the female to start a comeback for the Northern Whites.
They are noted for their California condor breeding program. In 1987 they took the last remaining 22 condors into captivity and by removing eggs from nests, they induced females to lay a second egg which they left for the females to hatch. The egg which they removed was hatched in an incubator. By 1992 they started reintroducing them into the wild and by 2011 the population was 191 in the wild and close to 400 overall.
Over all, it was a great day but again I was left wanting to visit the real thing in Africa in the not too distant future. And to be honest, I’m not sure it was worth visiting both the Zoo and the Park. Since the Zoo is closer in, and the grounds are a little smaller, if you only have time for one, I’d hit the Zoo. If you are going to both parks take a look at the ticket package deals that can save you some money.
I didn’t get this posted last night because the RV Park is so full the wifi is ridiculously slow. Overnight it rained and the cooler weather has come in, but it’s sunny with just a few fluffy white clouds left hanging around and about 18. Still very usable.
Lois' Adventures 