“We have activities and tours throughout the day during the summer months – when we are the busiest.”Ībout the Wildlife Safari: Wildlife Safari is a 600 acre Drive-Thru animal park. “There are a number of programs that allow people to have close encounters with the animals,” Molatore said. It’s one thing to read about animals in a book, but it’s quite another to be able to learn about training elephants, feeding giraffe, or encountering a big bear. “It is very hard to breed cheetahs in captivity and we have been able to do it, and are showing other facilities how we do it.”Įducation is another piece of Wildlife Safari that makes it a special place. “We have had 161 cheetahs born in captivity here,” she said. Molatore was quick to point to the park’s cheetah breeding program, which is one of the most successful in the United States. That was the original vision of Wildlife Safari, when Frank Hart created the facility 38 years ago he wanted to help save rare and endangered species from around the world. In fact the Wildlife Safari is in the top 10 percent of the zoos and aquariums in the nation with the accreditation.
“We are actually accredited as a zoological park through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.” “But we are more than just a roadside animal show,” Molatore said. People can drive through exhibits that showcase wildlife from Africa, Asia and America and about 160,000 people a year visit the park. Molatore said that many of the animals are fed near the road, so getting a glimpse of everything from rhinos to lions is possible. The 4.5 mile drive takes about 90 minutes, but can take up to two hours depending on the number of cars going through and their speed.
The most popular aspect of Wildlife Safari is driving through the wildlife park and seeing a lot of the 600 acres and more than 550 animals in the wild. In addition, there is also a train that people can take where the engineer gives a guided tour around some of the park – things people miss if they don’t take the time to get out of their cars.
#DRIVE THRU SAFARI NEAR ME FREE#
The free Safari Village features more than 90 animals, a petting zoo, gardens, a gift shop, café and event center.
“A lot of people don’t realize what is in the Village and there are a lot of experiences here that people miss out on,” said Destiny Molatore, development director of the wildlife park. You know a tourist attraction is good, if all the locals have stories about their experiences in Winston. Those are the type of experiences you get in Winston Oregon at the Wildlife Safari.Įver been within feet of an American alligator? How about within spitting distance of a flock of pink flamingos? The fence and shrubs are the only thing keeping you from the business end of a porcupine, and these experiences are just in the Village area – the real experience is when you drive your car through the park. “It’s OK, he likes that,” the trainer said as Barker continued her affections. This wasn’t like any other type of zoo the little girl had been to, as she had just finished a 20 minute ride on the back of the dromedary and now was saying thank you to the beast which towered over her. Five year old Hayley Barker was tentative while she scratched the head of the camel.
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