San Diego Zoo Safari Part 1, March 13, 2013

I passed Safari Park on the way home from Julian and was excited to visit this extension of the famous San Diego Zoo. It's near Escondido and covers 1,800 acres. I was surprised how arid and warm it was in contrast to the coast and the mountain weather. It began as a breeding place and veterinary hospital for the Zoo until the vision of opening to the public became a reality in the 1970s. It now has a breeding program and belongs to the Institute for Conservation Research. Although the park houses over 2,600 animals, they are spread out over a vast expanse and I only got to half the park, so I felt I didn't see very many animals. The tiger exhibit is closed for renovation. I did enjoy the bird show which will be in part 2. Both the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and the San Diego Zoo are run by the Zoological Society of San Diego

Welcome to Safari Park on US 78

Entrance

These preschoolers are holding onto
handles that were all along the rope.
Great crowd control!!!! And the vests
identified the group. There were so
cute and I crossed their path a
couple of times. They were in awe
of the big yellow balloon.

I'm putting the birds and
flowers on another part,
so the first animal was this
huge snake. She kept it moist
with the water spray bottle
while the other zoo lady talked.

This was the young gorilla. I couldn't
get a photo of Mom or Dad

Great learning tools were all along
the park. This one is especially
graphic and is fully man/gorilla sized.

Ahh, the self confidence of youth!

Or needing encouragement from Mom.
(In the red shirt.)

Looking out over the faux African
plains. It felt very real.

One way to see the park is
in the gondola a little way down
beneath the balloon. It is tethered
on a long cable to the landing space.

To get down to the tram
station you have choices!

Stairs or elevators. I think
you know which one I took!

A Plexiglas barrier and tent
for the lion gave us a perfect
view. He meandered up to the
window as we jockied for a
position to see and snap photos.

Soooo lucky to get this shot
on my knees between the legs
of others!!!! Two females were
just out of camera range.

You had to pay extra to see
the Cheetah run the run.

The open air tram took us all around
but the animals were too far away to
really see. (and I was on the wrong
side of the windows)

Toward base camp. See the balloon?

Another part of the vast plains.
Guess there are animals somewhere!

Walking along a side trail, I found
this beautiful little creek.

And I love finding "real" wildlife in the
zoo. There was another one, too. Which
probably means there were many more.

This arbor led to more exhibits of snakes and small creatures.
I bet it's beautiful when the vines are blooming and green.