Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon takes you to Africa
Written: Jul 30 '05 (Updated Jul 30 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Experience a Safari without leaving US, educational and fun. Conservation oriented environment.
Cons: Sad reminder that animals are endangered. No way to exactly duplicate original habitat.
The Bottom Line: Want to go on Safari in the comfort of your air-conditioned car? This is a good choice. The staff seems genuinely committed to conservation. The tour is educational and fun.
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| nwinston's Full Review: Wildlife Safari |
"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." Ancient Indian Proverb
Conservation or Spectacle?
We were at Crater Lake in Southern Oregon and heard about Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon. Six miles south of Roseburg, not quite in California on the I-5 corridor, we were intrigued. Would this park really be about conservation or would it be a cheesy display of African animals just to make some money? Memories of 1960's trips on Route 40 with nasty caged animal tourist traps came back to me. After talking to some hotel staff who reassured us about the park's intent, we took our sons to Wildlife Safari.
One man's vision
This park was came about because Frank Hart had a passion for saving animals he visited in Africa. With each successive visit, he saw fewer animals and worried about their extinction. Hart wanted to create a facility in the Pacific Northwest that would become a home to these animals. Wildlife Safari is an AZA-accredited non profit wildlife park with a mission of education, conservation and research. Hart chose Winston because it's in the mild banana belt, compatible with many animals' habitats.
Overview
The park consists of a drive through safari of animal habitats, a village with restrooms, restaurant and gift shop, petting zoo, short elephant rides, shows and extra educational experiences. The drive takes you through exhibits of animals from Africa, Asia and the Americas.
Safari
I have always wanted to go on Safari. If it wasn't for fears of wild animals, aversion to camping, risk of traveling abroad, weak stomach for new foods, language barriers and lack of money, I'd be there. Oh, and did I mention bugs? Bugs don't seem fun. So a drive through close to home sounded more like my flavor of safari. The showcase of the Wildlife Safari is a long curving road through various habitats. The road is wide, allowing you to stop to observe and photograph animals while other cars pass you if they wish. You can circle back to the village for restrooms or food, then rejoin the safari roads at your convenience. At the entrance, you are given the option of getting a CD tour to play as you drive for $5. We got it and thoroughly enjoyed the narration on our trip. A guidebook said to allow 1 3/4 hours for the drive. Our family stopped frequently to observe animals and we spent about 2 1/2 hours on the road.
Cheetahs
A highlight for the Wildlife Safari is the Cheetah breeding program. The park is very successful in their preservation of cheetah bloodlines. The park believes their success is due in part to having space for separating cheetahs. Remember the saying about familiarity breeding contempt? Also, the cheetah habitats are located above their prey's habitats and scientists think animals breed more when they can see and smell their prey. The cheetahs can be difficult to view from the car tour. Fun facts include their speed - at 70mph runs, cheetahs are the fastest land mammal. Their strides of 20 ft. are 5 ft. longer than a race horse. Cheetahs originated before other big cats, 4 mil. yrs. ago. Cheetahs are nearly extinct in Asia and the Middle East with few left in Africa.
Giraffes
One of the first animal groups we came to were the giraffes. We pulled over to watch them try to nibble from barren trees. Their area was denuded with tantalizing leafy trees just out of reach behind a fence. While we were watching, a Wildlife Safari truck pulled over with Acacia branches in the back. The staff member pulled branches out and climbed up the hill, putting branches in holes in the tree trunks. The giraffes were leary of their lunch lady but anxious to get the branches. The dance between 3 giraffes, the fully leafed branches and the seductress leading them to lunch was 15 minutes of good clean fun for our family. Then my 7 year old got a really good idea - follow the lunch trucks around the park. It was ingenious, allowing us to get a rare glimpse of hippos out of their water feature, up on the bank using their shovel shaped snouts to get as much freshly dropped off grass as they could. These water pigs were fascinating to watch on dry land. They can eat up to 100 lbs of grass per day - yikes!
Emus slow, Camels in a hurry
In Asia, we were stopped at the cattle gate by a herd (pack? flock? gaggle?) of emus. Turns out the Mom had a group of baby emus to protect at roadside - no, wait! That was Papa emu - the males raise the young and protect them. At any rate, he didn't want us on his road! Since emus are the 2nd largeless flightless bird (after Ostriches), and run up to 30 mph, we waited for a few minutes until he let us cross. Then we were next to some Bactrian (double humped to us non-zoologists) camels. They were leisurely looking into our car, lip synching to some song that we didn't hear. All of the sudden, they must have heard the food truck because they took off, one on each side of our car, galloping across the road. We all held our breath, then sighed out at the same moment!
Other animals
While too numerous to mention them all, we enjoyed seeing the Siberian and Bengal tigers, swans, cranes, Sika deer, Black bucks and Nilgai in the Asian exhibits. The Tibetan Yaks were fun to watch at the feeder. The big daddy yak enjoyed poking the lesser creatures with his horns. These animals were domesticated in Tibet around 1000 BC! An African habitat showed off lions who were majestic but sleeping. The watusi cattle had childlike faces and were very cute. We enjoyed seeing the rhinos, Cape Eland and really long horned gemsboks. In the Americas, the black and brown bears were highlights for my boys. I loved the cranes and blue herons. We saw a herd of black tailed deer in the water. Two stood up on hind legs and thrashed at each other with their front legs. The bison were amazingly huge and we saw the top dude using his might to dominate his group. We actually saw so many different animals that I'm having trouble remembering them all. If you enjoy animals and watching their behavior, this park has something to capture your attention.
Wetlands
The park is a self contained watershed and is doing wetlands restoration in cooperation with many groups. School children are helping. The staff is observing local animals moving in as quality improves. They have seen eagles visiting the injured bald eagle who lives in the wetlands.
Village
The village consists of restrooms, a show pavilion, a very small petting zoo, restaurant, gift shop, a cute "find the reptile" activity for small children, some animals on exhibit including an owl, a red fox and some gibbons, a small train ride, gardens and a short elephant ride. My children did the elephant ride. They were reluctant at first, worried that the elephants were being mistreated. After the staff assured us that the $5/person goes to feeding the animals, the elephants are made for walking all day and that the animals get water breaks, my guys had fun on their short trip around a track. After photo ops, we saw our pachy girl Tiki get a water break and splash in a nearby pond. All around the village are signs reminding us of our interconnected nature with animals and their habitats, including the quote I included at the start of this review. I like the spotlight on learning and conservation in this park, as opposed to an entertainment focus at many animal parks. Teaching our children about respect for our surroundings is important to my husband and me.
Shows
While we were at Wildlife Safari, there were 2 shows. "Scoop on Poop" is a scat investigation show, looking at connections between habitat and diet. Children learn how to figure out which animal has been near by the droppings. The other show, "Keepin' it Clean" teaches why clean habitats are important. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle is the theme of the program.
"Get Inside" Events
There are overnight camps for children ages 5 and up. You can sign up and observe, feed and care for animals under the supervision of rangers. Check at the office or call ahead to find out more. Many opportunities are for age 13 and up so my children will have to wait a few years.
Hours: Summer hours are 9-5, Winter (mid Oct-Mid March) are 10-4. The restaurant is open 11-4.
Prices: You can drive through twice and see all shows for admission price.
Adults are 17.50 in season and 14.50 off season.
Children are 11.50 in season and 8.50 off season.
Children under 3 are free
Zoo members (AZA) are 50% off. There are senior and group discounts. Local hotels offer discount tickets at around 20% off.
Car rules: Convertibles aren't allowed, windows are to be rolled up in lion, cheetah and bear habitats.
Pets: Pets aren't allowed and must be kenneled at the entrance - there is no charge.
Directions: I-5, exit 119 at Winston, Oregon. Hwy 42 toward Winston, right on Lookingglass Rd., 3 hrs. south of Portland.
Contacts (541)679-6761, info@wildsafari.org
Website: http://www.wildlifesafari.org/
Recommended:
Yes
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nwinston
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Location: US
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Loving my boys and the summer weather in Oregon!
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