Still in search of exotic animals, we set out to the drive-thru Lion Country Safari. I had a fond memory of visiting the one in Southern California back in the 1970s, when the lions were still allowed to roam freely. The CA version closed in 1984, and the big cats in the original Florida park were caged in 2005 because too many idiots kept opening their car doors.
To enter the park, our car had to navigate an "airlock" of double-fencing that foils escape. The park is divided into several separately-fenced sections, each named for a famous nature preserve or national park. The interior gates are open during visiting hours, allowing some animals to roam and graze freely if their feet are adapted to cross cattle guards. The ostriches and emus were particularly ubiquitous and seemed to enjoy blocking the roads whenever possible.
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Speaking of ostriches, we were inching along the road when we noticed a, well, flap on the other side of a distant fence. It took a minute to make out what was going on, but we finally realized that there was some ostrich romance going on. I managed some fuzzy snaps using the telephoto lens; it's hard to make out, but they were definitely gettin' it on.
Not surprisingly, most of the animals were ruminants; in particular, there were many different species of antelope.
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There were also some cattle-relatives that would put my Texas longhorns to shame, including some black ones that I was unable to definitively categorize. They were super horny.
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The most populous species of antelope was the blackbuck. The females and immature males were similarly tan-colored and differentiated only by the presence (or absence) of horns. A gorgeous mature male, dark brown above and white below, stayed nearby but apart from the herd; we only saw the one so I wondered if a dominant male would drive out other males once they matured.
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As mentioned before, the big cats (and one large bird) were fenced off from the roadways, making them hard to see and photograph. It was a far cry from my memories of the 1970s-era drive-by.
The primates had an island all to themselves where they couldn't be bothered by other animals. The chimps were being shy, but a gibbon was happy to show off for me. The narrow waterway surrounding the island seemed insufficient for separation. I was surprised to learn that chimps can't swim; their low body-fat ratio means they sink in water.
The giraffes were in their own area near the primate island, with giraffe-sized feed bins and branches on poles.
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Zebras alongside rhinos was a notable combination of residents in "Hwange National Park", an area named for a Zimbabwe park.
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The baby rhino named Ruby, only seven months old, was cute as a button. Ruby's mom explored our C-Max with great interest, nudging our bumper hard enough to cause a mini-earthquake inside.
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A couple of alpacas nibbling the palm trees said goodbye to us as we exited the park. Our excursion had been a nice, mild diversion, but it didn't stand up to my 50-year-old memories of California. I guess there's something a bit more exhilarating about having lions snoozing a mere twenty feet away from your car.
On our way back to Behemoth, we stopped to visit a completely different type of wild-animal park. They're everywhere!