The San Diego Zoo Safari Park originally named the San Diego Wild Animal Park until 2010, is a 1,800 acre (730 ha) zoo in the San Pasqual Valley area of San Diego, California, near Escondido. It is one of the most prominent tourist attractions in San Diego County. The park houses an extensive array of wild and endangered animals, including Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, and Australia. The park is in a semi-arid environment, and one of its most notable features is the Africa Tram, which explores the expansive African exhibits. These free-range enclosures house such animals as antelopes, giraffes, buffalo, cranes, and rhinoceros. The park is also noted for its California condor breeding program, the most successful in the United States.
The park, visited by 2 million people annually, houses over 2,600 animals representing more than 300 species and 3,500 plant species. Depending on the season, the park has about 400 to 600 employees. The park is also Southern California’s quarantine center for zoo animals imported into the United States through San Diego.
This zoological park and the San Diego Zoo are run by the nonprofit San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. The park is 32 miles (51 km) away from the zoo, at 15500 San Pasqual Valley Road, east of Escondido, California, along California State Route 78. Although the park is within the San Diego city limits, it has an Escondido address.
Exhibits and Attractions
Plains
The park’s most extensive exhibits, covering over 300 acres (120 ha), are open-range enclosures. Visitors view various plains habitats from Africa and Asia. Asian Savanna covers 60 acres (24 ha) and displays Indian rhinoceros, Bactrian camels, banteng, gaur, argali, mouflon, dholes, Sarus cranes, and several species of Asian deer and antelope such as blackbuck, barasingha, sika deer, axis deer, Eld’s deer, Père David’s deer, nilgai, hog deer, white-lipped deer, sambar, and wapiti. EZ San Diego Junk Removal
Tiger Trail
The Sumatran tigers, Denver and Rakan (male), Joanne, Majel, Cathy, Debbie, and Diana, have three different exhibits, and there is a glass viewing window for visitors. After raising $19.6 million for the new exhibit, the ground was broken on December 12, 2012. The new show is named the Tull Family Tiger Trail after movie producer Thomas Tull and his wife. Tiger Trail opened on May 24, 2014. In August 2017, a Bengal tiger cub named Moka was rescued by border police from a car on the Mexican border and brought to the zoo.
Address: 15500 San Pasqual Valley Rd, San Diego, CA
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