Africa:
You come in through our hand made straw arch to come and see a wonderful Lion Fountain with antelope statues looking like running away from the lion that is roaring. As you continue down the trail, the path has large savanna grass on both sides until you see the path ends and you hear whistling to see a entrance to a large savanna avairy where Vulturine Guineafowl, African Sacred Ibis, Helmeted Guineafowl, Spotted Thick-knee, Temminck's Courser, Red-billed Buffalo-weaver, Yellow-billed Stork African Openbill, African Spoonbill, Lesser Flamingo, African Crake, African Darter, Cattle Egret, Great Bittern, Abdim's Stork, Crested Francolin, Buff-crested Bustard, in a beautiful enviroment where you are in a dry savanna at first then to a lush wetland with a 25ft water fall and greenery every where and majority of the birds live at with a river going down through the avairy while you cross over it on a bridge. When you come out the exhibit, you see a smaller avairy with a Dracaena aletriformis with a large nest home to our Milky Eagle Owl and next to it is a Verreaux's Eagle in a lush enviroment with little suprise in some of the trees.
We continue down our path out of the aviary to see the a secluded area to
Scavenger Encounter
Here you smell the odor of death all around and you see an artifical elephant skull on one side and you turn around to a window in the dry bush to see White-backed Vultures and Marubo Storks gather around a fake zebra carcass out in the open with a tree where you a pair of Lappet-Faced Vulture that already ate their fill.
Now you are back out of the open savanna to see an Kilpspringer and a Rock Hyrax on a rocky Kopje thats covers 1/4 of a acre with a mob of Meerkats cover the ground level of the exhibit always looking out for Birds of Prey.
You walk to a safari lodge with an african style resturant and a few murals of the great african wildlife to see educators with some african animal ambassors where you can learn about the species and the threats pose to it. There is a loading station to jeeps like the ones that DAK have where you get the safari of your life.......
Next is the Field Exhibit safari and trail.
Safari Trek:
Once you get on our Jeeps, you will go pass a sign saying: Welcome to Safari Trek.
You are in a densly vegated forest with Vervet monkeys, Nyala, Bongos, Sitatunga, Gerenuk, and sometime a Lesser Kudu. While driving down in the forest, you will come pass a shallow river where most visitors see the elusive Black rhino browsing on some nearby trees and bushs or wallowing in the mud, with a Saddle Bill Stork hunting some fish in the river. Following the river is the a huge lake home to our Greater Flamingos, Hippos, Great White Pelicans, African Darter, Shoebill,Goliath Heron Pair , and some Hammerkop but the river still continues to our crocodile pond basking in the sunlight. Now, finally we get out of the forest to the open savanna with trees dotting the area. You can find Warthogs, Patas Monkey, Porupines, Masai and Reticulated Giraffe Giraffes, Blue Wildebeest, Topi, Hartebeest, Soemmerring's, Thomson's, and Grant's Gazelle, Cape Buffalo, Common Eland, Ostrich, Greater Kudu, Waterbuck, Sable Antelope, Roan Antelope, Impala, East African Oryx, Grey Crowned Cranes,Grevy Zebra and Hirolas living in a seperated exhibit for breeding purpose, but people can't tell. The main field exhibit is a 80 arce savanna with a main water hole from the river that we saw before. We turn to see a huge Kopje and when lucky enough to see a Lion surveying the savanna, and down the path, you get a glimpse of the African Elephant Reserve exhibit where we are very successful in breeding elephants and we go back to the station to where they tell you can leave and go to the path to get upclose to the animals.
Once we get out of the lodge, we go down the path into the forest. Here, you get views of the forest at certain places, at a common foraging area, at the river and ponds and on the way there are some side exhibits. The first that you will encounter will be the Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew, Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Angola Colobus, African Green-tinkerbird, Tree pangolin, Yellow-backed Duiker,Parrot-billed Sparrow,Green Sunbird,Grey-headed Sparrow, and some Southern Grosbeak-canary living in a tropical forest enviroment with a small pond on the lefthand side with swinging vines and hollow logs. Down the trail is the view of the Black Rhino's and up ahead to the right is a rocky outcrop for our Olive Baboon exhibit with some bushes, scrubs, and trees in the 1 acre exhibit. Now you are at the Hippo's paddock look over the exhibit and watching the birds and Hippos cooling off in the pool. There is a underwater viewing area where there is an array of fish in the water. Back on ground level, you pass the crocodiles exhibit to come to the Reptile House hidden in some scrubs and bushes. The Reptile House holds: Leopard Tortoise, Savanna Monitor, Black Mamba, Nile Monitor, Green Mamba, Rock Python, Pancake Tortiose, African Bullfrog, East African Rainbow Lizard, Striped Skink, Jackson's Chameleon. After Leaving the Reptile House, you come upon the Open Savanna, here you have 5 large views of the Savanna. Going to the 2nd viewing area is the Savanna Avairy home to:
Chestnut Sparrow, Kenya Sparrow, Brimstone Canary, Cape Canary, Cinnamon-breasted Bunting, Pin-tailed Whydah, Variable Indigobird, Grosbeak Weaver, White-browed Sparrow-weaver, Greater Blue-eared Glossy-starling, Fork-tailed Drongo, White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Mombasa Woodpecker, Red-billed Hornbill in a dry savanna woodland where you see many kind of savanna trees, srcubs, and bushs.
and now we continue to the 2nd viewing area of the savanna and marvel again at the diverse wildlife, after we saw all the viewing areas, we go to the Lion Kingdom, which focus on Africa's predators
Lion Kingdom:
You have now arrive to Lion Kingdom, you hear the laughing hyenas and roaring Lions ready for dinner. As you enter, there is a Antelope skull (artifical) under a bush. The first exhibit you will see is a African Clawess Otter in a lush River Exhibit where there are live fish for the otters.There is a high clay ledge with many holes on the side to see it is home to the White-fronted Bee-eater a;ways hunting bees for their young. The next exhibit down the path holds the Secretary-bird in a open exhibit with few trees giving them shade and a zip line that the birds chase for some mices. At the next exhibit, you see a sign pointing to the Mongoose Complex:, here you see all time of Mongooses from the savanna: Banded, Slender, Common Dwarf, Yellow, Jackson's,Bushy-tailed, and White-Tailed Mongoose. They all live a lush green habitat with many trees, scrubs, and bushes. After we finish those exhibits, we head off to the bigger predators.......
We continued down the path to hear the Lions roaring even better but they will have to wait later. You turn to a glass window into a dry savanna woodland and you spot a Caracal sleeping under the shade with a little pond near the right with a log over it between two medium size Kopje. Next will be the African Civet a another dry savanna woodland but with some long grass where the civet hides when he hears a lion roar. When he comes out, there are plenty of treats in the logs and some toys in his exhibit. The Serval exhibit though, is a open field cover by long green grass with a Acacia Tree near the middle of the exhibit and climbing logs so they can get to the top. You hear a commontion going on so you go to the next exhibit, the Ratel. This exhibit is a open savanna woodland with to logs with alot of honey and some meat hidden the plants for the predator to find. Now we come to the Canines section of the exhibit. The Bat-Eared Fox has a large open savanna exhibit with a few bushes and a with a few burrows here and there ti see a head pop out and a couple of little ones and they run out to the toys and the little treats buried in the ground. The next thing you smell is death like before to come to the Black-backed Jackal in a savanna/woodland habitat with a dead wildebeest in the middle of the exhibit. We are finally to get to Africa's bigger predators, the African Wild Dog is first. This species lives in a savanna in the front but a lightly woodland in the back, usually where they have their pups, but the front is where the zipline carrying fake impala with meat stuff inside is given every two days to these animals. The Spotted Hyena are next in a open green savanna with a few trees and srcubs plus a river running my to seperate the humans and the predators and a fence. Our next exhibit is home to our fastest land animal, the Cheetah. These cats have a wide open green savanna with a few long grass, few termites mound, trees and a bush with a zipline like the African Wild Dog but a Gazelle though. The next big cat is the African Leopard living in a lush green forest, allowing the cats to climb the trees and look out for prey and zoo keepers with food. Here is one of our star attraction, the Lions. The big cats have a large 3 arce exhibit with a large climable Kopje giving them a great shot of their favorite prey. There is a small river giving them drinking water. a small green woodland for shade and a open savanna to bask in the sun. Now it is time for the African Elephant Reserve! Next time though
African Elephant Reserve:
You come to see a huge babob tree with many green foliage around it a river with papyrus on its border on the tree's side. Then you come to a streamside exhibit with a green open savanna and woodland to see Kob, Steenbok, Oribi, Gerenuk, Southern Ground Hornbill,Gemsbok, Stanley's Crane ,Lechwe, Puku, and Red Forest Duiker. Then you come to this open plain exhibit with a few green bushes and borrows to see an Aardvark pop out and go to a termite mound to eat their favorite treat. Next we come to the White Rhino's exhibit, This exhibit is a wide open field exhibit with savana trees and bushes dot the savanna with a meduim sized water hole for the rhinos, Burchell's Zebra, Springbok, Bontebok, Black Wildebeest, Crested Guineafowl, and Southern Bald Ibis. Now you come to a large safari hut to see its a the Elephant Center with many info boards of the Elephants, bones, footprints and a large elephant stall where you might see the mothers and babies before they go out to exhibit. Then you see a huge window to see one of the three 6 arce elephant exhibit. This one is a river side exhibit, to show the wetlands of the savanna that elephants gather around for drinking and play. Once you go outside, you see the same exhibit with one of the three African Elephant groups. The next exhibit will be a large green forest with a pond for the elephants need for drinking. This exhibit is design for the elephants to browse the area. The last exhibit is a large open savanna with a few trees, bushes, and scrubs dotting it, plus a pond for the same reason. Here the elephants have room to graze, play, and when rains, a mud bath.
Now that is the end of the African Savanna Area, time for the Ethopian Highlands, but latter of course.
Ethiopia Highlands:
You come into an artifical valley with rocky ledges on both side and you get to see a smoother ledge with open flat land with green bushes and grass where you find Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax, Yellow-necked Spurfowl, Hartlaub's Bustard, Black-faced Sandgrouse, Bailey's Shrew, and African Giant Shrews. Now we continue to see the land is getting flatter and flatter to see a huge open plain African Wild -butt- (yes it is a real animal) exhibit where the zoo breeds them every successfully and there is a open high mountain green woodland where you can find the Mountian Nyala and Menelik's Bushbuck. The next door neighbors are the Gerenuk and Somali Wild -butt- in a dry savnna woodland. Now we come to see a cave on a Mountain side where you come in and see a door and see its dark but with some lights so you can see Morris's Bat, Noack's Roundleaf Bat, Patrizi's Trident and Leaf-nosed Bat then you see a hole in the sides for the outside walkthrough avairy where the Straw-coloured Fruit Bat, East African Epauletted Fruit Bat, Egyptian fruit bat, Moloney's Mimic Bat, Schlieffen's Bat, Chapin's Free-tailed Bat, African Giant Free-tailed Bat, Lesser Honeyguide, Brown-backed Woodpecker, Black-throated Barbet, Crowned Hornbill, African Grey Hornbill, Bamboo Scrub-warbler, Somali Shrew, and Striped Kingfisher live in a moist savanna woodland with a smooth rocky ledge on the side of the cave with a small stream. Once we leave the avairy, we come to bigger mountain with a huge smooth hill with grass and a few trees to see Gelada Baboons and Walia Ibex grass or climbing the mountain ledge. Our second to last exhibit is the Aardwolf exhibit where they live in a green grassland with termite mounds and a fake carcass under one of the few bushes, trees, scrubs. Here is our star attraction of this exhibit area, the Ethiopian Wolf. Here the wolves live on a large green hillside exhibit with many burrows and a few trees, scrubs, and bushes. The wolves have some treats in some of the burrows and a fake ibex carcass under one of the bushes where the public can't see.
Next is the Ituri Forest/Congo Forest
Congo Forest:
You finally get out of the sun rays into a densly packed forest with mist coming out every 30 mins. You see a meduim sized waterfall with a rocky ledge in the distance but to your suprise is a exhibit in a tropical moist lowland forest where you see mesh and a glass window seperating you and the animals. This exhibit holds Western Tree Hyrax, Golden Angwantibo, Checkered Elephant Shrew, Long-tailed Pangolin, African Grey Parrot, Blue-headed Bee-eater,Guinea Turaco, and Ross's Turaco. We continue to a large building camaflouge the forest, you enter a climate control forest with a river going pass the middle of the exhibit with water lilies and green plants that cover the sides and a bridge that goes over the river while you are in a mesh tunnel for safety reasons. This exhibit holds White-tailed Mongoose, African Clawless Otter, Peters's Duiker, Black-fronted Duiker, Bates's Pygmy Antelope, Four-toed Elephant Shrew, Allen's Swamp Monkey, Angolan Talapoin, Pygmy Hippo, Greater Spot-nosed Monkey, Long-eared Flying Mouse, Kivu Climbing Mouse, Short-palated Fruit Bat, Peter's Dwarf Epauletted Fruit Bat, Tarella Shrew, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Narina Trogon, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Blue-throated Roller, White-crested Hornbill, Trumpeter Hornbill, Great Blue Turaco, Yellow-billed Turaco, Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Red-headed Lovebird, Black-collared Lovebird, Greater Flamingo, and Hadada Ibis. Next will be the forest's bigger land animals.
After leaving the forest house, you are still in the in the jungle but the foliage gets denser and denser to come to a large window in the vines to see the Okapi exhibit where they have dense forest with a small waterfall in the background. Now we come to a large wetland clearing with forest in the background and some grassy area is the home to the Sitagunga, Bongo, Red River Hog, African Forest Buffalo, Yellow-backed Duiker, Bates's Pygmy Antelope, Hartlaub's Duck, White-backed Duck, Southern Pochard, Pink-backed Pelican, Reed Cormorant, Goliath Heron, White-crested Tiger Heron, Glossy Ibis, Handsome Francolin, Blue Quail, Congo Peafowl, Black Guineafowl, and Wattled Crane. After that exhibit, we walk down the path to come to the African Forest Elephants exhibits. There are two exhibits, one for the females and another for the males. They switch nearly every 4 hours, the first exhibit is a large wetland clearing it a few trees and a grassy area. While the second exhibit is a dense jungle with a clay cave where they can get minerals and treats in the trunks of trees. Now we move on to the primates area.
We continue down the path in the deep jungle with beautiful flora and scenry. While walking down the path to a window in a forest to a beautiful dense forest with swinging and climbing ropes from the canopy. Here lives the Red-tailed Guenon and Moustached Guenon. Our next exhibit is home to the Critically Endangered Dryas Monkey, live in a riverside exhibit, with wetland plants and a thick forest in the back. The river continues to the Drill, De Brazza's Monkey, and the Crested Mona Monkey living a riverside exhibit with rock on the part of the river with forest in the back.After the Monkeys, we go across a river seen at the Dryas Monkey's to see the Great Apes. First off is the Bonobo living in a dense forest hillside. Next is the Chimpanzees living in a dense forest exhibit with a mountain side plus a waterfall that has a wetland clearing. Now we continue to our last but not least exhibit, the Western Lowland Gorillas. First we come in a building with trees covering it. Inside is the Congo Center with a huge window to see the Gorillas. The Gorillas have 3 exhibit, one is troop number 1 where they have a dense forest who also have a waterfall with a river going down the smooth hillside to the next exhibit plus logs going over the river to cross the shallow river. The center has many interactive areas for the kids and many info boards on the problems the Central African Jungles are facing. Outside we come to a overlook for the first exhibit. Next we come to Troop 2 where they have a large wetland clearing. Our last exhibit is the Bachelors living in a hillside exhibit in a dense forest and a cave where they can find treats at. The gorillas switch every 5 hours.
. Not too many zoos use a Madagascar area (and I forgot, will include it in rainforests and swamps though).
