Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari Wildlife Safari Park Species List Sept 2024

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Persephone

Well-Known Member
This is only for animals viewable to the public on the Safari. I’m also excluding some insects and small herps signed in natural environments for the species as there’s absolutely no guarantee you see them. I made an exception for two herps with prominent signage in the pelican pond as there’s at least a chance you see them.

I also saw wild turkeys in the bison yard. I don’t think they’re owned by the zoo so I’m excluding them here.

Entry

Black-Tailed Prairie Dog, Ornate Box Turtle
Great Horned Owl
Bobcat
Swift Fox
Barred Owl
Fox Snake

Driving, Leg 1

Elk
White-Tailed Deer
American White Pelican, Painted Turtle, American Bullfrog

On Foot

African Pygmy Goat
Trumpeter Swan, Wood Duck, Sandhill Crane, Canada Goose
Eastern Tiger Salamander
Western Hognose Snake
Eastern Screech Owl (Animals Off Display)
Short-Eared Owl
Long-Eared Owl
American Black Bear
Grey Wolf

Driving, Leg 2

American Bison, American Elk
 
There remains a lot of space at this facility, and as you noted, a lot you can not see that are in breeding and conservation areas. The one thing I have never seen for this facility is a master plan. I would love to know what that may include. It would be neat to see them start to include plains animals for breeding like other large zoos have off-site. With a growing elephant herd, maybe even a bachelor elephant facility. If anyone has ever seen a master plan for this facility, please share. Hopefully the zoo will include it with their next master plan as well.
 
Mammals = 9 species
Birds = 9 species
Reptiles & Amphibians = 6 species (and perhaps a few more hard-to-find ones that are signed)

It's amazing at how few species there are at this zoo, although at least the admission is low and the behind-the-scenes areas are important for conservation purposes. I visited in 2014 and I'm not sure that anything has changed in the decade since then. It was an enjoyable morning but I'm not sure that I'd go back regularly even if I lived down the street.
 
That's it? Are they experiencing something internal, or budget cuts or something? Hmm. I admittedly haven't been to Wildlife Safari in about thirty years, since I went on a family road trip to visit relatives in Oregon. I thought it was a pretty sweet place at the time... and that's coming from a kid who grew up going to the San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park (Safari Park) several times a month! As in...I had relatively high expectations for zoos from a young age. Haha. Possibly bordering on impeccable/unrealistic. I also hadn't been to a drive-thru safari before this, but I was impressed.

I remember that, upon arrival, you had the option of the drive-thru or you could park in the lot, walk around the African village & smaller close-up exhibits/trails, petting zoo, animal nursery, etc. On the drive-thru, I seem to remember Eurasian & North/South American species appearing first, including the aforementioned elk, bison, sandhill cranes... the drive-by enclosures for tigers, lions, cheetahs, and black & grizzly bears were all located relatively near the start of the drive. The African field exhibits also featured a few Asian species, likely for space reasons, such as nilgai, blackbuck & chital. But there were also white rhinos, African bush elephants, reticulated giraffes, plains zebra, ellipsen waterbuck, Nile lechwe, impala, Cape eland, sitatunga, gemsbok or beisa oryx (not sure), Thomson's gazelle, addax, scimitar-horned oryx, fallow deer, white-bearded wildebeest, sable antelope, ostriches, hippos, dromedary & possibly Bactrian camels, Ankole-Watusi cattle... they had a lot.
 
Seanamhach said:
That's it? Are they experiencing something internal, or budget cuts or something? Hmm. I admittedly haven't been to Wildlife Safari in about thirty years, since I went on a family road trip to visit relatives in Oregon. I thought it was a pretty sweet place at the time... and that's coming from a kid who grew up going to the San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park (Safari Park) several times a month! As in...I had relatively high expectations for zoos from a young age. Haha. Possibly bordering on impeccable/unrealistic. I also hadn't been to a drive-thru safari before this, but I was impressed.

I remember that, upon arrival, you had the option of the drive-thru or you could park in the lot, walk around the African village & smaller close-up exhibits/trails, petting zoo, animal nursery, etc. On the drive-thru, I seem to remember Eurasian & North/South American species appearing first, including the aforementioned elk, bison, sandhill cranes... the drive-by enclosures for tigers, lions, cheetahs, and black & grizzly bears were all located relatively near the start of the drive. The African field exhibits also featured a few Asian species, likely for space reasons, such as nilgai, blackbuck & chital. But there were also white rhinos, African bush elephants, reticulated giraffes, plains zebra, ellipsen waterbuck, Nile lechwe, impala, Cape eland, sitatunga, gemsbok or beisa oryx (not sure), Thomson's gazelle, addax, scimitar-horned oryx, fallow deer, white-bearded wildebeest, sable antelope, ostriches, hippos, dromedary & possibly Bactrian camels, Ankole-Watusi cattle... they had a lot.
Click to expand...

This thread is about the Omaha's Zoo wildlife park in Nebraska, also called Wildlife Safari like the one in Oregon that you visited, which is still in business and probably pretty much as your remember it and describe it here.

The Nebraska one is a combination of behind the scenes breeding facility for the Omaha Zoo and their North American animal collection, the public part of the park.
 
NGL I've always thought the safari park had tons of untapped potential. There's basically unlimited funding, and itd work as a great location for species the zoo is lacking. Grizzlies, cougars, Bighorn, Pronghorn, black footed ferrets, coyotes, even moose (which surprisingly have been recorded in Nebraska) etc would all be great fits but seemingly no major species have been added here for several years.
 
Brayden Delashmutt said:
NGL I've always thought the safari park had tons of untapped potential. There's basically unlimited funding, and itd work as a great location for species the zoo is lacking. Grizzlies, cougars, Bighorn, Pronghorn, black footed ferrets, coyotes, even moose (which surprisingly have been recorded in Nebraska) etc would all be great fits but seemingly no major species have been added here for several years.
Click to expand...
It has always surprised me that this park has never been included in the zoo’s master plan documents. I agree, a lot of potential and maybe should be prioritized now that the zoo has had so many great new exhibits in recent years.
 
snowleopard said:
Mammals = 9 species
Birds = 9 species
Reptiles & Amphibians = 6 species (and perhaps a few more hard-to-find ones that are signed)

It's amazing at how few species there are at this zoo, although at least the admission is low and the behind-the-scenes areas are important for conservation purposes. I visited in 2014 and I'm not sure that anything has changed in the decade since then. It was an enjoyable morning but I'm not sure that I'd go back regularly even if I lived down the street.
Click to expand...

Honestly I visit the park almost as much as the zoo. It doesn’t have a huge roster but that’s not why it exists. If you go at the right time you can have even better up close experiences than at the zoo and see lots of cool local wildlife
 
Brayden Delashmutt said:
NGL I've always thought the safari park had tons of untapped potential. There's basically unlimited funding, and itd work as a great location for species the zoo is lacking. Grizzlies, cougars, Bighorn, Pronghorn, black footed ferrets, coyotes, even moose (which surprisingly have been recorded in Nebraska) etc would all be great fits but seemingly no major species have been added here for several years.
Click to expand...

Back in the 1990s Omaha Zoo had a black-footed ferret breeding colony. It would certainly be an appropriate animal for them to bring back as an exhibit animal for their North American-themed safari parl.
 
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