Out of Africa-In Arizona

Since we enjoy zoos and animal parks (except for Sea World-ask Linda about details) we decided to visit the local attraction, Out of Africa Wildlife Park.

Bob & Maggie drove, and as we entered we know it was going to be a different experience.  It was built on two different levels, the African Plains, and the upper level where all of the predators were displayed.  We took a bus ride around the lower level to view the different animals.  There were a lot of different antelopes.

And we got to feed the Giraffes.Linda even got a sloppy kiss, but I wasn’t able to get a picture, darn.

After the bus ride we took a tram to the upper level, where we got to see the big cats.

It was hard to get good pictures because of all of the chain link fences.  But then again, we didn’t want to face any of the cats without the fence.

There was a show in the afternoon call Tiger Splash.  They had a large swimming pool, and the trainers interacted with the tigers in the pool and on the grass around the pool.  It was amazing that the tigers would try the same actions on the trainers and not harm them, but on balls and inflatable toys they were very  aggressive with all of the teeth bared. If you look closely you can see the trainers legs under the tiger.

At the end of the day, they had a special event, the Predator Feed.  They had a truck with a trailer behind it that contained food.  They only feed the cats 3 times a week, and they hadn’t been fed since Sunday, so they were hungry.  They threw large turkeys, chickens, and some beef ribs to the different animals.  And they were very hungry. It was a little gross.  It was amazing that many of the animals in the same enclosures didn’t try to fight over the food.  I guess they knew that everyone would get their share.

It was a very enjoyable day observing the animals in the warm AZ sunshine.  We were glad we went.  If you want to see more pictures, click on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/winequest/OutOfAfrica#