The Safari Village is a ten acre walk-thru area and a nice addition to the Safari drive-thru. Visitors can buy some food at the gift shop and feed many animals and their babies in the patting area. They also can buy feed sticks and feed these colorful birds, as they perch on your hand. The safari village has a nice variety of animals and I posted pictures of some of them here.
The cute entrance to the Safari Village.
Mountain goats greet the visitors right at the entrance.
We started our Safari Village walk through with the Kangaroo walk-about.
The kangaroos were very sleepy but very cute. The sign says that those are Australian native Red Kangaroos. The red kangaroo is the largest of all the marsupials (pouched animals), with males reaching heights of six feet and weighing up to 200 pounds. When a baby (called a joey) is born, it is only the size of a lima bean. It must crawl up the mother’s belly and into her pouch to continue growing for another 7-9 months. The females, called fliers, are grey and smaller in size. The males, called boomers, are red. The red kangaroo can hop 30 miles an hour.
The cutest ones are the ones with the babies. Here is one of them. We had a chance to observe how the adorable baby kangaroo (joey) was crawling back into its mom’s pouch.
The baby is back in the pouch.
Then, we visited the Budgie Adventure Aviary full of beautiful colorful birds.
Inside of the aviary.
We met a couple of Warthogs. They are very different. 🙂 Warthogs are native to the African savannah. Males have two pairs of warts on their face and females have one pair. The warthog’s tusks are actually canine teeth. They use these tusks to dig up food and to defend themselves.
We walked through the giraffe feeding station. Giraffes are so cool!
Then we met more interesting animals. Here are Ring-Tailed Lemurs from Madagascar. Males have stink-fights, a display over territory where males rub scent from their wrists and underarms onto their long tails and flick the scent at the other until one gives up. They travel in female-dominated troops of at least 10, search for food in trees and underground. Lemurs raise their long tails like flags, so others can see the group’s movements though tall grasses.
Graceful servals are native to Central Africa. Servals have a variety of vocalizations: if content they purr, if angry they snarl, growl and spit, and to call other servals they use a high-pitched cry.
The Bengal Tiger was resting inside the fenced area. I took a picture of him through the glass.
This is a Binturong, also known as a bearcat, is native to South and Southeast Asia.
It was fun to watch these playful monkeys.Common Squirrel monkeys are native to Central and South America. They are arboreal. Which means they spend their lives in the rain-forest trees. They are experts at moving noiselessly in large groups, (sometimes hundreds at a time), all in single file along a series of “roads” in the trees to get to favorite feeding sites.
And we enjoyed watching the Debrazza’s Monkey playing with a baby. Debrazza’s Monkeys are native to West Africa. These monkeys have developed special check pouches to store food while it busily forages for more.
Brown-Headed Spider Monkeys are native to Central and South America. Spider Monkeys have a prehensile tail which they use as an extra hand or foot. There are only 4 fingers on their hands (no thumbs). This helps them move through the trees, branch to branch, easier and faster.
The village has a lot of birds. Rainbow Lorikeets are native to Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Lorikeets are found in rain-forests, coastal bush, and woodlands in large, noisy flocks. A lorikeet has a brush-like tongue with special hair to soak up nectar from flowers. These birds are members of the parrot family, breeding in monogamous pairs, with both parents taking care of the young.
I cannot recall what kind of bird this is. 🙂
Channel-Bulled Toucans are native to the Island of Trinidad and South America. The Toucan’s beak helps regulate its body temperature.
A Pheasant.
Sacred Ibis are native to Sub-Saharan Africa. Sacred Ibis were mummified by the Ancient Egyptians.
Chilean Flamingos are native to Chile, South America. Flamingos get their pink color from the brine shrimp they eat.
Ruppell’s Griffon Vultures are African natives. Their food is carcasses of sheep or calves and their lifespan is 30-40 years. These vultures can eat toxic organisms such as anthrax, botulism, and cholera bacteria, which are then broken down in their stomach. They can fill their crop (a food storage organ) with more than 3 pounds of meeat in 4 t0 5 minutes. From a standing position, the Griffon can fly over three miles in only 6 minutes. They have been seen flying at an altitude of over 37,000 feet in the skies of West Africa (planes fly between 20.000 – 40,000 ft).
Hand washing stations are everywhere throughout the village.
Visitors can feed goats & kids, potbellied pigs & piglets, chickens, baby llamas and other babies in the numerous petting areas in the village.
The Gift Shop is beautifully decorated and has a large selection of toys and souvenirs. A cute giraffe garbage can. 🙂
