San Diego Wild Animal Park Located 32 miles northeast of the Zoo, the Wild Animal Park is 20 times larger and an entirely different experience! This 1,800-acre wildlife preserve was established in 1969 under the directorship of Dr. Charles Schroeder. It opened to the public in 1972, and allows visitors to view herds of exotic animals s they might occur in their native homelands of Africa or Asia. The Wgasa Bush Line, a silent electronic monorail, skirts the edge of the Savannah and offers five miles of unobstructed views of elephants, antelope, rhinos, and giraffes. Soon to open is Heart of Africa which will offer guests the opportunity to take a walking safari for an even closer view.
San Diego 100-acre Zoo was in 1916, by a colorful and extremely enterprising local physician, Dr. Harry Wegeforth. He gathered a collection of 50 animals from various local menageries and hired a single keeper named Army, “who had one arm but it was all he needed.” Today the Zoo cares for 3,800 animals (800 different species) and employs 115 individuals to care for them. The total staff numbers more than 1,000.
The Zoo has opened several new natural habitats in recent years: Tiger River, Sun Bear Forest, Scripps Aviary, Gorilla Tropics, Pygmy Chimpanzees, Raptors, Australasian Birds, Hippo Beach, and Polar Bear Plunge. And of you’ll want to see the two important visitors that now reside at the Panda Research Station.
Tags: Theme Park
