Entries about africa

The Zoological Center is located in Ramat Gan close to Tel-Aviv Israel. The "Safari" occupies 250 acres of nature in the heart of a densely populated urban area in Israel: Yes! It is “The Wilds of Africa in the heart of Israel”. The word ‘Safari” is colloquial Swahili for ‘journey’ The Safari is a reservoir dedicated to the lovers of nature... and the administrators have done a wonderful job of bringing the wilds to our urban doorsteps. The Safari has the largest animal collection in the Middle East and is unique in the world because of the large herds of mixed species of African animals that roam the spacious African Park. The African Park and the zoo are home to 1,600 animals of different species, amongst them 68 species of mammals, 130 species of fowl, and 25 species of reptiles.

My friend Alex Kolonaty and I recently made the fascinating 'journey' to this wonderful place. I immigrated to Israel five years ago from Colorado. The outdoors is one of my great passions in life, as is travel. Israel is a very small nation. Nazareth, The Galilee, and Jerusalem are within a two hour drive from my front door!

First, we enjoyed a short ride through the reservoir to watch animals lions, hippos, rhinos and such in an African like environment. This was a great start on a thrilling voyage. Among others, we saw a family of giraffe with their adorable youngsters. They were having a hearty meal near a group of alligators catching some sun light. We were in one of the facility's vehicles. Private cars are also permitted.

After that amazing ride in the wild, we went for a bite to eat at the Safari restaurant. We enjoyed burgers and fries and then proceeded to tour the zoo. There, visitors can see creatures such as wolves, kangaroos, baboons, lemur (a personal favorite), elephants and bears. Many species are native inhabitants of this region. We enjoyed viewing too many animals to mention in this brief post. The highlights of our zoo tour were that we learned how much deer like to be petted, (first time for me), the Cheetah is very aware of how captivating it is to humans (it lured use near the cage and jumped up giving use a scare), and the agile lemur playing tag were amazing.

We also learned that too many beautiful species of wildlife are endangered. Fortunately the Safari is also a breeding facility for endangered species in an effort to take care of the problem. They also offer courses for jobs attending to the animals. I've been in many trips lately, but the Safari was definitely the best.. I had the opportunity to see the preservation and protection of wildlife in a beautiful setting.

Why do people like zoos?

Have you ever wondered what it is about a zoo that attracts so many people. Could it be that its just a nice way to have exotic pets……….I lived much of my life in the woods of western Colorado and agree with the theory!