Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon

http://www.wildlifesafari.net/

A couple  of months ago, we took a day trip to Wildlife Safari in Winston, and then the Cascade Raptor Center in Eugene, which I will cover next week. As well as being a great trip for animal lovers, for me it was also a trip down memory lane.

From as far back as I can remember until I was 8 or 10, Wildlife Safari was the big trip for us. It wasn't the only place we would go, but it was the most exciting. So, with that and then passing my old college campus, there was a lot of nostalgia.

Some things are the same, and some things are different. The scenery is basically the same, and while I don't think they have necessarily acquired more land (as far as I know, it has always been 600 acres), but they seem to be doing more with it.

I remember a focus on animals of Africa. The lions, elephants, zebras, giraffes, ostriches, and wildebeest are still there, but now there are also bears and elk and bison. The drive through is basically the same, though with additional animals, and the precautions with the big cats are the same as I remember (windows up in lion territory, and cages for the others), but the bear pen is a separate loop (similar to the setup at Yellowstone Bear World).

The Safari Village is expanded too, with more animals, and not just wandering among a pen full of goats. This allows you to get a better look at some smaller animals. One fascinating thing for us was watching a tortoise travel between the indoor and outdoor part of his accommodations, coming right up to the fence and looking at us.

Also, there are still the zebra finches right at the entrance to the village. I don't know why it made me so happy to see them there. I guess I like the continuity.

We only did the basic exploration, without doing any of the encounters. They have a wide variety of those available, so it is worth checking the web site. The most important area to check is probably Conservation.

Wildlife Safari fills an important role in breeding and preserving cheetahs. Beyond that, overall there is a sense of this being a good life for the animals, where they can run free, and we are the ones in the cages (inside our cars), and elephants can learn to paint or make wine, so they are not bored. They are AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) accredited.

I think this may lead to an increased sense of pride in their work for the employees, because everyone was really cheerful and helpful, which was nice. They can feel good about working there, and we can feel good about visiting.

It is a kind of a long drive for the time we spent there, but I still have to consider it worth it.

I do want to mention two other things. I finally saw a wallaroo there. (For why that is significant, see http://sporktogo.blogspot.com/2010/01/australian-zoological-extravaganza.html.)

Also, we had lunch at the Safari Village Cafe, and the hamburgers were unusually good. Those are also highly recommended.