Happy New Year to all of the ZooChat members! Hopefully all of us will get to see plenty of zoos in 2012. Anyway, I am curious if anyone here can tell me about the Out of Africa Wildlife Park in Camp Verde, AZ. I may be going to that area this spring and hopefully will get a chance to visit it. The website shows that it has some demonstrations with animals. Is this place AZA accredited?
Out of Africa isn't AZA accredited. There are two different areas here: the African Bush Safari and the Predator Area. The Bush Safari is probably one of the best African exhibits I've seen. You can take a bus into the enormous habitat. Giraffes, zebras, eland, sable antelopes, ostriches, etc. all live in a huge chainlink fence surrounded area with bushes and plants that (In my opinion) really immerses you in the heart of Africa. There is another identical habitat next to it that can't be accessed by the bus. A similar but definitely smaller white rhino exhibit is located here as well. The Predator Area is overall decent, but not spectacular. Lions, tigers, grizzly and black bears (Oh my!), a jaguar, wolves, panthers, and spotted hyenas (my favorite at the park) all live in decent sized habitats with bushes, a mixture of dry grass and dust, wooden platforms for shows, and the occasional pool. The only real negatives are that the chainlink fence takes the exhibit quality away a bit, and some of the lions, tigers, and panthers are mixed in together (not natural, but here, they focus on what the animals want, which is in these cases, these odd friendships). A good prarie dog exhibit, a couple of okay ring tailed lemur exhibits, a slightly-below-average gator pool, a few large but bare bird aviaries, a capybara/Mara enclosure, and indoor exhibits for sloths, porcupines, and a cobra are part of this area as well. Lastly, a couple of shows they have here are the Predator Feed and the Tiger Splash. Predaor Feed just takes you around the carnivore enclosures, and you watch as chunks of meat are thrown into the area. (this was when I first heard a hyena laugh, and I loved every minute of it!) Tiger Splash takes place in an arena with grass and a swimming pool. Trainers show you a tiger's predatory behavior via various toys that they toss into the pool. It's pretty interesting. I've been to Out of Africa three times in my life. Overall, it may not get some things right, but I'd recommend a trip to this (I think) family-owned establishment, mainly for the African Bush Safari, and entertaining tours you may get from the guides. It ranks as #4 of the 12 zoos I visited.
Milwaukee Man is correct in that Out of Africa isn't AZA accredited or participate in SSP. Their animals are on birth control so they're able to mix male/female and brother/sister without worry of an accidental birth. If you're able to make it out there, I would highly recommend Tiger Splash and Predator Feed. Like Milwaukee Man, I first heard the Spotted Hyena 'laugh' during Predator Feed and it was quite an experience. It sounds just like a person laughing and initially, that's what I thought it was. Dean and Prayeri (fka Bobbi) Harrison definitely subscribe to a different way of zoo life in that they mix lions with black leopards and mountain lions with black bears. It's interesting to see even though they share the same space (so to speak) in the wild. Also of note is Boom Boom the white rhino. He has quite a story. He was part of an animal auction in New York when a zoo had to close and he was bought by someone who owned a canned hunting farm in Texas. Marc Ecko was at the auction and ended up buying Boom Boom from the farm owner for twice the amount the farm owner had paid for him. He then used his own money to send Boom Boom to Out of Africa. Why he picked OOA, I don't know. Anyway, if you get the chance to go when you're in the area, I'd recommend it.
As an Arizonan and a long-time visitor (both in their former Fountain Hills location and their current Camp Verde location), I agree with the two above reviews. They are both spot-on. My main criticism of the park is that the admission fee is overpriced. $36 for a park with hardly any visitor amenities. (If you go, be sure to download a discount coupon from their website). In my opinion it is only worth half that price and even $18 would be a bit steep for what you get. But it is very different from most zoos and true zoo lovers should go at least once. They use the exisiting vegetation, lots of high desert trees, to good effect. It really feels much more like a true African safari than the golf courses that many wildlife parks try to pass off as a savanna. The predator exhibits use this as well and they are huge - far bigger habitats than just about any other zoo. The park is on a bluff and the surrounding Verde Valley makes for a very scenic backdrop. You can get photos here with dense vegetation and mountains in the background and tell your friends you took them in Tanzania. Any average person would not be able to tell the difference. The only thing I do not like about the safari bus is that they have African and Asian animals together. But my advice is go, just mentally brace yourself for the fact that the high price does not reflect the value received (in comparison to other zoos). Be sure to allot time to explore the very scenic nearby areas - Verde Valley and Sedona (and hopefully the Grand Canyon).
