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Africa Safari Park Africa Safari Park Report

Discussion in 'Egypt' started by devilfish, 28 Oct 2009.

  1. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    5 Jul 2008
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    Location:
    Knowle, UK
    I visited this safari park last year, but had not brought the ‘guidebook’ back to the UK; I had hoped to find a copy at home when I visited Egypt, but was unable to. As a result, this review is mostly written from memory (jogged by photos) and refers to the condition of the park over a year ago.
    The park is situated between Cairo and Alexandria on the desert road. It opened in 2004 and was thought to be revolutionary in Egypt because there are so few visible barriers between visitors and most of the animals. The site was initially barren desert, but the deliberate damming of a small canal nearby brought a lot of life to the land. The drive-through area basically encircles a very oddly-shaped marshy lake.
    The entry fee is high; as of last year, it cost 200 Egyptian pounds per car. Though this only amounted to about £20, it is very high by Egyptian standards. On entry, the first enclosure is a relatively large one inhabited by a pair of tigers; complete with grass and shelters. It is a few metres from the roadside so the only way to see it is by getting out of your car and walking over (ignoring the warning signs telling you to stay in your car). I was impressed by the enclosure – it’s significantly better than any other tiger enclosure I’ve seen in Egypt.
    Next, after driving along a road with thick bamboo planted on either side, is a large, hilly field with llamas. Pretty empty, but there is a large shelter to one side. Then there’s the chimpanzee island, one of the most appalling ‘naturalistic’ environments I have ever seen – I’m not even sure whether this is better than a concrete-floored cage. Basically, there are two chimpanzees living on a small mound of fake rock in the middle of a pool. With movement restricted, and no barrier between them and the deep water which surrounds them, it is actually quite a dangerous ‘enclosure’ for the chimpanzees: a couple of years ago, it was reported that an adult female chimp had drowned in the water.
    The next paddock is an odd mix of fallow deer (including an albino) and a couple of ostriches. Feed is scattered over the cars, and passengers are invited to walk among the deer and ostriches to take some photos. On driving out of the paddock, there is a keeper with a zebra standing at the gate. Again, food is scattered on the front of the car, and the visitors get their close encounter.
    A quick drive past a group of Barbary sheep leads to a huge hippo enclosure. Though barren, this massive enclosure has a very large amount of water, as well as a sizeable land area – I’ve rarely seen such decent proportions of both land and water in a hippo enclosure. There is also a small platform from which you can feed the hippos.
    Next is a drive-through enclosure for hamadryas baboons. Initially, cars assemble in a large cage before being let out as a group into the enclosure. First, when all the cars have been locked in the holding area, food is thrown on the cars and the baboons are let loose. Again, the animals aren’t really looking around out of curiousity; they’re just after the food. It’s still impressive to watch a large male hamadryas jump from car to car and scatter all the other members of the troop. Once they’ve almost finished the food, the large gates into the actual enclosure finally open and the cars are free to drive through a large rocky habitat, containing much more subdued baboons, including the majority of mothers with infants and newborns.
    After leaving the baboons, the road leads through a series of relatively small enclosures: the first displays a spotted hyena (I can’t remember if there was just one or if there were two) in a pretty featureless enclosure, though I think there was a makeshift lean-to with a canopy made up of palm fronds. The second enclosure holds a couple of (Bennett’s?) wallabies, which are labelled as kangaroos. Their paddock is also quite empty. The third enclosure holds a group of mostly juvenile lions. It’s not a very large enclosure, but it is better planted than most at the park, and seems just about sufficient for a small group of sub-adults. It was here that we saw what looked like a feeding truck, except there were visitors in it. I assume that this is a way for people to get around without paying the full entrance fee but I’m not sure. It was quite funny nonetheless to see this little truck trundle past sleeping lions and immediately get their attention.
    Following the lions is a small car-parking area with a display where you can have your photo taken with a macaw on your shoulder, and beyond this is a small drive-through leopard enclosure. At the end of the road is a large car park, which offers access on foot to a restaurant, grivet and patas monkey cages, ‘the cave’, and a glass-viewing area for a few baby chimpanzees. For a small fee, you can have your photo taken with the chimps. The babies were really young but didn’t all look the same age, so we asked about them; we were told that they had the same mother and she was shown to us on the boat trip we took. It seemed weird that so many animals at such an age would be hand-reared, but I’ve read allegations that they are wild-caught orphans which have been illegally brought in from West Africa. Though it’s a horrible thought, these claims don’t seem too far-fetched.
    The cave is a kind of nocturnal/reptile house which is dimly lit but most cages have windows and open doors with natural light. It has a series of unlabelled, large glass-fronted enclosures, most with a small door at the back which leads to a small outdoor paddock. Of note: the fruit bats’ enclosure seemed too small and confusing for the bats, some of which were on the floor - presumably after flying into the glass (I’m not sure if they were still alive); the chameleon enclosure and jerboa enclosure both seemed a little overcrowded (with over seven specimens of each); and the crocodile enclosure had over 20 baby crocs in, as well as a spur-thighed tortoise sitting in the water at the back of the enclosure. Other animals on display included a lappet-faced vulture, nile monitors and desert monitors, African crested porcupines, corn snakes, a boa, uromastyx and a couple of hawks.
    From the main car park, you can also access a small harbour into the central lake from which you can take a boat trip. This boat trip takes you around the flooded lake and marshy waterways in the centre of the park, which includes views of many small islands. The staff tell all the visitors that there several huge crocodiles in the lake, and if they’re lucky (or unlucky) they will find one. I’ve never heard of anyone finding any crocodiles in the lake, and I highly doubt that they even exist. A small island immediately in the centre of the lake is home to a few peacocks, as well as a couple of ducks which are free to come and go as they please - these are apparently the crocodiles’ main food source. The boat approaches a waterfall at the end of the lake for anyone who’s looking for a photo opportunity, and then moves on to show some of the larger islands. One of these rocky islands is home to a pair of chimpanzees; the female is said to be the mother of the babies which can be handled and photographed, and the male performs a trick for every passing boat by catching a bottle of soft drink thrown from the boat, unscrewing the cap, and drinking it in one go. Further on, the boat rounds an island with a herd of ‘wild’ goats on, before turning back to the small jetty.
    Overall, the park is a nice place – an improvement from other Egyptian zoos, even if sometimes missing the point with exhibits like the chimpanzee island, and their feeding of animals to bring them closer, allowing for a ‘natural’, ‘safari-like’ encounter. Nevertheless, my family rated it as better than some safari parks we have visited in England, if only because of the up-close experiences with some of the animals. However, if reports are true, the park has a lot to answer to regarding the illegal importation of victims of poaching, and ill-treatment of the chimpanzees once they grow up. It is for this reason that I do not intend to visit again until I can verify that such ignorant and irresponsible behaviour does not occur at all in this park.
    ‘The Cairo Connection’ by Karl Ammann is a documentary available on YouTube for anyone interested in following up the problem of animal smuggling (particularly chimpanzees) through Egypt. I read recently that an update is in the process and should be available in the near future - more information should be available on his website (karlammann.com).
    I’ll put some of my photos up as soon as I can.