African Safari Wildlife Park Review- I visited in October and rate it #18 out of #27. I call it WHAM because the bison and Ankole can "wham" into your car. African Safari Wildlife Park, near Sandusky, Ohio (famous for indoor waterparks and Cedar Point), is located in Port Clinton, Ohio (in Ottawa County) and has a drive-through portion (where visitors feed animals that are either free-ranging or in pens from the visitors' cars) and a walk-through portion (seasonal; with birds and smaller mammals). Drive-Thru Safari- Species List- Addax Alpaca Ankole cattle Bactrian camel Bison (including white bison). Bongo Dromedary camel East African eland Elk Fallow deer Giraffe Gemsbok Guanaco Kudu Llama Ring-tailed lemur Scottish Highlander cattle Sika deer Zebra When visitors enter the drive-thru after purchasing tickets and carrots for $5/lb to feed animals (each party gets a free cup of grain pellets upon arrival) they first see a dromedary camel in a grassy pen and Scottish Highland cattle free-ranging. Visitors then drive past a large herd of alpacas, llamas, and guanacos, followed by Asian sika deer. In the middle of the drive-thru is another stand to buy additional carrots. Bringing your own carrots is recommended. Wal-Mart sells a 2lb bag of carrots for $1.20, versus ASWP’s $5 for 1lb (10 long carrots). More llamas and sika deer give way to more Scottish Highland cattle and addax in a pen. The north side of the drive-through land is reached by passing a pen of gemsbok, and then more alpacas and llamas. The north side has more Scottish Highland cattle and ring-tailed lemurs on a distant “Lemur Island” A small pond and hay feeders are located in this part of the preserve/ Drivers then pass free-ranging bison, elk, Ankole cattle, and large herds of spotted fallow deer before going past the “Additional Carrots Sold Here” stand again. Bongos, zebras, giraffes, kudus, and East African elands are all in pens, followed by a “seasonal exhibit” and another zebra pen. Despite the name “African Safari”, only the addax, Ankole cattle, bongo, dromedary camels, giraffes, gemsbok, zebras, and East African elands (8 species) are from Africa. Bactrian camcels and sika deer are from Asia, ring-tailed lemurs from Madagascar (technically in Africa; but an island and not in continental Africa), Scottish Highlander cattle and fallow deer from Europe, bison and elk from North America, and llamas, guanacos, and alpacas from South America. Walk-Thru Safari- Visitors then park their cars at a parking lot near the gift shop and they enter the walk-thru (a menagerie of animals in cages and small pens) from doors at the back of the gift shop., which also has three food stands, camel rides (free; only in the summer season), and Porkchop Downs, where pig races are held 4 times a day. The exhibits are all round cages with a rounded mesh roof or basic, barren pens for the red river hogs and warthogs. The species are nyala, king vulture, a white alligator, agouti, blue-crowned pigeon, an island for white-handed gibbons, spider monkeys (unknown species), military macaw, African porcupine”, Rüppell’s griffon vulture, a “seasonal exhibit”, emu, warthog, ocelot, alpaca, red river hog, another “seasonal exhibit”, sulcata tortoises, Kirk’s dik-dik, springbok, and woolly-necked stork. The species that are from Africa are the African porcupine, warthog, red river hog, nyala, springbok, woolly-necked stork, Kirk’s dik-dik, and sulcata tortoises. The blue-crowned pigeon is native to Indonesia, in Asia, the continent of origin for the white-handed gibbons. The woolly-necked stork is also found in Asia. The alpacas, ocelots, spider monkeys, and agoutis are from Central and South America, and the emu from Australia. 2014 Map- The 2014 park map numbers the animals with black numbers in yellow circles (drive-thru), and white numbers in red circles (walk-thru). Walk-Thru Safari- Nyala- 1 King vulture- 2 White alligator- 3 Agouti- 4 Blue-crowned pigeon- 5 White-handed gibbon- 6 Military macaw- 7 Spider monkey- 8 African porcupine- 9 Rüppell’s griffon vulture- 10 Seasonal exhibit- 11, 15 Woolly-necked stork- 12 Springbok- 13 Kirk’s dik-dik- 14 Sulcata tortoise- 16 Alpaca- 17 Ocelot- 18 Warthog- 19 Red river hog- 20 Emu- 21 Drive-Thru Safari Plains zebra- 19, 35, 40 Camel- 20 Alpaca- 21 Guanaco- 22 Llama- 23 Sika deer- 24 Scottish Highland cattle- 25, 32 Gemsbok- 26 Bison- 27 Elk- 28 Fallow deer- 29 Lemur- 30 Ankole- 31 Addax- 33 Bongo- 34 Reticulated giraffe- 36 Kudu- 37 East African eland- 38 Seasonal exhibit- 39 Park amenities are listed in blue circles with white numbers. Gift shop- 43 Snack bar- 44 Restroom- 45 Show pavilion -46 Pig races- 47 Camel rides- 48 Ticket booth- 49 Feed cup return- 50 Administration office- 51 Fish and duck feeding- 52 Front gate- 53 Additional carrots sold here- 54 Playground and picnic areas- 55
2014 (as of 10-8-2014) Species List, African Safari Wildlife Park- Drive-through- Addax Alpaca Ankole cattle Bactrian camel Bison (including white bison). Bongo Dromedary camel East African eland Elk Fallow deer Reticulated Giraffe Gemsbok Guanaco Kudu Llama Ring-tailed lemur (on Lemur Island) Scottish Highlander cattle Sika deer Plains Zebra Walk-through- Nyala King vulture White alligator Agouti Blue-crowned pigeon White-handed gibbon Military macaw Spider monkey African porcupine Rüppell’s griffon vulture Woolly-necked stork Springbok Kirk’s dik-dik Sulcata tortoise Alpaca Ocelot Warthog Red river hog Emu
A poor place I have to say..one of the worst safari drive-throughs ive ever seen and a small zoo full of corn-crib cages.Found it easy to leave after about one hour. Expected much more (this was back in May).
I rate the zoo in the mid 30s-early 40s but the drive-throughs in the 80s. Since I have visited around 40 zoos/nature centers/aquaria/aviaries/sanctuaries/rescue facilities, etc, now, I rate ASWP around 15. The zoo was horrid, but I loved the drive-through part- but always bring in your own carrots!
I meant out of 100, I would rate the walk-through in the mid-30s to early 40s and the drive-through in the 80s, meaning I give them a rating out of 100- nothing to do with time periods! @lowland anoa: ASWP is a drive-through safari park, with a small walk-through "zoo'. They are both just loose collections, so there are no defined exhibit areas like in more "traditional" zoos.
