These "living fossils" are easy to spot: look for the short, fleshy trunk which they use to find food. Tapirs live in forest areas in northeastern South America. They are excellent swimmers and spend much of their time in water. Their closest living relatives are the horse and the rhinoceros.
Aldabra Tortoise
The Aldabra tortoise is the largest land tortoise found anywhere in the world. Native to coastal islands near Madagascar, it is the larger cousin of the Galapagos Island tortoise. The Aldabra tortoise may live as long as 150 years on a diet of vegetation and can have a shell that is 5 feet in length.
Llama
Domesticated from wild guanacos more than 4000 years ago, llamas are still used today as beasts of burden in the Andes mountains of South America. They are also farmed for meat and milk, and for their long, coarse wool which is used in weaving textiles.
Rhea
The South American rhea is the fourth largest of all birds in the world today. The rhea stands about 4 feet tall and weighs in at about 50 pounds. Their large size and tiny wings render them incapable of flight, but their powerful legs allow them to run at speeds of up to 30 m.p.h.
Florida Brown Pelican
Lion Country Safari has served as a refuge for these injured rehabilitated birds since 1984. Most of these pelicans received wing injuries in the wild, and cannot be returned to their natural habitat since they can no longer fly. The brown pelicans are here by permission of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Fallow Deer
Fallow deer have a variety of coat colors ranging from white to dark brown, and are often heavily spotted even as adults. Only the males have antlers which are shed every spring and re-grown by the following autumn. During mating season, or "rutting" season, males bellow in a deep voice and fight intensely with other males for the right to mate. Gestation is 230 days and females give birth to a single fawn.
Home of the Drive Through Safari Adventure!
2003 Lion Country Safari Road - Loxahatchee, Florida 33470
