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Lion Country Safari just unveiled a new home for their troop of squirrel monkeys in the park’s walk-through adventure park. The new habitat is approximately twice the size of the previous one and extends up to 16 feet (4.9m) at its highest point. As the squirrel monkeys explore their new environment, guests will have multiple viewing areas to observe from.

The habitat features several new elements for the monkeys to interact with, including a series of climbing branches, ropes, ladders, natural elements and an elevated “monkey highway” that runs around the interior habitat perimeter. The squirrel monkeys are settling in before additional species from the previous habitat (including a red-footed tortoise and rhinoceros iguana) move in.

Lion Country Safari is home to a breeding troop of 6 squirrel monkeys, including 3 males and 3 females ranging in age from 6 months to 12 years old. These monkeys are genetically valuable for the Squirrel Monkey Species Survival Plan (SSP) and have contributed positively to the SSP population. Squirrel monkeys are agile and adapted for life in the trees. They are highly social and live in groups ranging from smaller family subgroups to up to 300. Squirrel monkeys are currently listed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), but their wild populations are in decline due to habitat loss and the pet trade.

Lion Country Safari is Florida’s largest drive-through safari and is home to hundreds of animals, including some of the world’s iconic species roaming wide open natural habitats in large herds. Lion Country Safari continuously strives to be a leader in animal care, conservation, and education to inspire people through connections with wildlife in a family-friendly environment. For more information, please call the main office at (561) 793-1084 or visit us online at www.lioncountrysafari.com.   

Lion Country Safari ranked among the top 10 safari parks in the United States by the USA Today’s “10Best” Readers' Choice contest. Ranked by popular vote, supporters chose from 20 of the top nominated wildlife parks selected by experts in the zoo and travel field. Lion Country Safari is the only park in Florida to be named among the top 10 safari parks and has earned a spot on the list six years in a row.

The list, released on March 17^th, 2023, on 10best.com, ranks the top 10 parks to view exotic and endangered species from around the world. Lion Country Safari has been bringing the safari experience to families from across the country and across the world since 1967. Lion Country Safari is also unique in that the park not only displays animals in large herds, as many safari and wildlife parks do, but is also currently home to the largest herd of zebra on record in the western hemisphere, one of the largest herds of giraffe in the United States, and a large herd of rhinos with a long history of breeding success.

Read more here: https://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-safari-park/

Lion Country Safari is Florida’s largest drive-through safari and is home to hundreds of animals, including the world’s most iconic species, roaming wide open natural habitats in large herds. Lion Country Safari is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and continuously strives to be a leader in animal care, conservation, and education to inspire people through connections with wildlife in a family-friendly environment. For more information, please call the main office at (561) 793-1084 or visit us online at www.lioncountrysafari.com.  

Lion Country Safari welcomed a baby chimpanzee to its troop on Jan. 28, the second chimp baby born at the facility in a little over a year. The baby is making her debut on the island habitats in the preserve, and guests driving through the safari may see her clinging to mom. 

This baby has been named Lili in honor of the Tonkolili Chimpanzee Project, a conservation initiative in Sierra Leone. Due to the status of chimpanzees in the wild and the low number of births in the population, this birth is especially rare and significant for the conservation of the species. Her birth contributes to the Chimpanzee Species Survival Plan (SSP), a national collaboration to save them from extinction.  

Lili joins a family of 2 females and 3 males, including 1-year-old Tonk, who has showed some interest in the baby. While mom Juniper is not yet comfortable with Tonk or the other chimps touching Lili, she does still play with Tonk while she has the baby on her chest. Juniper, who is usually shy and reserved in front of people, has surprised her care team by making a point to show off her baby to them. 

Chimpanzee gestation is approximately 8 months. At birth, chimpanzees weigh approximately 4 pounds (1.8 kg). Infants cling to their mothers off and on for the first few years but will stay closely attached for the first four months before becoming more independent. Chimpanzees are listed as endangered and critically endangered in some regions by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with populations decreasing due to habitat loss, poaching and disease.  

Lion Country Safari is home to 17 chimpanzees and is a proud participant in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Chimpanzee Species Survival Plan and the Chimpanzee Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) Program.  

Lion Country Safari has been nominated as a top safari park in the United States for USA Today’s “10Best” Reader’s Choice contest. Supporters can choose from 20 of the top nominated safari parks selected by experts in the zoo and travel field. Voting is open until noon on March 6^th, 2023.

 The list of the top 10 safari parks, ranked by popular vote, will be released on March 17^th, 2023. Lion Country Safari is unique in that the park not only displays animals in large herds, as many safari and wildlife parks do, but is also currently home to the largest herd of zebras on record in the country, one of the largest herds of giraffe in the United States, and a large herd of rhinos with a long history of breeding success. Recent additions to the park include a rhino calf, named Ruby, and two giraffe calves, Kandoro and Kianga, born just days apart in December.

 Vote here: https://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-safari-park/lion-country-safari-loxahatchee-florida/ 

On Saturday, 12/31/2022, Lion Country Safari welcomed a second giraffe calf to its herd, just days after the first giraffe birth. The newest baby, a 161-pound (73.2kg), 6.1-foot-tall (1.9m) male, is the 18^th member of the park’s giraffe herd, one of the largest in the country. Both calves are spending quality time bonding with their moms in adjacent maternity areas and are visible to guests from the road in the last section of the safari.

The new calf, named Kianga (meaning sunshine) is the first offspring born to 9-year-old mom, Ashleigh. Giraffes reproduce year-round, with females giving birth to a single large calf after a gestation period of approximately fifteen months. Females give birth standing up and calves are usually able to stand and run within a few hours following birth.

Giraffes are undergoing a silent extinction and have experienced a 30% decline in population since the 1980’s. As a single species, giraffes are listed as “Vulnerable,” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and two of the subspecies are now listed as “Critically Endangered.” Lion Country Safari is a proud partner of AZA’s Giraffe SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) program and a supporter of Giraffe Conservation Foundation. 

On Tuesday, 12/27/2022, Lion Country Safari welcomed a male giraffe calf to its herd shortly after opening for the day. Guests visiting the park had a unique opportunity to witness the incredible birth from their vehicles and a line of cars with guests sat to watch. The calf is spending quality time bonding with mom, an 18-year-old female name Ayanna, in a maternity area visible to guests from the road in the last section of the safari.

The calf weighs approximately 150 pounds (68kg) and stands an impressive 5 feet, 10 inches (1.8m) tall. Lion Country Safari is asking for the public’s help in selecting a name for the newborn and has invited followers to vote for their favorite name from a list on the park’s Facebook page.

Giraffes reproduce year-round, with females giving birth to a single large calf after a gestation period of approximately fifteen months. Females give birth standing up and calves are usually able to stand and run within a few hours following birth. Lion Country Safari cares for 17 giraffes, one of the largest herds in the country.

Giraffes are undergoing a silent extinction and have experienced a 30% decline in population since the 1980’s. As a single species, giraffes are listed as “Vulnerable,” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and two of the subspecies are now listed as “Critically Endangered.” Lion Country Safari is a proud partner of AZA’s Giraffe SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) program and a supporter of Giraffe Conservation Foundation. 

On Thursday, 12/15/2022, at 10:30AM, Tonk, a baby chimpanzee born at Lion Country Safari late last year, will celebrate his first Christmas at the park’s annual Christmas with the Chimps. During this event, Santa makes a special visit to the safari and his helpers deliver presents by boat to the park’s chimpanzees. It’s the only event of the year where guests are permitted out of their vehicles in the final section of the preserve (at the chimp islands) to join in the festivities. Christmas with the Chimps is open to the public and is included with paid admission. Guests should arrive by 9:30AM to allow travel time to the chimp islands.

“The keepers work hard to produce new, exciting things for the chimpanzees to encourage specific behaviors such as foraging, play and nesting. At Christmas with the Chimps, guests get a special opportunity to see the chimps receive novel enrichment items in the form of wrapped Christmas presents, which are stuffed with bedding material, blankets, and treats like cereal, nuts, and dried fruit. Chimpanzees get just as excited about presents as we do!” says Kelly Freyder, Lion Country Safari’s Primate Curator. The chimpanzees and other animals will continue to receive holiday-themed enrichments leading up to Christmas.

Lion Country Safari cares for 17 chimpanzees (in 3 social groups), ranging in age from less than 1 year to 54 years of age, who reside on a series of island habitats. Lion Country Safari's great ape habitat is unique in that the chimpanzees rotate daily across various islands interconnected by a bridge system.

Chimpanzees, currently classified as endangered to critically endangered due to a population decrease across Africa, face a number of threats to their existence, including the deforestation and mining associated with coltan production. Coltan is a mineral mined by hand in the Democratic Republic of Congo and is used in phones, tablets, and other small electronics.

On Sunday, October 16^th, 2022, Lion Country Safari welcomed a baby Plains zebra to its herd. The foal and mom are visible to guests from their cars in the Hwange section of the safari, along with the rest of the zebra herd. Lion Country Safari is home to largest herd of zebra on record in the United States with nearly 60 zebras under its care.

Zebras give birth to one foal weighing 55 – 88 pounds (25-40 kg) after a gestation period of 11 to 13 months. Foals are born with soft, fuzzy fur and white and brown stripes and each zebra’s stripe pattern is unique. Foals can walk and run within approximately an hour after birth.

Plains zebra are listed as Near Threatened with a decreasing population by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Of the three species of zebra (Plains, Mountain, and Grevy’s), the Plains zebra is the most abundant, but all 3 species are in peril due mostly to poaching and habitat loss.

West Palm Beach, FL – Lion Country Safari welcomed a female Southern White Rhinoceros calf to its herd on August 6^th, 2022, the third calf born at the park in less than a year. She is a significant contribution to the White Rhinoceros Species Survival Plan, a national collaboration to save the imperiled species from extinction. Both the calf and mom are spending quality time bonding together in a maternity area, and will be visible to guests from their cars in the drive-through safari.

The baby is the first offspring born to 7-year-old mom Blossom and she is the 39^th rhino calf to be born at the park since 1979. Blossom’s family line is considered underrepresented in the population; each offspring’s genes are important to the overall diversity and health of the population under human care and to the conservation of the species.

Rhino mothers give birth to a single calf weighing between 88 and 132 pounds (40-60 kg). The calf is expected to gain 3-4 pounds (1-2kg) a day from her mother's milk and will gain about 1,000 pounds (450 kg) a year for the first three years. Baby rhinos nurse for almost two years.

Of the five species of rhinos (White, Black, Indian, Sumatran and Javan), the white rhino is the most numerous, but all 5 species are in peril due mostly to poaching. During the 1970s, this species was teetering on the edge of extinction with less than 1,000 individuals left on the planet. Today, thanks to multi-national collaborative breeding and protection efforts, there are an estimated 20,000 white rhinos and each new birth contributes to their continued conservation.  

Lion Country Safari is home to 16 White Rhinos – 12 females and 4 males and is a proud participant of the White Rhinoceros Species Survival Plan (SSP), a program of the Associations of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Lion Country Safari is also a proud participant in the American Institute of Rhinoceros Science (AIRS) research program, which aims to optimize rhino care to ensure healthy populations under human care that can act as a safety net from extinction.

For more information on rhinos, visit the International Rhino Foundation www.rhinos.org and Save the Rhinos www.savetherhino.org.

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Lion Country Safari is hosting an event in honor of World Lion Day on August 8th, 2022, from 11:00AM to 3:00PM. This year’s event will feature crafts, educational displays, a raffle, and special VIP tours (limited space) that guests can participate in for an additional fee, which will be donated to lion conservation.

World Lion Day is a celebration of lions and an opportunity to raise awareness about the vital need for worldwide participation in their protection and conservation in the wild.

African lions are currently listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); populations have been severely diminished in the past 25 years, due largely to habitat loss and conflict with humans.

Lion Country Safari cares for 9 lions in multiple social groups, including young lions born at the park in late 2019. Lion Country Safari is proud to support lion conservation and to participate in several of AZA’s Species Survival Plan (SSP) and Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) programs to save species.