San Diego Zoo actually has two parts....the traditional zoo as well as a Safari Park about thirty minutes from San Diego. It has several of the same animals that the traditional zoo has, but has them in more of a natural environment, with a true "safari" area that includes giraffes, rhinos, and several other species that typically reside in Africa. One of the great things about the Safari park is the animal encounters. They have several different "animal ambassadors" that come out on a leash to a non enclosed area, so that people can get close to the animals, and learn more about them. We were able to see several different animals in these encounters including an owl, a kangaroo, and a medium sized wild cat, called a Caracal. These are wild cats that reside in Africa and are about 40 pounds in size, and can jump up to 10 feet in the air to capture their prey. Another interesting thing that the Safari Park has is a "Cheetah Run." This is actually a 100 yard area that is fenced in, but with no other enclosures. They have a small toy that the Cheetah chases down the 100 yards. When we were there, they had a dog run the first race, and he clocked a time of over 11 seconds. They then had the Cheetah run the distance in just over 5 seconds! Cheetahs can reach speeds of 70 mph, and it is amazing to watch them do this!
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