Sunday, September 11, 2011

Wild Animal Safari

The Mexican called me this morning.

Mexi, "Hey what are you guys doing?"

Me, "Getting (our son) ready to go to the Animal Safari (with his cousins and grandparents)."

Mexi, "Ok, have fun and take lots of pictures."

Me, "I'm not going!" (I figured g-parents wanted some alone time with the g-kids)

Mexi, "Why?  Don't you think your parents are going to need help with all three of them (3 boys)?  You know those are wild animals! (talking about the actual animals, not the boys.)  Tara, you've seen  those shows.... "When Animals Attack!"  You should go with them.

Me,  (I'm laughing at this point) Really?  "When Animals Attack?"  I've been before, the animals do not attack!   We'll see, I might go.  Call ya later.

After thinking some, I realize 3 boys can be a handful.  Maybe I should go as back up....  My parents were pleased to hear I'd be tagging along.

Wild Animal Safari      Pine Mountain, Georgia



Let the adventure begin!  We piled into g-parents mini van and set off on the highway.  About two hours later we arrived at Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain, Georgia.

(click on the link above to learn more about them)








 You can either rent a zebra striped van (for a little extra),  ride the zebra striped bus (free) that comes around about every 2 hours or take your own vehicle (do not recommend this option).  We chose to take a van and then ride the bus for free before leaving the park.
The vans are totally bare on the inside.  No cloth interior, no radio, no air, nada.... just a motor,  seats, and a steering wheel.









Armed with 8 bags of "animal treats" (which you purchase there) we were set to go!  I'm not sure what these "treats" are made of.  If memory serves me correctly corn and honey are 2 of the ingredients. At any rate, they are popular!  The animals LOVE this food!



As soon as we entered the park we were bombarded by friendly animals wanting some yummy treats.  The animals come right up to your window and open their mouth or stick out their tongue hoping you'll give them a tasty treat.




Check out this video of a zebra sticking his head in the window wanting one of the treats!  Notice how his lips are quivering!  Those treats were like zebra crack rock or something!



Ya know, you never really know how much an animal slobbers until you are up close and personal feeding it. This is why I do not recommend driving your own vehicle!

It was extremely cool seeing all of these animals up close.  We saw gazelles, deer, buffalo, and zebras just to name a few!

A Giraffe waiting for my son to give him his treat.








The giraffes were my absolute favorite!  They were so beautiful and gentle.  They were laid back and graceful.  I could have spent the whole day hanging out with the giraffes.










All was going smoothly.  My son had just finished up feeding a gentle giraffe.  We passed a cute llama.  Then we saw an ostrich approaching the van.  All of a sudden he stuck his head in and tried to peck one of the kids! I started to freak out and the ostrich moved to the next window (the window where my son was sitting) and did the same thing!  By this time I was screaming "HOSTILE ANIMAL" so my father would put the pedal to the metal and we could escape the attacking ostrich!

Here is the video.   I realize due to me freaking out and acting a little ridiculous it might not make much sense.
(basically, if you listen closely you can hear me saying, "OMG, we should go, -I let out a scream-, he's hostile, he's hostile, oh my goodness) It's one of those "you'd have to of been there" type moments.  In my defense I would like to point out that ostriches have a crazy look in their eyes and can be quite aggressive!







After we recovered from shear shock and made sure none of our fingers were missing,  we continued on and saw more animals.  Some did not roam freely.

The camels would come up to the fence and eat from your hand.


This rhino was a big boy and sleepy!







After all the excitement we decided it was time for lunch and had a picnic.









Next we walked around  and saw some animals that were in more of a zoo like setting.  We saw bears, tigers, lions, ligers, kangaroos, snakes, lemurs, alligators, monkeys, wolves, goats, hyenas, peacocks and many more.
The peacocks were beautiful!  Wish I could have gotten a picture with the feathers spread out!

The Lemurs were precious!  Isn't this guy cute?


One more trip around to feed the animals, but this time we went in the bus. We re-fed all the animals again.  We had a nice long encounter with another sweet giraffe who spent minutes eating from my sons hand.




We were busy handing out the food we had left from our previous excursion.  Then, out of no-where appears this guy...  (insert horror music)

I backed away, snapped this photo with my phone being careful not to make eye contact!

It was a fun, smelly, slobber filled, adventurous day!  I highly recommend it.  The kids (and adults)  had a blast....  just remember to use caution when in close proximity with ostriches....... and enjoy your extra long hot shower when you get home!

20 comments:

  1. FUNNY!!! Did he say "ovaraptor"??? That might have looked like a dinosaur gone bad!

    ReplyDelete
  2. LOL!
    Dianne he did! We (my son and I) are convinced Oviraptors and Ostriches are somehow descendents of each other. When the Ostrich looks at you with that "evil eye" you can see an Oviraptor staring at you! It's really creepy! My son is dino obsessed, so he picked up on it immediately. I cut the video short. His next statement was "it almost pecked my eye!" (which was true)....
    Thanks for commenting!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am so glad you posted this today. Last night when you tweeted about an upcoming ostrich attack I was beside myself with curiosity! That ostrich really was like something out of Jurassic Park! eek! But the rest of it looked amazing! My parents took us to a wild animal safari in Canada when I was a kid. We had to drive in our own vehicle with the windows up. There was no feeding the animals and none of them were caged. We got charged by a rhino! He stopped right before his horn hit the passenger door of our old Buick! And then a gang of baboons peed on our windshield! I'm glad that some of the animals were not out in the open at Stone Mountain...and maybe they should reconsider having that ostrich out! I think your son is right: Oviraptors and Ostriches must be somehow related!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds like fun, I never knew GA had a Wild Animal Safari, it is on my list of things to do when we are in GA.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tara I made the mistake of reading this post when my son was close by, he is entranced by your pics and videos. This looks so much fun!! Thank you for sharing this. Something we will definitely check out if we ever find ourselves back in Georgia.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jen,
    Wow! Your animal safari in Canada sounds like it was an eventful trip! I can't imagine being charged by a rhino! They are huge! That must have been scary. Thankfully all the unfriendly animals were behind bars..... they may want to reconsider the ostrich like you mentioned.
    Thanks for commenting!
    ((Hugs))

    Stephanie,
    Yep, it's crazy.... an animal safari in Georgia! I don't remember how we even found out about it. You've got to go if you have time on your next trip to GA! Thanks for commenting! Cuidate!

    Jennifer,
    I'm so glad your son enjoyed the pics and videos. I have tons but didn't want to post them all because I had too much to say. LOL Yes, if you guys are ever back in GA, your son would LOVE this! Mine did! After reading your post today about your son liking insects, animals, and encyclopedias.... it sounds like our sons would get a long perfect!
    Take care!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Looks like fun...we've had this on our to do list forever...still haven't been

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great post and what was up with the Ostrich? Scaryyy
    Take care..

    ReplyDelete
  9. What an amazing time! Okay. That ostrich needs therapy and to be put behind bars. Maybe ugliness will do that to an animal. And the llama and giraffe are soooo cute. (Didn't realize llamas were so tall.) Your son is so adorable ... you may have a young biologist or paleontologist in the family. *LOL* Jen's comment. *LOL*

    ReplyDelete
  10. Omg...you guys are too cute! LOL! I didn't realize how strong of a southern accent you have...lol...it was so cute to hear you giggling on the video. What a fun trip! I bet you won't forget it anytime soon....lol! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for commenting Tye! You've gotta go!

    Foodness Gracious, he was scary! Wish I could have gotten an upclose of his eyes!

    Ezzy, Thanks for commenting. I would love to have a biologist or paleontologist! He already informs me he is going to be a paleontologist one day, we'll see. LOL Poor Ostrich! I never thought about why he was being agresivo... maybe it was due to receiving less treats than all the other animals. (ugliness)

    Chantilly, Thanks! I didn't realize my accent was that strong. LOL I've been told I've actually lost some of my accent when I've visited friends/family in Alabama....LOL (are u laughing outloud?) Believe it or not, it use to be stronger....
    The trip will definitely be a memorable one!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Tara OMG is it wrong that i was cracking up at the video "he's hostile" I'm gonna use that on my kids when they act crazy lol I'm glad you guys were all ok. You have convinced me not to want to go to the animal safari out here lol i know i will freak out. thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment Ruby! I can definitely see using the "he's hostile" in more than just my safari escapade! I may join you on using that phrase more. LOL

      Delete
  13. Oh dear I didn't know whether to laugh or cry during the ostrich attack video!

    I have mixed feelings about these kinds of places, but it looks like it was fun and the boys really enjoyed it which is nice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad everyone enjoyed the video. It is my understanding (and I could be wrong) that these animals were all in danger or hurt and have been rehabilitated. I too have mixed feelings about these types of places. It was a good learning experience.

      Delete
  14. OMG, I love the videos. Those ostrich are mean! I've seen them running after people on TV. Glad no one was bitten.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He was mean!!! and talk about a mean look! Wooh!

      Delete
  15. Wow! Exhilarating pictures! I have always been fascinated towards Wildlife of Africa. I would love to visit there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just visited your page and WOW! What a beautiful and amazing adventure you guys offer. I would love to visit there! Thanks for commenting.

      Delete
  16. Nice post! Actually we were wondering for the place where we could explore wildlife and have adventurous trip too. This place sound’s great to me, we would love to pay a visit there.

    ReplyDelete