Way back on May 27th of this year, I shared some 1973 photos taken by Lou Perry from a visit to SoCal's now-defunct Lion Country Safari. After a too-long wait, here is Part 2!
You can tell that these antelope feel pretty safe on this faux veldt, they could hardly be more relaxed. Some might not be alive, who can tell? My memories of LCS are mostly of animals half-asleep in the Irvine heat.
It's a loaf of Rhinocerworsts! Didn't you know that a group of them is called a "loaf"? There might be a reason for that.
As a kid I got a kick out of the official park Jeeps, painted in zebra stripes. If they didn't sell toy versions of these, they were leaving millions on the table.
Yep, this is about how I remember things. Sleeping animals seeking the cooler shade beneath some scrawny trees. "Honk the horn, ma! Rile the critters up!". This is about when I'd get out of the car for a selfie with the cheetahs. I invented selfies!
I believe that those are lions sleeping near those palms. As I mentioned in the first post, commercials always showed a station wagon with a lion on their hood, but I'm not sure I ever saw one even walking.
I always love to see elephants, such huge, strange-looking animals, though we're used to them now. On the other hand, I sometimes feel bad seeing them cooped up in zoos, but at least they are protected from poachers. And at Lion Country Safari, they had room to wander.
And finally, another look at a giraffe (see the first installment), a creature that seems like one of those odd extinct animals that we know only from fossilized skeletons (like giant sloths) - except that they are real and alive! If you give a giraffe a piece of beef jerky, it will be your friend for life.
MANY THANKS to Lou and Sue!
Major-
ReplyDeleteI think the words you're looking for are barren and stark. (I know... add O'Reilly to it and you have a law firm). Guests really needed to bring their own 'potted palms' to spruce-up the joint.
Thanks to Lou and Sue and The Major.
Just a side note: My dad did not take these photos…but I’m not sure who did…
ReplyDeleteI’ll check back later to read all the comments.
Sue
Those elephants and rhinos should win an award. They are out-standing in their field, “rim-strike” unlike those lazy zebra, cheetah and lions. Look at that lone zebra jeepster in its natural habitat. Just thrilling. Where’s Mutual of Omaha when you need them.
ReplyDeleteI went through one of these in Texas and the zebra had it figured out. They would block the road until you fed them all.
Thanks for the interesting animals today Major!
The two antelope on the right are definitely 'unresponsive'. :-p At least these ruminants and ungulates stay near the cars so people can stare at them in all their magnificent glory. The predators tend to be secretive and out of sight or at a distance. "I think I see a lion way over there... Nope, it's just a bush."
ReplyDeleteI like the rhinos picture. They look quite impressive... and dinosaur-like. Shouldn't there be some safari members climbing up that palm tree? I think a lot of those animal group names like: a 'murder' of crows, etc., are simply made up by journalists and writers to add interest to whatever it is they're writing.
Speaking of lions, there's a 'pile' of them. Yes, I am hereby proclaiming that a group of lions should be henceforth referred to as a 'pile'. None of this 'pride' nonsense! Seems like there should be more shade provided for the animals?
Then again, as with these cheetahs, if they had more shade, then no one would ever see the animals!
Another 'pile' of lions. One of them is actually up and walking! Probably needs to use the restroom.
The efelumps are mingling with kudu and dik-diks. Sorry, I forgot this is a family blog. (I have no idea what these animals actually are.) I'm guessing there is a nice big pond or small lake nearby for these elephants to caper about and squirt passing cars.
The picture of the giraffe is especially nice."Beef jerky"? I thought giraffes were vegetarians. Now I'm wondering if a giraffe would actually eat, and like, beef jerky. They'd probably chew it once or twice and spit it in your face!
I mostly made fun of these pictures today, but I did enjoy seeing them. Thanks, Major, Sue, and Lou, or whoever took the photos ;-)
Ahhhh.....I can see the billboard around the "other Park" up the road a spell...."off at Moulton Parkway".....and now: this area does NOT even remotely look anything like this....that is some pricy land being sucked up by wild animals just sleeping....and here's the thing about wild animals, (and I think the operating hours of Lion Country Safari should be dusk...to totally dark....)because most of these creatures are nocturnal...which is why: they are sleeping....(duh)...however many like to dilly dally around during the day....and it would be nice if these Park owners would give these guys some shade....for the love of Pete. I like seeing animals, and I very much dislike seeing animals used commercially as well. It's a double edge sword. I suppose it brings light to compromised species: like Rhinos especially....and who doesn't like a ostrich tapping on their windows....I think they might have been somewhat trained to do that...but who knows. There's a few horror animal stories from "LCS" that I won't get into, and my personal memories are "extremely hot day, windows rolled up, no AC"....but the Hippo pedal boats I loved...and they had a sweet little African village too. Jambo! Thanks Lou and Sue and Major. Please be kind to animals and support conservation.
ReplyDeleteThese poor critters have nothing else to do but sleep. All their food is provided, they don’t have to walk miles for water, they can’t chase or fight each other, nothing left but sleep.
ReplyDeleteI guess it’s good that they are safe and cared for, even if they are bored. At least they have room to stretch, unlike the critters at Marine World.
Major, you’re right about the jeeps. If they could have managed a “Daktari” tie-in, it would be a cash cow, or zebra. Thank you and Sue for the pics.
JG
Maj, that Jeep is pretty cool! What kid wouldn't want a Matchbox-size one to drive, speeding away in screaming terror from their toy animals?
ReplyDeleteI think my favorite of this great set of pictures (thanks, Lou and Sue!) is the final one of the giraffe. It's like he's politely leaning in to the picture of a tree to ask, "Pardon me, might you have any Grey Poupon?"
When I was a kid, there were constant ads on TV for African Lion Safari in Hamilton, Ontario; I can still sing the jingle in my sleep. "African Lion Safariiii, thrill to the animal show! Doot doot doo, doot doot doo!" It was pretty close by, but we never got around to going.
Re: the pile of sleeping lions, it's amazing how much lions in the wild aren't that different from feral cats. Cats gonna cat, I guess. We used to have a picture of me at about age five, standing in front of a sleeping caged lion at some roadside attraction, with his paw pressed up against the mesh next to me. I'd be horrified at him being in such a small enclosure today, but back then I was just happy to be close to him.
Awesome post today!
Nanook, those are good words! It sure would have been nice if a few oases had been provided, with plenty of water and shade.
ReplyDeleteLou and Sue, oops! You probably told me that when you sent them to me, but as usual I was drunk.
Budblade, lions really are the laziest, though cheetahs are in the running (hey that’s a pun!). I admit that I’ve never been to Africa, maybe parts of the veldt really look just like Irvine. Did the Texas park you went to let you feed the animals? I think that was considered a no-no, though I’m sure people did it anyway.
JB, I think there were fences that probably kept the various animals from straying too far from where the cars were. And of course to keep predators away from all that juicy prey! I’m getting hungry just thinking about it. Rhinos are pretty cool, I hope we manage to not wipe them out in the wild. Though I do want some of those great aphrodesiacs! I like the word “pile” for lions, it seems very apt. “Pride” is way too self-congragulatory. “Aren’t we great?”. I’m assuming that money was an issue when this park was built, resulting in something not quite as fancy as they originally planned. Trees aren’t cheap! Walt Disney got lucky, he could get free trees that were in the paths of freeways that were under construction. I will forgive your mention of dik-diks this one time, but don’t let it happen again! Many people believe that giraffes are vegetarians, but don’t you believe it. They will eat you as soon as look at you. That’s why they have those big fangs and sharp talons.
Bu, yes, my understanding is that all this empty land has been fully developed, like most or Orange County. I’m astonished that the city fathers never though that the OC should have a few large areas of parkland. Maybe there are some that I am not aware of? Like you, I generally don’t like seeing animals in captivity, though this sort of wild animal park doesn’t seem so bad. I’ve mentioned a zoo that I went to as a child in Virginia, tiny cages, in the cold. Even as a five year-old I knew it was not good. Now I want to hear those horrors stories! I know the big ones, like about Bubbles the hippo, but I assume there were a few maulings. I have a nice photo of my mom and siblings in a hippo pedal boat, as well as another photo of one of those pedal boats, I’ll bet those were all crushed and put into the landfill.
JB, I love zoos that manage to make things interesting for the animals, like when chimp enclosures have places where the apes have to use a stick to get peanut butter out of a fake tree trunk, or whatever. Clever. As a kid I would have demanded a zebra-striped jeep toy, and would have screamed until I got one!!
Melissa, yes, Matchbox-sized toys would be good, but what about a nice RC vehicle for the rich kids with long golden curls (like me)? I love that we have giraffes on this planet, maybe they don’t taste good, but I’m not aware of them being over-hunted. “These don’t taste like chicken AT ALL!”. Wow, A Lion Safari in Ontario, Canada? What did they do when it got really cold? Maybe all the animals got ugly Christmas sweaters. Online, I’ve seen plenty of photos comparing lions to house cats, the way they stretch, etc. Like you said, Cats gonna cat!
Major-
ReplyDelete"What did they do when it got really cold? Maybe all the animals got ugly Christmas sweaters".
FINALLY... the brilliant idea I've needed to become a billionaire-! Naturally Major, I will give you FULL credit for the idea and a cut of all the profits... (Have you started holding your breath yet-??)
I was going to make a flip joke about the lions and elephants at Africa Lion Safari going indoors during winter to play ice hockey against the moose and bison, but I thought I'd better go and look up what the actual procedures were. And I found out that there have been some protests over the years about having that kind of park in that kind of climate. And a few other animal welfare complaints over the years. So, um, yeah. Maybe I shouldn't have even brought the place up.
ReplyDeleteI knew about the animal neglect at Marineland Niagara/Marineland of Canada (seriously, only go looking for more information if you want to get depressed) which is a park I did go to as a kid (more ubiquitous advertising). The first rumors were only starting to circulate back then, and the very last of the animals were removed this summer.
Let's just say the world has gotten worse in some ways since the old days, and a lot better in some others.
Earlier I mentioned that my dad didn't take these pictures -- so that everyone would know he didn't, and therefore feel comfortable 'poking fun' at them. (Major, no worries that you forgot.)
ReplyDeleteNanook, you weren't kidding about the lack of trees. These poor animals were baking all day. And what a joke, in the rhino area -- one measly palm tree.
Budblade, that was a very smart zebra!
JB, ha! Yes, the safari group should be climbing that palm!
Bu, I agree -- be kind to the animals! ALL animals! (Our very own KS rescues horses...how cool is that?!)
JG, I wonder if any of the critters ever woke up from a nap, all rested, and tried to make a 'run for it' -- trying to break through the fencing to escape?? They probably did, but I don't want to google it and read any sad stories.
Melissa, your caged lion story reminded me of a man who traveled with a lion cub, about 40 years back, and he stopped near our town for an afternoon. He let you hold the little cub and have your picture taken with it, for $5, if I remember correctly. I was thrilled to hold the adorable cub, but later realized that the poor animal was doomed to live in a cage and would probably never have a good life. So sad. (I would never support anything like that, now.) I'm glad that people are becoming 'more aware' and helping to rescue animals and stop abuse.
Major, I love your commentary. You would've made a great safari guide. Thanks, for taking us on this fun and wild field trip.
Where’s Mutual of Omaha when you need them.
ReplyDeleteBudblade, they are currently showing the older episodes of "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom" (with Marlon Perkins!) on MeTV, in the early morning hours! I remember watching it whenever we would stay over at my grandparents' house!