“Wake Up The Wild” at African Lion Safari reminds us that animals have colorful personalities.
“If you drop a carrot, do NOT pick it up! The giraffe will go after the carrot as well, and those calcium lumps on their head will absolutely knock you out if you bump heads.”
Our guide was dead serious, and stated that someone had been knocked out years before in exactly that manner. The calcium lumps on the giraffe’s head were for defense and fighting for a mate, and were rock hard. So ok. Don’t drop the carrots.
My wife, Ivana, and I had wanted to do this adventure for some time. We had always loved to go to zoos and aquariums, but had not been to this animal park together yet. I had been as a kid, and remembered the monkeys jumping around in the back of my dad’s pickup.
I read about ‘Wake Up The Wild’ on the African Lion Safari website, and thought that would be an awesome adventure that we could manage.
Ivana was on oxygen constantly by then, and we took her portable machine everywhere we went. She was down to 95 pounds, but still strong enough to partake in those adventures without a lot of walking, so long as she had some time to rest. Neither of us were mentally ready to see her in a wheelchair just yet. I was never going to suggest that first, I wanted her to know that I saw her as strong and capable.
Something awesome about Ivana, her heart illness was not going to stop her from getting out and doing cool stuff. We just had to plan accordingly, and take the necessary precautions.
African Lion Safari is an animal park located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Home to many species, it’s larger animals are the reason to go. They roam in very open areas, many species sharing the same large habitat.
Only the predators are kept completely separate. There are some walking areas and a boat that takes you to see some animals, including the monkeys. Most species are seen from the comfort of your own car as you drive through the park on a paved trail.
(If I knew that I would be writing this article, I would have saved more pictures. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find many.)
Our arrival time was eight a.m. sharp or risk missing the tour. After some fun with my outdated GPS, we made it. Barely. We were checked in and only had a short wait until the small group of us were loaded into a bus that sat about twenty.
It looked like we were off to jail. The grey bus had bars over the windows, and the tires were covered. Well, we were going to drive close to the pride of lions, and I guess no staff member would feel like changing a tire if a lion happened to bite one. I’m not sure why they would, it’s not like the tires were covered in barbeque sauce.
Our guide was a young woman of about 25, dressed in the safari-type outfit typical of most animal parks. Julie (my memory is not good, might have been Jamie) introduced herself as a fan of the park as a child, and now a university graduate with her dream job. We could feel her love of the animals even as she explained the safety rules to our small group.
There was about 12 of us, including a few children of about 10 to 15. I always enjoy seeing the faces of the younger crowd light up when they see the animals. Today would be no different.
We drove out to the lion habitat and watched as the lion pride was released from their overnight dens. It was immediately obvious that a lot of the wild had been domesticated out of them. There was no rush for breakfast that you might expect from a hungry lion. The patriarch walked slowly, his long mane flowing in the morning breeze. The other lions fell into line behind him.
The lion habitat was quite large, and had many rocks and logs and trees to give shade and places to hang out or play. At many of these, we could see a large hunk of meat. The lions eat well! And they know there will be plenty, otherwise at least a bit of competition for food would happen. The huge male lion shook his mane when he sniffed the first piece of meet he saw. He gave it a couple swats with his paw, then ambled over to the next piece of meat.
You know the lions are well fed when a twenty-five pound steak is worth considering, but no, let’s see what else is out there.
One of the younger lions was sniffing a large rib roast. Zero chance it would fit on my rotisserie barbeque at home. The dominant male walked over, gave the other lion a shoulder check, and claimed the rib roast for himself. Was he really partial to that cut of meat, or was he just reaffirming his dominance by taking it? Hard to tell. He carried the meat under a rock archway, laid down, and started tearing at the meat.
The other lions in the pride found pieces of meat to their liking, and settled down to breakfast. I wondered if they missed the thrill of the chase. Does breakfast taste better if you don’t have to work for it? Normally I talk to the animals in such places, but the glass and bars and distance prevented me from doing so. The guide did not know, and since all the lions had been raised in captivity, wasn’t sure what would happen if one morning there was no food available.
I assume that the lions would find some way to eat. They are still lions. And there were zebras near by, so long as the massive steel gate was open. Let one zebra into the lion habitat, and watch the show. I’d have paid double for that!
We left them to their breakfast, each lion a comfortable distance from each other with their own large piece of beef. We watched them shred the meat and waste very little time chewing. For safety, the bus would not go too close. Pity, because I don’t think the lions gave a dam about our presence.
My wife and I enjoyed that part of the tour, even though it felt overly safe. I guess a visitor becoming breakfast would garner some bad reviews.
We drove back to the main facility and switched vehicles. This time we climbed into the back of a large flatbed with a simple wooden fence to prevent anyone falling off.
Our guide disappeared into a keepers building and emerged with two 20 liter pails. One had peeled carrots, the other, romaine lettuce leaves.
Curiously, she also loaded a large bough from what looked like a birch tree.
We sat on benches against the sides of the truck. Julie instructed us to always sit when the truck is moving and gave us the aforementioned carrot warning.
After a few minutes, we could see the giraffes, munching on breakfast from some elevated wire baskets that had tree boughs hanging off them. At the sight of the truck, some giraffes stopped eating and walked over. A few were very clearly happy to see the truck, and some were more indifferent to our presence.
The first giraffe to reach the truck was introduced as ‘Lucy.’ Julie explained that Lucy had no interest in carrots or lettuce, but loved to have her own bough of leaves to munch on. Julie petted the giraffes long face, and gave Lucy her bough. The giraffe ambled off by herself, happily munching the leaves.
Julie gave us a hint: “Watch for Lucy when you drive around the park later. She will almost certainly still have the branch in her mouth.”
With a carrot in one hand and a lettuce leaf in the other, Julie demonstrated how to feed them. First, we were instructed to use the hand sanitizer before touching the food. Not due to covid, for animal safety. Stretch your arm up, and hold only just enough of the vegetable. A giraffe’s tongue is designed to rip leaves off trees, and can rip your skin without trying.
Everyone took turns feeding the giraffes. It was super-cool! Julie knew all the names, and introduced the giraffes to us as we fed them. I should have taken notes, I can only remember Lucy for sure. We all quickly realized how picky some of the giraffes were. Hold up a piece of lettuce to a giraffe wanting a carrot, and it would knock your hand away, immediately. Vice-versa as well.
The giraffes clearly knew the drill, and took turns getting in line.
When it was our turn, Ivana removed her oxygen canal for a couple minutes, and we stood at the back of the truck and held the vegetables over our heads. The giraffe would wrap it’s twenty-inch tongue around the vegetable, and pull it into it’s mouth. They chew slowly, as if deep in thought. The exact opposite of how the lions ate.
Ivana and I fed a few different giraffes, some lettuce, some carrots. The giraffes would choose which vegetable they wanted, and only a few had no preference, taking whichever they were handed. I loved watching Ivana feed the tall animals, and seeing the smile on her face. When our turn was over, we sat down and Ivana put her oxygen canal back on. Her smile stretched from ear to ear.
The next pair up to feed the giraffes were a couple of girls aged about 11 and 14. They laughed the entire time they fed the giraffes. It was great to see, and mom and dad both took many pictures, with huge smiles on their faces. At one point the younger girl let go of a carrot before the giraffe had a good grip on it, and it fell to the ground.
The reaction of the giraffe was priceless. Clearly annoyed, we could all see it in the giraffe’s expression. And then we found out why. When you stand thirteen feet tall, picking anything up off the ground is a chore. The giraffe spread it’s front legs, taking a few steps to each side, until it had lowered it’s body enough to reach the ground. Only then did the giraffe bend it’s neck down to the ground and scoop up the fallen carrot. A lot of work to get the fallen treat.
When that fun was over, Ivana and I spent some time in the park, enjoyed the boat ride and had a snack. We watched an excellent presentation on African birds, and loved the colorful birds on display.
After Ivana had enough walking around, we drove through the seven different regions that make up the main section of the park. It was good, although I missed talking to the animals. I’m not crazy, I have had many conversations with zoo animals over the years.
As predicted by Julie, we saw Lucy, chewing on her stick, the leaves gone.
The giraffes all had their own personalities, no different than the humans feeding them.
A fantastic day, with memories to cherish forever.
