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San Diego Zoo Safari Park celebrates 50th anniversary

The 1800-acre wildlife park is home to 3,600 animals representing more than 300 different species. The park also sees more than one million guests each year.

ESCONDIDO, Calif. — The San Diego Zoo Safari Park is celebrating quite the milestone. Tuesday marks the 50th anniversary of when the park originally opened its doors in San Diego County. Originally the Safari Park was built to be the “Zoo of the future” and has since completely changed what zoos look like all around the world.

The 1800-acre wildlife park is home to 3,600 animals representing more than 300 different species. The park also sees more than one million guests each year. According to the Safari Park, they also maintain a vast accredited botanical collection of more than 1.3 million plant specimens, representing over 3,700 species.

According to the park, the initial inspiration behind the Safari Park has continued to fuel its growth through new projects and expansions. Each new experience is built with the goal of creating the most naturalistic, state-of-the-art habitats as possible. The Safari Park’s vision and dedication to detail have been noted by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), which more than once has honored us with its prestigious, “Exhibit of the Year” awards.

The 50-year celebration will last longer than just Tuesday! The Safari Park will be celebrating the 50 years of immersive conservation for the rest of the year. They are encouraging guests to visit the park, reminisce on old memories all while creating new memories. By visiting and supporting the Safari Park, you are helping us save elephants, giraffes, gorillas, tigers, rhinos, and many more wildlife worldwide, in eight conservation hubs on six continents.

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