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Safari West, the 400 acre wildlife preserve nestled in the heart of Sonoma County wine country, is practically a new Eden – missing only a pair of nudists and a talking snake. No worries – the shear diversity of life, represented in exotic mammals and birds, surely compensates.
“Every time you go out there you see things you haven’t seen yet. I’ve seen two things today that I’ve never seen before,” explained six year Safari West veteran Adrian Boyer, the preserve’s on-site photographer, who estimates that there are about 700 animals roaming the scenic grounds. “It’s constantly moving and changing. There’s always something going on,” said Boyer.
On a recent Fall afternoon, Boyer lead a tour of three Sonoma Valley Sun photographers and this reporter through the preserve in a retrofitted Dodge M37 military surplus vehicle – one of ten such vehicles. Our particular ride was purchased on an online auction site, which accounts for its nickname, “Ebay.”
Throughout the abbreviated tour (one of us had an appointment to make, much to our chagrin) it was near to impossible to resist anthropomorphizing the wildebeest, ring-tailed lemurs, giraffe, zebra and Cape buffalo grazing the grounds. That silver-dollar, polysyllabic expression refers to humankind’s habit of ascribing human emotions and motivations to animals. Whether it be from empathy or ego, I’m not able to tell, however, when one is looking into the eyes of an 18-foot-high giraffe that has decided to nuzzle the jeep in which one is seated, there is an inclination to consider the canoodling an act of affection rather than aggression. Boyer’s remark that the preserve is stocked with animals that “can kill you, but won’t eat you” wasn’t reassuring.
“They know who we are – we feed them. They aren’t afraid of us, they like us. The giraffes are like gentle giants. They love to lick the seatbelts for some reason,” laughed Boyer, who recently completed work on “A Field Guide to Safari West Mammals,” a photographic tome and tribute to the array of animals at the preserve.
“I’ve always had an affinity for animals, ever since I was a kid,” he explained. “Every time I’ve shot photographs of animals I’ve wanted to know their lifestyle, so it’s easier to shoot them knowing who they are.”
Given Boyer’s relationship with the animals is essentially that of professional observer – he’s more Richard Avedon than Dr. Doolittle – I’m keen to garner his insight into their nature and how it contrasts with ours. “Animals are smarter than humans,” he quipped—end of discussion. Not that Boyer isn’t keen to share, but in this realm, truth comes in tidy, koan-like packages. As do instructions, such as the obvious, yet oddly difficult to follow, edict: “Never get out of the jeep.” Echoes of a similar sentiment in “Apocalypse Now” (“Never get out of the boat!”) are not incidental – Safari West is neither zoo, nor drive-through park – it’s a wildlife preserve wherein animals wander freely in natural habitats. This isn’t to say the preserve is unsafe (it’s very safe, with gates and protocols and measures taken throughout), however, it is authentic.
Safari West was founded in 1989 by Peter Lang, whose filmmaker father, Otto Lang, created classic animal flicks and TV shows including “Daktari,” “Flipper” and “Sea Hunt.” The preserve gained membership in the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, one of only six private facilities in North America to belong to the organization. The preserve contains dozens of species, some of which are endangered or classified as “extinct in the wild” and, according to its website, “The ongoing mission of Safari West is wildlife preservation through breeding, education, research and public interaction.”
The organization’s boilerplate suggests little of the awe the preserve inspires, if not from its intrinsic beauty, then the endless variation with which life reveals itself. From horns and hooves to evolutionary peculiarities such as the so-called “follow me” mark on the rear of some animals. The distinct rump markings help other herd members keep in line when collectively bolting from predators. I scratched a note into my pad to keep this in mind the next time I spy a corporate logo slapped on the butt of some couture yoga pants. As I was writing, however, another similarity between the animals and us occurred to me: a majority of the preserve’s animals are born in captivity and, in a manner of speaking, so are we. As this thought was taking shape, we passed another jeep brimming with tourists. Boyer evoked the tone of tour guide and quipped, “There are the most dangerous animals in the world – homo sapiens.” My list ended there.
Tours at Safari West are $65 for adults and teens $65; $30 for children 3-12 and $10 for infants under two. On-site lodging is available as are seasonal and group specials. For more information, visit safariwest.com or call 707.579.2551. Safari West is located at 3115 Porter Creek Rd., Santa Rosa.
Watch the giraffe check out the safari jeep…
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Panorama of the Tent camp…
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