Address: 15500 San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido, CA 92027-7017
Telephone: 760.747.8702

Featured Exhibits

1. Lion Camp
2. Lorikeet Landing
3. Nairobi Village
4. Hidden Jungle
5. Kilimanjaro Safari Walk
6. Heart of Africa
7. Kupanda Falls Botanical Center
8. Wgasa Bush Line Railway
9. Field Exhibits
10. Condor Ridge

1. Location

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At the San Diego Wild Animal Park in Escondido, guests can view more than 3,200 animals on a guided monorail tour, the Heart of Africa Walking Safari, or by exploring the Mombasa Lagoon in Nairobi Village. Sprawling over 2,200 acres, the park is known for its success breeding such species as the southern white rhino and Arabian oryx. Don't miss Condor Ridge, which focuses on 13 endangered North American species of these beautiful birds.

Lion Camp is the newest exhibit at the Wild Animal Park. Opened October 2004, this one-acre naturalistic exhibit immerses visitors within the lion pride's territory. The first leg of the adventure is a stop at an observation station built into the crevice of a kopje, a rock outcropping where the lion pride might nestle among the boulders. The kopje is a popular lion lounging spot on cool days because heated rocks are near the window; on warm days, the rocks are a cool place to rest while thorny acacia trees provide shade for the big cats. The lions are separated from visitors by a 40-foot-long laminated, tempered glass panel, giving the exhibit a unique feeling of being in an African savanna.

When you walk through Lorikeet Landing at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park, you are transported to the rain forests of Australia, the natural habitat of the rainbow lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus. These beautiful, colorful birds are also known as brush-tongued parrots because their tongues are specially adapted to extract nectar and pollen from flowers. But in Lorikeet Landing, the birds don't have to put in as much effort because you lend a hand-literally-in feeding the lorikeets!
As you extend a cup of special nectar* towards the sky, the hungry lorikeets will land on your arms and hands to get to their feed. The birds have been specially trained to overcome their natural fear of humans, and they aren't shy when it comes to feeding-several birds at one time may even sit on your arm, or even your head and shoulders.

Your first encounter at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park is a feast for the senses. You've entered Nairobi Village, a lush, bustling, and exciting village of shops, restaurants, animal exhibits, and activity centers. Centered around the beautiful Mombasa Lagoon, Nairobi Village welcomes Wild Animal Park visitors with a host of things to do. Traipse through the Congo Fishing Village, built over a rushing waterfall. Touch the animals in the Petting Kraal, or spy the ring-tailed lemurs on their island in the lagoon. Kids can romp in the play area, where they can skip across lily pads, climb a spider web, or explore an aardvark den.

A tropical rain forest is teeming with wildlife, beautiful but often hidden. In the Hidden Jungle, you get a chance to observe the wonderful secrets of the rain forests, which are rapidly disappearing around the world. The Hidden Jungle's climate-controlled environment allows you to see some of the most delicate and fascinating creatures around.
In the spring, the Hidden Jungle gets an added dose of color during our annual Butterflies & Orchids event each April, when hundreds of colorful butterflies hatch and add their gentle, fluttering presence to the wonders of this extraordinary exhibit.

Because of its size, the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park is largely a walking experience. And one of the best ways to take in the Park's sights is through the Kilimanjaro Safari Walk. This 1 3/4-mile (2.8-kilometer) trail lets you see some of the Wild Animal Park's larger inhabitants like the elephants, rhinos, tigers, and lions, as well as the Park's extensive botanical gardens. A stop along Kilima Point will give you a panoramic view of the East Africa exhibit, where you'll see herds of giraffes, gazelles, and wildebeest stroll by-make sure you bring your camera along!

As the morning sun stretches upon the vast African savanna, I awaken to a phenomenal view. Everywhere are animals-giraffes, rhinos, cranes, elands, impalas, fringe-eared oryx-living together. Each animal species develops slightly different behaviors and physical features which allow it to fit a unique niche or position in the environment. Here's how it works: to my left, I watched a white rhino clipping away with its wide lips at the savanna grasses (grazing). Nearby a Thomson's gazelle stretched its slender neck into the brush to feed on the leaves (browsing). And on a hilltop to my right, a giraffe fed at the treetops. All of these animals are eating plants, but few are competing for the same resource.

As an accredited botanical garden, the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park has a diverse and extensive collection of plants. And one of the best ways to view many of them is by visiting the Kupanda Falls Botanical Center, a collection of several specialty gardens.
Here, you can enjoy our world-famous gardens in a winding, pleasant 1 1/4-mile (2-kilometer) trail. Stroll through the colorful Epiphyllum House and the Bonsai Pavilion. See the Old World Succulent, Baja, and Native Plant gardens. Stand amid the green Conifer Forest. Because they are off the beaten path, many visitors never realize these gardens are here, but for a kupanda enthusiast (kupanda means "plant" in Swahili) they are a must-see experience.

What makes the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park so unique are the large field exhibits which enable the animals to roam freely. So how do you observe them in their natural setting? The Wgasa Bush Line Railway, that's how. The Railway is an electric monorail ride that takes you on an incredible, 60-minute guided tour of the Wild Animal Park's major field exhibits of Eurasia and Africa.
Riding the Wgasa Bush Line Railway allows you to see some of the rarest and most endangered species in a setting like you've never seen before. Herds of elephants, giraffes, rhinos, and antelope are among the hundreds of animals you can see roaming the scenic rolling landscape of East and North Africa, the Asian Plains, a Eurasian Waterhole, South Africa, and the Mongolian Steppe.
With your safari guide providing the fascinating narrative about our breeding programs, the Wgasa Bush Line Railway lets you see why the Wild Animal Park is a truly special place.

The expansive field exhibits at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park house herds of exotic wildlife. There are six field exhibit areas, based primarily on the geographic region the animals come from in the wild. The only way to see all of these areas is to take a safari on the Park's Wgasa Bush Line Railway, free with Park admission, or reserve an exclusive Photo Caravan Safari for a once-in-a-lifetime, up close encounter with wildlife from a safari truck that will drive you right into the heart of our largest field exhibits.
You'll find wandering groups of Indian rhinos, several Asian deer species such as axis deer and wapiti, and large antelope species grazing in their established territories in the 60-acre (24-hectare) Asian Plains exhibit. The animals here are varied and may come from quite different parts of Asia, yet each group has found its niche.

Condor Ridge celebrates the diversity of North American habitats and their rare and endangered animal inhabitants, including a dozen species of birds, mammals, and reptiles. Desert bighorn sheep sprint nimbly up granite boulders; fast-flying aplomado falcons swoop down on prey hiding in the prairie grasses; and brilliant green thick-billed parrots are seen and heard in towering pine forests.

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