Israeli Safari

I laughed a little when I learned that the zoo in Israel is called a “safari”.  I thought perhaps it was a mistake in the translation between Hebrew and English.Â

A safari (when used in English) is a reference to an African adventure hunting elephants or trapping tigers.  It’s a relatively old fashioned concept but still used when talking about entering or experiencing something wild and untamed. I couldn’t fathom a zoo being “wild and untamed”.

That is, until I actually went:

(above) Ostrich walking up to the cars.

The Ramat Gan zoo is only 15 minutes outside of Tel Aviv but when driving into the complex, it’s easy to forget how close it is to a major city. The zoo is in two halves: the first half allows cars to drive through a huge “safari” area that includes ostriches, hippopotamus’, zebras, giraffes, and an assortment of gazelles.

I had never found myself so close to “wild” animals like this before.

(above) The lion’s den.

The second half of the zoo was traditional. All of the animals were in their respective “homes” behind large fences or cages. A notable difference were the gangs of roosters and chickens allowed to run free around the zoo complex. They were surprisingly friendly and had no fear pecking bits of my ice cream cone from my hand.

Would an American zoo EVER let wild animals get this close to the general public??

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