The African Lion Safari was a wildlife park that
Stafford Bullen opened in 1968. It operated near
Warragamba on the outskirts of
Sydney in
New South Wales
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, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
Australia until 1991.
There was also a
dolphinarium
A dolphinarium is an aquarium for dolphins. The dolphins are usually kept in a pool, though occasionally they may be kept in pens in the open sea, either for research or public performances. Some dolphinariums consist of one pool where dolphins pe ...
in the African Lion Safari.
History
African Lion Safari was opened by
Stafford Bullen (1925–2001) in 1968. At the time, Bullen was still operating a travelling circus, but in 1969 he gave this venture a permanent home at
Bullen's Animal World. For the opening, a promotional single of
The Tokens
The Tokens were an American doo-wop band and record production company group from Brooklyn, New York City. The group has had four top 40 hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, all in the 1960s, their biggest being the chart-topping 1961 hit si ...
' "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" was recorded by a band using the name "The Love Machine" (the band turned out to be Tymepiece). The safari was popular in its early years and attracted up to 200,000 visitors each year.
With the suburbs encroaching on the facility, and extensive work required to upgrade the park following legislative changes, it eventually closed in 1991 but continued to hold animals on site that were used in a
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...
but not displayed to the public.
African Lion Safari originally opened in Warragamba, however sometime after this it relocated to neighbouring Wallacia, where it had a drive through area full of wild animals i.e. lions, bears, and tigers.
Incidents
On 7 August 1995, a
lioness escaped from the park, roamed the nearby townships of Warragamba and Silverdale, and killed a dog. The lioness responsible for killing the dog was shot by a park employee.
[Nicastri, Timoth]
How a boy's adventure helped a lion escape from a defunct safari park in Warragamba
''ABC News'', 20 September 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2021. As a result of the escape, the park was required to upgrade facilities. A bear also escaped and was shot by residents, as reported by Michael Feeny
Notes
References
*
External links
1980s Television Commercial on Youtube
{{Zoos of New South Wales
Zoos in New South Wales
1968 establishments in Australia
1991 disestablishments in Australia
Defunct amusement parks in Australia
Former zoos
Safari parks
Zoos established in 1968
Zoos disestablished in 1991
Warragamba, New South Wales