Ree Park Safari is a

safari park A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial drive-in tourist attraction where visitors can drive their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals. A safari par ...

Ebeltoft Ebeltoft is an old port town on the central east coast of Denmark with a population of 7,287 (1 January 2025).Djursland Djursland () is a 1,417 km2 hilly lowland peninsula in Denmark at the entrance to the Baltic Sea, between Denmark and Sweden in Northern Europe. Djursland protrudes into the Kattegat sea, as part of the larger peninsula of Jutland, which its ...

on the

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

peninsula,

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. The safari park is the home of more than 800 animals of 80 species from 5 continents. This popular tourist attraction offers its guests a comprehensive insight into the life and behaviour of animals from Europe, Africa, North America, South America and Asia.

History

The zoo was founded in 1991 by Frans Kilde Hansen and was named Ebeltoft Dyrepark. Ebeltoft Dyrepark was sold in 1993 to Lars Thye and the name was changed to Ebeltoft Zoo. Merete and Henrik Elsass bought the zoo 1998 and changed the name to ''Ebeltoft Zoo & Safari''. In 2006 the zoo was bought by Karsten Ree, and the zoo got its present name. In 2007 Ree Park became member of DAZA and EAZA.

Description

Welfare of wild animals in captivity is a key value in the vision of the park. This is why all the different species of the park live in surroundings tailored to meet their special needs and instinctive behaviour. The

American black bear The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), or simply black bear, is a species of medium-sized bear which is Endemism, endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. It is an omnivore, with ...

s, for example, have access to both tall trees and lakes in order to facilitate their natural climbing and swimming behaviour. Similarly, the

cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...

s live in a hilly bush savannah where these fast predators can spot e.g. antelopes in a different area of the park. This architectural feature of the park evokes instinctive hunting behaviour in the cheetahs even though the animals do not have access to their prey. In their natural African habitat, cheetahs often observe the savannah from hills and rocks enabling them to find their prey from a long distance.

Focus on endangered species

Apart from offering its guests exciting wildlife experiences during the opening season, a major priority of Ree Park – Ebeltoft Safari is an extensive focus on endangered species. And as a member of EAZA (European Association os Zoos and Aquaria), the park has made important achievements within the EEP (European Endangered Species Programme). In 2007, 9 cheetahs were born in the park. This important contribution to species conservation made Ree Park – Ebeltoft Safari one of the largest centres for cheetahs in Northern Europe. Other examples of successful EEP work include the

reintroduction Species reintroduction is the deliberate release of a species into the wild, from captivity or other areas where the organism is capable of survival. The goal of species reintroduction is to establish a healthy, genetically diverse, self-sustain ...

of the endangered

European bison The European bison (: bison) (''Bison bonasus'') or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bi ...

into the wild, the breeding of the very rare

sand cat The sand cat (''Felis margarita'') is a small wild cat that inhabits sandy and stony deserts far from water sources. With its sandy to light grey fur, it is well camouflaged in a desert environment. Its head-and-body length ranges from with a ...

, and promising work with the endangered

African wild dog The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called painted dog and Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Lycaon'', which is disti ...

, one of the world's most endangered

carnivores A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose nutrition and energy requirements are met by consumption of animal tissues (mainly mu ...

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ree Park - Ebeltoft Safari Zoos in Denmark Tourist attractions in the Central Denmark Region