Editing San Diego Zoo Safari Park (section)

==History==
The San Diego Zoological Society became interested in developing a larger facility in 1964. The initial concept of the park was as a supplementary breeding facility for the San Diego Zoo, which would allow ample space for large animals and herding behaviors of [[ungulate]]s.

The development proposed would differ significantly from that of a typical zoo in that animals would be exhibited in a naturalistic, spacious environment rather than in cages. In 1964, the park was assessed financially and then moved onto the next phase, with this resulting in three alternative developments—a conservation farm, a game preserve, or a ‘natural environment’ zoo. The natural environment zoo development was chosen over the conservation farm and game preserve even though it was the most expensive option. The estimated initial cost was $1,755,430.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>

The main purposes of this zoo were to be species conservation, breeding of animals for the San Diego Zoo (as well as trading between zoos) and providing areas where exotic animals arriving to the state of California could be quarantined and monitored. When it came to naming the park, five titles were considered: San Diego Animal Land, San Diego Safari Land, San Diego Wild Animal Safari, or the San Diego Wildlife Park; ultimately, the name chosen was the '''San Diego Wild Animal Park'''.<ref name="autogenerated1" />

The scheduled opening day of the park was set for April 1, 1972; however, the gates did not open until May 10, 1972.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> The general layout of the park, designed by Charles Faust, included a large lagoon with a jungle plaza, an African fishing village, an aviary at the entrance of the park and approximately 50,000 plants were to be included in the landscaping.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> Although the park was scheduled to open in three years from the time of the groundbreaking, the total development of the park was estimated to take ten years.

The first two species to arrive at the park were the [[nilgai]] (an antelope from India and Nepal) and the [[Grant's zebra]], native to East Africa.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
Subsequent species to arrive at the park included the [[gemsbok]], a type of [[oryx]] from Southern Africa and Namibia, in addition to Zambian [[sable antelope]], [[greater kudu]], southern and northern [[white rhinoceros]] subspecies (which were both in-danger of extinction), the one-horned [[Indian rhino]]ceros, as well as ten South African [[cheetah]]s, brought to the park for breeding purposes.

When the park first opened, there were many cultural shows and programs, with groups invited from Africa and Asia. There were also many animal encounters and entertainment options available for guests to view various animal ambassador species.

In the summer of 2003, the San Diego Zoological Society and [[Lowry Park Zoo]] orchestrated the capture of 11 wild [[African elephant]]s from the [[Hlane Royal National Park]] in Swaziland (since 2018 renamed to [[Eswatini]]). The zoos said the animals were scheduled to be killed due to overpopulation.<ref name="UT">{{Cite news|url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/apr/13/elephant-born-san-diego-zoo/|title=African elephant born at San Diego Wild Animal Park|last=Shroder|first=Susan|work=sandiegouniontribune.com|access-date=2018-11-05|language=en-US}}</ref> However, [[In Defense of Animals]] disputes this, claiming that new fencing costing many times less than the capture and transport would have ended the need to remove any elephants from Swaziland, and that the Save Wild Elephants Coalition reported that there were three other sanctuaries in Africa that had offered to take the elephants.<ref>{{cite web|title=Zoos' False Claims| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040815010834/http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/elephants/falseclaims.htm|archive-date=2004-08-15|access-date=2015-03-12|url-status=dead|url=http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/elephants/falseclaims.htm}}</ref> Five of these elephants are now at the park,<ref name="UT" /> and cumulatively, they have produced thirteen babies, as of 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/|title=Travel - Los Angeles Times|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=2018-11-05}}</ref><ref name="Meet the Herd">{{cite web|title=Meet the Herd|url=http://www.sdzsafaripark.org/video/elephant_cam.html|publisher=San Diego Zoological Association|access-date=20 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404071854/http://www.sdzsafaripark.org/video/elephant_cam.html|archive-date=4 April 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In March 2012, five elephants were moved to the [[Reid Park Zoo]] in [[Tucson, Arizona]], to form a new herd. A bull elephant, two cows, and two baby bulls were moved and, in return, two female elephants that had been together for years. Connie, an [[Asian elephant]], and Shaba, an African elephant, were sent to the San Diego Zoo.<ref name="Welcome elephants Connie and Shaba">{{cite web|title=Welcome elephants Connie and Shaba|url=http://blogs.sandiegozoo.org/2012/03/29/welcome-elephants-connie-and-shaba/|work=blogs.sandiegozoo.org|access-date=20 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002114316/http://blogs.sandiegozoo.org/2012/03/29/welcome-elephants-connie-and-shaba/|archive-date=2 October 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/tourism/sdut-elephant-pals-at-home-in-sd-zoo-2012mar02-story.html |title= Elephant pals at home in SD Zoo |author= Lori Weisberg |date= March 2, 2012 |work= [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]] |access-date= 22 June 2018}}</ref>  Connie died from cancer in July 2012, just five months after the move. Shaba was slowly introduced into the herd in February 2013.<ref name="Elephant Shaba meets the girls">{{cite web|title=Elephant Shaba meets the girls|url=http://blogs.sandiegozoo.org/2013/02/06/elephant-shaba-meets-the-girls/|work=blogs.sandiegozoo.org|access-date=20 March 2013}}</ref> On July 12, 2012, Ndulagave birth to Umzula. A male calf named Zuli was the largest elephant born at the park.

The [[California wildfires of October 2007|California wildfire]] season in 2007, which officially started on October 21 that year, burned {{convert|600|acre|km2}} of native [[chaparral]] lands within the park and caused the park's temporarily closure. The park moved many of their endangered animals out of danger of the fire. The flames did not reach any of the main enclosures, and no animals were killed or burned by the fire, though the flames could be seen clearly from several of the exhibits. The incidental deaths of a [[clapper rail]] and [[kiang]] were attributed to indirect effects of the blaze.

On June 30, 2010, the San Diego Zoo [[Board of directors|board of trustees]] voted to change the name of the park from the San Diego Wild Animal Park to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park to clarify what it offers, since the difference between the zoo proper and the "animal park" was unclear to some visitors. The name "safari" is supposed to emphasize "the park's spacious enclosures of free-ranging animals" (as opposed to "the closer quarters of the zoo"), encouraging visits to both locations.<ref name="nctimes">{{cite news |last=Brennan |first=Deborah Sullivan |date=July 12, 2010 |title=Wild Animal Park to switch to 'Safari Park' |url=http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/escondido/article_5fd504af-d58d-522b-ad70-fda80265f889.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715075731/http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/escondido/article_5fd504af-d58d-522b-ad70-fda80265f889.html |archive-date=15 July 2010 |access-date=13 July 2010 |newspaper=[[North County Times]] |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In July 2019, the park opened a new exhibit specifically for their rhinoceroses, the Nikhita Khan Rhino Centre (named after animal lover and lawyer Nikhita Khan), debuting as the home for six white rhinos. A few days after the center's opening, one of the rhinos (named Victoria) gave birth to Edward, a male calf, becoming the first rhinoceros in [[North America]] to be born via [[artificial insemination]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-29 |title=San Diego Zoo Global’s First Southern White Rhino Calf Conceived Through Artificial Insemination Turns 1 Year Old |url=https://science.sandiegozoo.org/news/san-diego-zoo-global%E2%80%99s-first-southern-white-rhino-calf-conceived-through-artificial |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance |language=en}}</ref>

In April 2024, the [[Ellen Trout Zoo]]'s male southern white rhinoceros, Bwana, permanently moved into this zoo to officially join its large crash.<ref>{{Cite web | title=North American AZA Southern White Rhino Population - Page 7 - ZooChat | url=https://www.zoochat.com/community/threads/north-american-aza-southern-white-rhino-population.481401/page-7 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521184902/https://www.zoochat.com/community/threads/north-american-aza-southern-white-rhino-population.481401/page-7 | access-date=2025-01-20 | archive-date=2024-05-21}}</ref> 

[[File:Wildanimalpark.jpg|thumb|The main Africa Enclosure, where many of the herbivores live free-range]]