Wild Animal Safari, Pine Mountain, Georgia

Have you ever seen, or heard of a "Liger"? Ever seen an ostrich face-to-face or met a giraffe named Too-Tall? Well, if you get a chance to visit the Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain, Georgia, then you just may.

Self-made millionaire entrepreneur Ron Snider and his wife Vivian created the 500-acre wildlife preserve, Wild Animal Safari, where people can actually get "up close and personal" with animals.

My six year old is just fascinated by all kinds of animals and always glued to Animal Planet. We had seen this TV commercial for an animal safari right here in Georgia, and decided to take the short ride down I-85 South to check it out.

We actually planned to drive through the safari, renting one of the park's vehicles, but then decided it best to have the chauffeured tour since it was already included in our admission price. As we waited for the next scheduled tour to begin (they run every ½ hour, and last about an hour depending on the number of stops and animal crossings), we visited the Walk-About section. It's essentially a petting zoo of sorts, however, there are some caged animals that can't be touched.

The Walk-About has a monkey house, alligator pit, a tropical bird section, Baby Land USA and a snake pit. It also includes a petting zoo with a camel, goats, and sheep, as well as chickens and peacocks that roam freely. You can also see North American black bears, wolves, Muntjac deer, porcupine, ligers, hyena and bobcats. The Walk-About also has 'shows' intermittently throughout the day, and we got to see a baby female bob cat up-close and personal. She was a little frisky, but we were able to pet her under the supervision of the park staff.

After the Walk-About, we boarded the Zebra Van tour bus, which was an old beat-up school bus, painted zebra-striped black and white, with no glass in the windows. I was 9 months pregnant at the time and could only wonder what I had gotten myself into!

The drive through the Serengeti Adventure gives you the feeling of being on a safari in the Serengeti. There's 3 ½ miles of paved road, covering 200 acres of natural environment: the plains, swamps, deserts, mountains and forests, with animals come from as far away as Africa, India, Australia, Europe, South America, North Pole and North America.

The bus driver was nice as could be, and gave us a quick introduction as we crossed the threshold into the Serengeti Safari. But I don't think any amount of introduction could have prepared any of our tour group for what we experienced. Out of nowhere the bus was surrounded by Texas Long Horns, American Bison, deer, North American elk, emu, Yakatusi, Nilgai, Rhea, Black Buck Antelope, Watusi and ostrich. They came RIGHT up to the windows and even attempted to board the bus, looking for pellet feed (which can be purchased at the ticket counter or gift shop). Luckily, the bus driver shared her stash with some of us who didn't purchase our own. The Long Horn's mouths were wide open, and their long black tongues outstretched, waiting for someone to feed them the pellets. It was kinda gross, with stinky animal breath and drool. The emu and ostrich were very aggressive and you could only put the pellets on the window ledge, or they might get your fingers. We saw a giraffe named Two-Tall and his cow 'girlfriend.' Even the wild boar and little turtles came out of the swampy water to beg for pellets. Along the drive, we also passed Two-Tall's Giraffe Hill, Cat Condo with the Ligers (half tiger/half lion), a white rhinoceros in Rhino Riviera and the Camel Caravan.

The Wild Animal Safari is located at 1300 Oak Grove Road, in Pine Mountain, GA. The park is open Monday through Friday, 10:00am - 5:30pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 10:00am - 6:30pm. Tour buses run Saturdays and Sundays only. Admission price is $15.95 for adults, $13.95 for seniors (age 60+), kids for $13.95 (age 3 - 12) and toddlers are free (2 and under). The bus tours are free, but if you want to rent one of their vehicles, the Zebra Minivan holds 7 passengers for $11.00 and the Zebra Van holds 15 passengers for $13.50. You can contact them locally at (706) 663-8744, toll-free at (800) 367-2751 or online at www.animalsafari.com.

If you have a fear of animals, beware, because these animals are so close that it's unreal, and this experience wouldn't be for you. Or if you have really small children or children that frighten easily, take heed, because my six year old freaked out with the close proximity to the animals and nearly knocked me off the seat to scramble into the center aisle (but she finally calmed down and was able to enjoy the ride). It was truly an adventure!