SOUTHERN OREGON, DAY 2: WEST COAST GAME PARK SAFARI IN BANDON

Friday, September 4, 2020

We drove past the West Coast Game Park Safari in Bandon, Oregon, on our way to our hotel. We were still in the "wandering mode," so I suggested that we wander through the game park. It isn't a big place--just 75 species on exhibit in a park covering 21 acres. It has been open since 1968 and gets about 60,000 visitors a year.

The small gift shop that doubled as a ticket office had some intriguing t-shirts and decor.

It took us about an hour to walk through the park. We saw a few kangaroos.

We bought a couple of ice cream cones filled with food for the animals. It didn't take long to become popular.

Once we had fed all the food pellets to the animals, the deer were more than happy to eat the empty cone. I guess that cuts down on waste and litter, but it doesn't seem like a very healthy diet for a deer.

I love capybaras. They look a little like giant guinea pigs. 

Every zoo/animal park needs a couple of monkeys.

A large antler arch reminded me a lot of the ones in Jackson Hole. Elk shed their antlers once a year, so no animals were harmed in the building of this arch.  Behind the arch is a large enclosure, and we could see a few elk at the far side, but I didn't get any photos.

The one-humped dromedary makes up about 94% of the world's camel population. 

Finally.  When I think "game" and "safari," I think of African animals.  Here is a healthy looking plains zebra, common in southern and eastern Africa.

When we got to the cats section of the park, I started to feel a little sorry for the animals in their small, plain cages. 

The next few photos are of spotted leopards. We have been lucky to see these in Africa.  They aren't easy to find, and seeing them up close like this is kinda cool and kinda sad at the same time.

Same thing with this Africa lioness. 

The saddest animal in the hole park, however, was this male lion. He had the most beautiful golden mane, but he was SO scrawny, and all he did was lick his beard.

The setting looks a little like a concentration camp--electric wire and gravel on the ground--and the lion looks about as emaciated as a prisoner.

The tiger enclosure was equally bland, but these animals at least look relatively healthy.

Leaving Africa and heading back to Europe. These are Jacob sheep from Britain and yes, they have four horns.

Let's drop down to Peru to see the llamas.

The highlight of our visit was seeing and petting this red fox.

We said good-bye to this fella on the way out. I didn't get too close because I was worried he was the guy on the t-shirt we saw in the gift shop. Do you remember that photo?

Overall we were not very impressed, but then again this is a small zoo in the middle of nowhere with a small budget. Still, it paled in comparison to the Wildlife Safari we visited the next day in Winston.

One more unplanned encounter deserves mention here.  We stopped at a little touristy shop in Bandon on our way out of town. They were giving away samples of what they called "crack corn." 

What makes this story so fun is that while we were there, who should come walking in carrying a box of product but Aunt Laurie herself!  (Her picture is on the bag, and she looks like Sandra Bullock, so she was easy to identify.)  We had just become members of her fan club when we ate her samples, so we approached her and complimented her on her treats and asked which flavors we should buy. She recommended blueberry waffle, so we bought a bag and took it out to the car. (Really, we should have had her autograph the bag.)  

Back out in our car we ripped open our bag and started to consume what tastes like Cap'n Crunch on steroids--crunchy and sweet and full of flavor. YUMMY. Aunt Laurie came by our car to see how we liked it, and after we raved about it, she offered us a SECOND bag, on her, of the toasted coconut flavor.

It was good enough that I ordered six bags "for Bob" for Valentine's Day last week.  

Ah, the unplanned joys of wandering.