Knowsley Safari Park
Encyclopedia
Knowsley Safari Park is a tourist attraction
in the borough of Knowsley on the outskirts of Liverpool
, England
. The park was also home to a former RAF airfield which closed at the end of World War II
.
and Jimmy Chipperfield using the expertise of General Manager Laurence Tennant MBE formerly the Chief Game Warden of Parks in Uganda and Botswana. Initially the road through the park was 3.5 miles (5.6 km), with visitors driving past lions, cheetahs, monkeys, giraffes, zebra, elephants and various antelope. Due to the popularity of this route, an additional 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of road was added in 1973, and camels, buffalo, white rhino, and tigers were added to the park. Over the years, a few modifications have been made. For instance, lions and tigers are now displayed in enclosures within the reserve, and a bypass around the baboons was built for visitors who are worried about damage to their cars.
on the ancestral estate of the Earl of Derby
, the reserve is home to many different animals including elephant
s, giraffe
s, lion
s, bongo
s, tiger
s and baboon
s. The Derby Estate have a tradition of keeping animals, ever since the famous artist and nonsense-poet Edward Lear
was employed there in the 19th century to paint pictures of the Earl's collection. Smaller animals, including domestic pets, are also kept on site as part of the attractions for visitors. The 'Bug House' provides a collection of smaller animals including Madagascar hissing cockroach
es, iguana
s and a kingsnake
.
TV presenter Alan Partridge
remarked of monkey
s that "if you’ve been to Knowsley Safari Park and they’re pulling the wipers off your windscreen and nicking your hub caps, you lose sympathy. In 2009 the baboons made the news all over the world when a video was released showing how they were intelligent and curious enough to open car roofboxes.
showed animals lying dead on the ground and in binbags, although the park's directors claim the pictures were staged by the photographer, whose husband the paper claimed had recently lost his job at the park. The park has since installed an enclosure for the storage of animal carcasses prior to disposal. The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums
(BIAZA) later said it had ‘full confidence’ in Knowsley and praised its ‘excellent standards of animal husbandry and welfare’.
Tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....
in the borough of Knowsley on the outskirts of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The park was also home to a former RAF airfield which closed at the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
History
The park was opened in July 1971 by Edward Stanley, 18th Earl of DerbyEdward Stanley, 18th Earl of Derby
Edward John Stanley, 18th Earl of Derby MC , known as Lord Stanley from 1938 to 1948, was a British peer....
and Jimmy Chipperfield using the expertise of General Manager Laurence Tennant MBE formerly the Chief Game Warden of Parks in Uganda and Botswana. Initially the road through the park was 3.5 miles (5.6 km), with visitors driving past lions, cheetahs, monkeys, giraffes, zebra, elephants and various antelope. Due to the popularity of this route, an additional 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of road was added in 1973, and camels, buffalo, white rhino, and tigers were added to the park. Over the years, a few modifications have been made. For instance, lions and tigers are now displayed in enclosures within the reserve, and a bypass around the baboons was built for visitors who are worried about damage to their cars.
Zoological collection
Situated around Knowsley HallKnowsley Hall
Knowsley Hall is a stately home near Liverpool within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, in Merseyside, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building, and is the ancestral home of the Stanley family, the Earls of Derby. The hall is surrounded by of...
on the ancestral estate of the Earl of Derby
Earl of Derby
Earl of Derby is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end of the reign of Henry III and died in 1279...
, the reserve is home to many different animals including elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s, giraffe
Giraffe
The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
s, lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
s, bongo
Bongo (antelope)
The western or lowland bongo, Tragelaphus eurycerus eurycerus, is a herbivorous, mostly nocturnal forest ungulate and among the largest of the African forest antelope species....
s, tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
s and baboon
Baboon
Baboons are African and Arabian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the largest non-hominoid members of the primate order; only the mandrill and the drill are larger...
s. The Derby Estate have a tradition of keeping animals, ever since the famous artist and nonsense-poet Edward Lear
Edward Lear
Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, author, and poet, renowned today primarily for his literary nonsense, in poetry and prose, and especially his limericks, a form that he popularised.-Biography:...
was employed there in the 19th century to paint pictures of the Earl's collection. Smaller animals, including domestic pets, are also kept on site as part of the attractions for visitors. The 'Bug House' provides a collection of smaller animals including Madagascar hissing cockroach
Madagascar hissing cockroach
The Madagascar hissing Cockroach , also known as the Hissing Cockroach or simply Hisser, is one of the largest species of cockroach, reaching 2–4 inches at maturity. They are from the island of Madagascar off the African coast, where they can be found in rotting logs.Unlike most cockroaches, they...
es, iguana
Iguana
Iguana is a herbivorous genus of lizard native to tropical areas of Central America and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his book Specimen Medicum, Exhibens Synopsin Reptilium Emendatam cum Experimentis circa Venena...
s and a kingsnake
Kingsnake
Kingsnakes are a type of colubrid snake that are members of the Lampropeltis genus, which also includes the milk snake along with another four species and 45 sub-species....
.
- BarasinghaBarasinghaThe Barasingha or Swamp deer is a deer species currently found in isolated localities in north and central India, and southwestern Nepal, and is extinct in Pakistan and Bangladesh....
- Pere David's DeerPère David's DeerPère David's Deer, Elaphurus davidianus, also known as the Milu , is a species of deer known only in captivity. It prefers marshland, and is believed to be native to the subtropics of China. It grazes on a mixture of grass and water plants. It is the only extant member of the genus Elaphurus...
- Cape Buffalo
- African Forest BuffaloAfrican Forest BuffaloThe African Forest Buffalo is smaller than the Cape Buffalo, with horns that curves out backwards and upwards. Usually weighing , they are reddish brown in color. Its native habitat is the equatorial forest found in central and western Africa, and its diet consists primarily of grasses, twigs, and...
- Fallow DeerFallow DeerThe Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. This common species is native to western Eurasia, but has been introduced widely elsewhere. It often includes the rarer Persian Fallow Deer as a subspecies , while others treat it as an entirely different species The Fallow...
- African Wild DogAfrican Wild DogLycaon pictus is a large canid found only in Africa, especially in savannas and lightly wooded areas. It is variously called the African wild dog, African hunting dog, Cape hunting dog, painted dog, painted wolf, painted hunting dog, spotted dog, or ornate wolf...
- Amur tigerAmur TigerThe Siberian tiger , also known as the Amur tiger, is a tiger subspecies inhabiting mainly the Sikhote Alin mountain region with a small subpopulation in southwest Primorye province in the Russian Far East. In 2005, there were 331–393 adult-subadult Amur tigers in this region, with a breeding adult...
- African Lion
- Red-necked WallabyRed-necked WallabyThe Red-necked Wallaby is a medium-sized marsupial macropod, common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania.- Description :...
- EmuEmuThe Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the largest bird native to Australia and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. It is the second-largest extant bird in the world by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. There are three subspecies of Emus in Australia...
- NilgaiNilgaiThe nilgai , sometimes called nilgau, is an antelope, and is one of the most commonly seen wild animals of central and northern India and eastern Pakistan; it is also present in parts of southern Nepal. The mature males appear ox-like and are also known as blue bulls...
- ChitalChitalThe chital or cheetal , also known as chital deer, spotted deer or axis deer is a deer which commonly inhabits wooded regions of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and in small numbers in Pakistan...
- BlackbuckBlackbuckBlackbuck is a species of antelope native to the Indian subcontinent. Their range decreased sharply during the 20th century. Since 2003, the IUCN lists the species as near threatened....
- BongoBongoBongo may refer to:In nature:*Bongo , a species of forest antelope from AfricaIn geography:*Bongo Country, the name of several places in Africa*Bongo , Ivory CoastIn entertainment:...
- Brow-Antlered DeerEld's DeerEld's Deer , also known as the Thamin or Brow-antlered Deer, is an endangered species of deer indigenous to southeastern Asia. The species was first discovered by westerners in Manipur in India in 1839. The original scientific name Cervus eldi was coined in 1844 in honour of Lt. Percy Eld – a...
- WildebeestWildebeestThe wildebeest , also called the gnu is an antelope of the genus Connochaetes. It is a hooved mammal...
- Red Lechwe
- SitatungaSitatungaThe situtunga or marshbuck is a swamp-dwelling antelope found throughout Central Africa, centering on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon and parts of Southern Sudan as well as in Ghana, Botswana, Zambia, Gabon, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.-Description:Situtunga stand about one and a...
- Ankole cattleAnkole-Watusi (cattle)The Ankole-Watusi is a breed of cattle originally native to Africa. Its large, distinctive horns, that can reach up to from tip to tip, are used for defense. Ankole-Watusis weigh from . Living in the savannas and open grasslands, their diet consists of grass and leaves...
- Olive BaboonOlive BaboonThe olive baboon , also called the Anubis baboon, is a member of the family Cercopithecidae . The species is the most widely spread of all baboons: it is found in 25 countries throughout Africa, extending south from Mali to Ethiopia and to Tanzania. Isolated populations are also found in some...
- White Rhino
- ElandTaurotragusTaurotragus, commonly called Eland, is a genus of antelopes of the African savannah, containing two species: the Common Eland and the Giant Eland...
- OstrichOstrichThe Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...
- Bactrian CamelBactrian camelThe Bactrian camel is a large, even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of central Asia. It is presently restricted in the wild to remote regions of the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts of Mongolia and Xinjiang. A small number of wild Bactrian camels still roam the Mangystau Province of southwest...
- American BisonAmerican BisonThe American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
Walk-round enclosures
- African Elephant
- Red River HogRed River HogThe red river hog , also known as the bush pig , is a wild member of the pig family living in Africa, with most of its distribution in the Guinean and Congolian forests...
- GiraffeGiraffeThe giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
- Oriental small-clawed otterOriental Small-clawed OtterThe oriental small-clawed otter , also known as Asian small-clawed otter, is the smallest otter species in the world, weighing less than 5 kg. It lives in mangrove swamps and freshwater wetlands of Bangladesh, Burma, India, southern China, Taiwan, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines,...
- MeerkatMeerkatThe meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small mammal belonging to the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan"...
- California Sealion
- Common MarmosetCommon MarmosetThe common marmoset is a New World monkey. It originally lived on the Northeastern coast of Brazil, in the states of Piaui, Paraiba, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco, Alagoas and Bahia...
- Peacock
Baboons
The park is open to the public and customers drive around the park in their own vehicles. There is a car friendly bypass route past the baboons for those who don't want to risk damage to their car, as these animals have attracted a certain reputation for mistreating the vehicles of their visitors. SpoofParody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
TV presenter Alan Partridge
Alan Partridge
Alan Gordon Partridge is a fictional radio and television presenter portrayed by English comedian Steve Coogan and invented by Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring for the BBC Radio 4 programme On The Hour...
remarked of monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
s that "if you’ve been to Knowsley Safari Park and they’re pulling the wipers off your windscreen and nicking your hub caps, you lose sympathy. In 2009 the baboons made the news all over the world when a video was released showing how they were intelligent and curious enough to open car roofboxes.
Future Developments
Knowsley is going through a period of development starting with a Baboon House in 2006, the introduction of African Wild Dogs that same year, a Lion/Tiger House in 2007, the addition of Red River Hogs and Marmosets to the walk around section and a new Sealion outdoor pool. Future developments include a new elephant house, a new giraffe viewing area and an extension of the bug house.Press Coverage
In January 2011, local animal rights activists held a peaceful demonstration after an inspection by government vets found one instance of a breach of regulations on the disposal of animal ‘by-products’. Pictures in the Daily MailDaily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
showed animals lying dead on the ground and in binbags, although the park's directors claim the pictures were staged by the photographer, whose husband the paper claimed had recently lost his job at the park. The park has since installed an enclosure for the storage of animal carcasses prior to disposal. The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums
British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums
The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums is a conservation, education and scientific wildlife charity. Founded in 1966 within the zoo and aquarium community to see the principles and practices of animal management adopted in the British Isles...
(BIAZA) later said it had ‘full confidence’ in Knowsley and praised its ‘excellent standards of animal husbandry and welfare’.