Knowsley Safari Park

History

The Safari Park was opened in July 1971 in the parklands of Knowsley Hall by Edward Stanley, 18th Earl of Derby 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 mi, with visitors driving past lions, cheetahs, monkeys, giraffes, zebras, elephants and various antelopes. Due to the popularity of this route, an additional 1.5 mi of road was added in 1973, and camels, buffaloes, white rhinos, and tigers were added to the park. Over the years, a few modifications have been made. For instance, 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.

The park was also home to a former RAF airfield which closed at the end of World War II. The RAF airbase situated at the safari park was also known as No 49 SLG or RAF Knowsley Park and was in use between 13 May 1942 – November 1944.

The park has hosted several sporting events including the Olympic torch relay, watched by 6,000 children and families in June 2012. The park hosted the finish of Stage Two of the 2012 Tour of Britain cycling event and hosted Stage Three of the 2013 Tour in September of that year.

Zoological collection

Situated around Knowsley Hall on the ancestral estate of the Earl of Derby, the reserve is home to different animals. The Derby Estate have a tradition of keeping animals, ever since the artist and nonsense-poet Edward Lear was employed there in the 19th century to paint pictures of the Earl's collection.

Baboons

The park is open to the public and customers drive around the park in their vehicles. There is a bypass route past the baboons for those who wish to avoid the risk of the baboons damaging their cars. 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.

Amur Tiger Trail

Amur Tiger Trail opened 25 May 2018, home to the Amur Tiger otherwise known as the Siberian Tiger. The area is 10000 m2 and includes forested areas, natural streams and ponds.

The Equatorial Trail

This exhibit focuses on animals who thrive in habitats around the Earth's Equator. The exhibit also houses the 'Equatorial Express', a small train which visitors can ride to gain a unique viewpoint of the animals. 4 animal species are housed in this exhibit, the South American tapir, Sitatunga, Rhea and the Capybara.

African Elephant

Until 2017 the park housed a herd of 4 adult cows named Tana, Ashanti, Nala and Juba. They were transported to ZooParc de Beauval, France to enter the European Breeding Programme and allow for transformations on Knowsley Safari's Foot Safari. Knowsley previously housed a bull named Nissim, who collapsed in June 2014. Knowsley also recently lost their cow named Shaba due to a long battle with elephant arthritis.

Southern White Rhinoceros

Knowsley's crash of 11 adult rhinos is one of the most successful and genetically diverse breeding groups in Europe. The latest calf (as at 4 June 2016), Nomvula (Mother of Rain – a reference to the recent wet weather), born to mum Meru and is the 19th to be born at the facility in the last 40 years. Nomvula is Meru's 6th calf and was born on 2 January 2016.

Safari Drive

The Safari Drive is the park's main attraction and contains over 29 species of animals in seven zones.

Zone 1+11 - Eastern Asia

This zone contains Père David's deer, yaks, kiangs and Bactrian camels.

Zone 2+8 - Southern Asia

This zone contains blackbucks, nilgais, Eld's deer, chitals (axis deer) and swamp deer.

Zone 3+4+6 - African Savannah

Zone 6 is over 100 acres and contains over a mile of road. It is one of Knowsley's two white rhino paddocks and is one of the largest in the UK. This zone contains Southern white rhinos, roan antelopes, eland, lechwe, wildebeest, plains zebras, African forest buffaloes, ostriches and waterbucks.

Zone 5 - African Woodland

This zone contains blesboks and bongos.

Zone 7 - African Savannah

This zone contains exclusively olive baboons, which are famous for removing windscreen wipers and other appendages off vehicles. There is a car-friendly route which totally removes this zone however is still visible from outside the perimeter. This leads directly to zone 6. Various animals have been housed with the baboons in the past. Examples include Barbary sheep, Nilgais, Ankole cattle and Plains zebras. Other types of monkeys were housed with the baboons in the past, including hamadryas baboons, chacma baboons, yellow baboons and drills, according to the 1972 guidebook.

Zone 9 - Eurasia

This zone contains European bison and fallow deer. It previously housed European moose up until November 2024, when the last female, Froja, died of natural causes.

Zone 10 - African Savannah

This zone contains lions and Somali wild asses. This zone previously housed African wild dogs, Iberian wolves and Siberian tigers.

Railway and other attractions

The park features a 381 mm gauge railway, 'The Lakeside Railway', on which visitors may tour parts of the site. There is also a collection of amusements and fairground rides on site plus paintballing, off-road driving challenges, and aerial extreme ropewalks.

A baboon house was added in 2006, along with African wild dogs that same year, a lion and tiger house in 2007. Red river hogs and marmosets were also added to the walkaround section, as well as an outdoor pool.

Animal care

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’. The park has since installed an enclosure for the storage of animal carcasses before disposal.

References

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References

1. Visit Liverpool: ''[http://www.visitliverpool.com/things-to-do/knowsley-safari-park-p7933 Knowsley Safari Park.]'' Retrieved 10 April 2015.
2. "Endangered Wildlife Trust". ewt.org.za.
3. Philip Bunker. "Rhino family health checks at Knowsley Safari Park". ljmu.ac.uk.
4. "Ken Dodd tickled pink to receive Honorary Degree. | University of Chester". chester.ac.uk.
5. "News". knowsleysafariexperience.co.uk.
6. (2023-12-12). "Knowsley Safari to star in new TV series on Channel 4".
7. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110815185334/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-344000-393000/page/14 BBC, KNOWSLEY SAFARI PARK, 1986]
8. "Knowsley Safari Park". Cheshire Now.
9. http://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/knowsley-park [[Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust]]
10. (2 June 2012). "Animal magic as thousands cheer Olympic torch through Knowsley Safari Park". Liverpool Echo.
11. "Knowsley to host key stage of the 2013 Tour of Britain". Bay Tv Liverpool.
12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCQtbLngkmM Baboons video on YouTube
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