Safari Lake HAS A Geneva MISSION
by Jason Arndt STAFF WRITER
Drive-thru park is dedicated to animal preservation
“Jungle” Jay Christie seemed to always possess an affinity for animals. “I have been in zoos since I was very small, in fact, zoo was the first word I ever learned how to read,” Christie said. With his love of animals, as well as early exposure to zoos, it was only fitting for Christie to enter the zoological field. But he wanted more, and decided to open Safari Lake Geneva in 2016, which offers visitors an experience
unlike a zoo or theme park would. Safari Lake Geneva, a conservation park, allows animals to interact with other animals oftentimes in herds much like they would in their ancestral homelands. “I wanted the animals to roam the entire property, which is the opposite of the normal zoo,” he said. “The animals have much more space to express their natural behaviors. There are dozens of different animals roaming harmoniously.”
Christie said Safari Lake Geneva carries a distinct mission. The goal, he said, is to create a refuge for the world’s diminishing breeds allowing animals to explore multiple acres and confining people to “cages,” specifically their cars. “It is a conservation park, meaning that it was established with its primary mission being to halt extinction of animals in the wild,” he said. Additionally, according to Christie, the park opened to raise
SPIRIT of GENEVA LAKES
Safari Lake Geneva founder Jay Christie receives a visit from a camel, one of many animals at the conservation park during a trail tour. JASON ARNDT Spirit of Geneva Lakes
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