Yesterday we went to Knowsley Safari Park. We’ve had a wonderful time, as always, and today I’m sharing a few highlights, including from the bird of prey display and the sea lion show. As usual, this is a picture heavy post, so prepare for lots of cute animals.
You might remember last month’s stand-off with the Rhinos. This time the Ostriches were the ones at the gate, checking each car. Aren’t they hilarious?
The Rhinos were now beside the road, not bothered with the cars at all.
One of the highlights of the trip was the monkey enclosure. This is what happens, monkeys jump all over the car. It’s fun to watch other cars as monkeys playground when you hear monkeys having fun on your rooftop, but you can’t see them.
We had quite a few monkeys on the car this time. We’ve spent about 15 minutes in their enclosure. I would have stayed for longer, but it was not possible, as the longer we stay, the longer the monkeys have to try to figure out how to remove things from the car.
This can happen. Just imagine being stopped by a police officer and telling him the number plate is loose or gone because some monkeys stole it. That would make for a fun memory.
This is how our car looked like. The first stop after Knowsley Safari Park is the car wash, as you can imagine.
I noticed this foot print on the hood. Isn’t it just lovely?
After the monkey enclosure we went on and saw a Bison who was licking salt off the tarmac, not interested that cars stopped to look at him.
The lions were so very tired.
Just before we left, it was another traffic jam. This time the camels were not willing to move off the road. The staff from the safari park had to come and ask them to move.
Luckily we were able to get to the Sea Lion show just in time.
Even if I saw this show 5-6 times by now, it’s still lovely. The sea lions can do what they want. Once, one decided he is not bothered and did not want to do anything. This time instead, this little guy was so keen on doing stuff, that he did more than he was asked. After the other sea lion did a seal impersonation, he did it too.
Next we went to see the bats and the birds of prey display. This little guy is Steve (Seriema). I can’t remember the breed, but I was so looking forward to see Steve again.
His way of dealing with snakes is hilarious. He will smack them to the ground. Just as last time, he became a bit too keen on the snake and the handler had to throw some meat on the floor and very quickly take the rubber snake from the ground, before Steve was back to it. Steve is such a character.
I’m always upset on the Vulture part, as they talk about what happens to these amazing animals due to poaching. They are poisoned so the park rangers can’t see where the poachers kill the animals. It is heart breaking that these beautiful creatures are poisoned. It’s also incredibly stupid, as Vultures eat carrion and clean the landscape. Not only that, they are able to eat carrion with ebola and other deadly diseases and survive, making their impact on the health of everybody, including the humans who hunt them for a quick buck.
This is Marlow, the owl. He should have been in another park, with his owl lady friend, but he did not like her and he is still at Knowsley. He is not the brightest bird in the aviary, but so very funny.
This was our visit this month. I’m looking forward to our visit next month.
Wow, those ostriches are so big! I love places like this. Thanks for the photos.
This looks like a great day out — and some wonderful photos.
If I was an enterprising businessperson with some cash to invest, I’d set up a car wash as close to the park as possible!
That is a brilliant idea. :))
I love seeing all the animals you share with us from your visits to the park. I think the bird of prey program is my favorite from this group. I don’t mind vultures (we usually call them buzzards) with the red heads (our variety is called a Turkey Vulture), but the Black Vultures will also kill live animals. You may remember we’ve lost a cow giving birth that way (along with the calf). I’ve never seen anything like that long legged bird – so funny with the snake!
The monkeys really do make a mess on your car! I think they’d make me too nervous.
I am not familiar with this kind of vultures, but with the African ones, like this one at Knowsley. He only eats carrion, so his role is very important in keeping the savanna clean.
I don’t remember the story about the cow and the calf, that must have been so distressing to see.
Steve is used by farmers for protection too, as they are screaming loudly if they see a jackal or something else. And the farmers can come to get their livestock to safety. It’s quite an interesting bird.
These are the types of vultures we see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_vulture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_vulture
Fascinating. The black vulture has a pharaonic look. That head is very unusual. A shame it does not stick to carrion.