Exotic Animals Close to Home
An elk, an emu and an alligator — no, this isn’t the start to some lame joke — those are just three of the animals you might spy at Cherokee Trace Drive-thru animal safari.
The park features a 300-acre preserve of 400 animals — 25 different species — of free-range animals that hail from far-off places including Africa, India, China, the Scottish Highlands, British Columbia, the Mediterranean islands, the Middle East and even some from the U.S.
“We try to get the most exotic animals we can,” park Operations Manager Staci Doty said. “We like to see the faces of the kids when they see a Canadian Wood Bison or a zebra up close and personal.”
Because the animals are free to roam the safari park, preserve officials don’t allow predators in.
“We don’t want to pen anything in, so you won’t see lions or tigers or anything like that,” Doty said.
Patrons follow the preserve’s winding trails to get a glimpse of — and even feed — 25 species of animals including several different types of deer, llamas, kangaroos, zebras, camels and water buffalo.
One of the park’s newest additions is a pair of wildebeest, a male and a female. Help safari officials name them by visiting www.cherokeetrace.org for a chance to win a free pass to the park for a family of four.
The park also offers Behind-the-Scenes Tours on weekends.
“Ride along with us in an open air van through areas of the park not open to the general public,” the park’s Web site states. “You will get the “inside scoop” on each of our exotic species from five continents around the globe. We have food for the animals on board and you take your feeding cup home as a souvenir!”
The preserve is open seven days a week from now through August. Gates open at 10 a.m. and the last car is admitted at 4:30 p.m. Tours take about two hours. No pets allowed.
To find the park from Jacksonville, take U.S. Highway 79 to 204. Stay on 204 as it turns off to the left — about 1.6 miles. Travel east on 204 about nine miles, continue through the blinking light at the intersection of 204 and State Highway 110. Travel 0.2 mile, then turn left on County Road 2274. Travel one-and-a-half miles and turn right on County Road 4405 and travel one mile. The preserve is on the right. Go to the safari’s Web site for detailed directions to the park from other Texas cities.