The Ranch, located at 26515 Natural Bridge Caverns Road, is an African-style safari park in San Antonio. It is on the northern outskirts of San Antonio, near New Braunfels. At the Ranch, which is more than 400 acres of scenic sloping hills and creek beds, more than 500 animals representing 40 exotic species have their home.
Among the species that live in the park, there are kangaroos, African crowned cranes, zebras, wildebeests, gazelles, African buffaloes, emus, llamas, ostriches, Watusi cattle, aoudads, fallow deer, gemsboks, greater kudus, blue bulls, addaxes, and elks. The place does not include any predators or elephants in its residents list.
The whole family can have the experience of a lifetime, especially kids and those who love animals, as the species there are friendly and frequently eat from the hands of visitors (ostriches can be aggressive and bite people when eating, though). People get, upon arrival, a free bag of food for the animals and they can buy extra packs if they wish.
Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, is one of Texas’ most recognized family entertainment attractions. Tourists can meander through 450 acres of rolling hills, creek beds, and magnificent live oak trees and witness the behavior of exotic, native and endangered animal species worldwide.
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HISTORY
The park is a privately held company in San Antonio, it was established in 1984. For over thirty years the park has been a favorite site for families to interact with animals from all over the world, feed them, and pet them. The people who own the park decided to start it in the early 1980s after visiting similar places in the northeast. It was only two hundred acres at the beginning, but today covers around four hundred-fifty acres.
THINGS TO DO
The place has everything a tourist can expect from an African-safari style park, except that it doesn´t have dangerous animals.
Visitors can start by checking out the petting zoo and Lemur Island, then visit with the giraffes at the front, or head straight onto the adventurous safari. Whatever the decision is, the park is ready to offer an exciting experience to those ventures in it. For example, they have a very interesting and successful giraffe breeding program, which recently welcomed its 32nd baby giraffe, Faith, on Nov. 9, 2017. Faith is the third generation of giraffes born in the property. The park is also home to a pair of giraffe twins born in 2013, the ninth known living set in the world.
The fun the park provides to visitors, the unique safari features of the park, and its dedication to preserving endangered species make Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch an all-around great experience.
For the hungry members of the family, visitors can stop by Safari Camp Grill to grab some grub and fuel up. There is a range of items on the menu, from pulled pork BBQ sandwiches, to personal pizzas, to burgers. There is a shopping option for guests in the park, the Trading Post, where they can find unique gifts and souvenirs like giraffe pendants, authentic Ostrich eggs and learning toys for everybody.
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SAFETY
The park has several safety rules; among them, they advise guests not to drive at more than five miles an hour inside the park as animals are roaming free around the place. Also, visitors should not feed animals with food that has been brought to the park to prevent making them sick. Although the animals are not aggressive in general, they are wild anyway, and it is advisable to be careful when feeding or approaching them. The park has several other safety rules that are available for guests on their website.