In the hills north of Santa Rosa, giraffes, zebras and rhinos live on a former cattle ranch.
Where it came from
According to Wikipedia, Peter Lang started keeping wild animals in the 1970s at Franklin Canyon Ranch in Beverly Hills. He sold that ranch in 1981, moved to a ranch in Santa Paula, and then moved the animals to a former cattle ranch near Santa Rosa in the late 1980s. Safari West opened to children's tours in 1993, and Lang and Nancy Lang are credited as its founders. Lodging, safari tours and a restaurant came later. The preserve covers 400 acres and focuses on African species. It lost its accreditation as a private zoological facility on Oct. 6, 2021.
The fire
On the night of Oct. 8, 2017, Lang, then 76, fought the Tubbs Fire for 10 hours using only garden hoses, and no animals were killed. In 2026 the organization began moving toward nonprofit stewardship through the Safari West Zoological Society.
This week
Safari West's site lists a Conservation Dinner Series talk on Oct. 30, from 8 to 8:30 p.m., where Marlin Nicolaus of the Chavez Park Conservancy will speak about burrowing owls. On Oct. 31, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., guests with a safari or other activity booked can get palm-free candy and see some creepy, crawly animals. The site also reports that a giraffe named Zeyna received custom shoes to treat hoof cysts.