Animal Paradise, a drive-through exotic animal park off Route 66 near Strafford, Mo., was taken over by a corporation earlier this year. KSPR-TV in Springfield, Mo., talked to the park’s operators about future plans:
“Black bears will be the next thing to come in,” said owner Jim Meikle.
Exotic Animal Paradise is also planning to change its name, add giraffes, and maybe some other type of attraction along Route 66.
“The core business is the animal park and we know how to do that rather well,” Meikle said.
The story goes on to say the park’s name will be changed to Wild Animal Safari in 2009. That shares the name with another animal park owned by the corporation in Pine Mountain, Ga.
This press release in mid-August reveals more:
Animal Paradise President Jim Meikle said, “The progress is ongoing and we continue to add new animals and exhibits. We have added roughly 300 animals to the original 200 we acquired when we bought the park. Our newest addition is a Liger cub named Levi. We are also constructing a new exhibit to house a rhinoceros, which we expect to arrive this week. We operate narrated tram tours through the 200-acre park, allowing visitors to hand feed free-roaming zebras, oryx, bison, wildebeest, llamas, emus, deer, elk and more.
” … In addition to the vast free-roaming area, we have expanded a shady walk-through area with exotic animal exhibits and added an air-conditioned snack bar and family-style gaming arcade to complement our popular petting zoo and go-cart ride,” Meikle said.
The Strafford park was acquired by Great American Family Parks Inc. in March. A few months after that, the corporation’s name was changed to Parks America.
Parks America (symbol: PRKA.OB) last traded Friday at 5.5 cents a share. The stock price has ranged between 6 and 12 cents a share in the past year. The corporation is based in Santa Monica, Calif.
The new owner told KSPR that it is fighting the perception that the park is closed — no doubt because there was a heavily publicized auctioning of its animals in 2006 just before the park was shuttered for a short time. The company reportedly is spending a lot of money marketing and upgrading the park. Because of that, there will be no Christmas light display this year, KSPR said.