Raybans to Rodeos: Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch

Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch

By Eryn @ Raybans to Rodeos 12:00 AM Animals, San Antonio, San Antonio Food, Sanantonio, Things to do, travel, Wildlife Ranch

This was the fourth or fifth take, the only not blurry one. :(

During my Mom and Gramma's trip to San Antonio, we took a trip to Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch's African Safari. The Wildlife Ranch is must see when you visit San Antonio.

How it works:

The Ranch is a drive-through safari where you take your own vehicle through the acres up acres of land filled with African animals!
Admission is around $19 per person. There are discounts for seniors and children.
Included in admission is a bag of feed. It doesn't feel like a lot, but it is plenty to get you through the entire trip.
After the drive-through, there is a petting zoo and walk-about.

No, Grandpa, you can't poach here.

NO ZOOM!

It is absolutely amazing how the animals just walk right up to your window. You are expected to drop the feed on the ground to feed the animals. However, like most people, we let many of the animals eat right out of our hands! The first set of animals were Aoudad or Kudu, antelope species native to Africa.

The weather was gorgeous

It was intimidating at first, as animals would just walk up to your window and stick their heads right in your car! So, being the scaredy cat that I was, I was throwing the food outside to keep the animals at arm's length. M decided to be the brave one to start and let a baby antelope eat out of his hand. It was the cutest thing ever.

It doesn't look like it, but I definitely fed some of the animals out of my hand too! I was just the photographer, while M decided to be our tour guide behind the wheel. My car has a sunroof, so it was fun to open it up and take pictures from above.

The ostrich's were super cool. We did see one of them doing the rare mating dance with it's wings spread open. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a photo but dang, these birds are huge. SO scary. Did you see my post from last week where I showed how close I was to one of them?

These animals were so beautiful. Imagine seeing them in snow or something like that!

Then there were the zebras. Second to giraffes, I was most excited to see these up close until we got up to them and saw the size of their teeth. HOLY CRAP! Those animals have some chompers.

No zoom.

One of the zebras was particularly friendly. M&I were looking left at some of the zebras on that side of the car when my Mom started dying laughing and I felt something very large on my lap. I scream and turn around and the zebra's head was digging into the bag of food in my lap. We are talking a full horse head inside my car in my lap. It was so surreal. That photo above is what I was able to take when it was in my lap.

Do you know how Zebra stripes are formed? I always thought they were white animals with black stripes. However, I stand corrected. Zebras are in-fact believed to be black animals with white additions. They are believed to have stripes to cause an optical illusion when in packs so lions can not hone in on one target.

My coworker, Ryan Kruse.

There was a Walk-about area of the Ranch that features Macaws, Lemurs, Orangutans, and other animals to look at. I wish I could pet the monkeys, but I assume they are too unpredictable. The petting zoo was just goats, but it was still fun to pet all the babies. One of them thought he was mighty and rammed right into M's shin. M didn't appreciate that too much, but it was hilarious!

It's tongue was wrapped around M's finger!

Fun fact about Eryn: Giraffe's are my favorite animal! The giraffe featured in the photo above is Nakato, or better known as Buddy. Buddy and his sister Wasswa are the second set of Reticulated Twin giraffe's ever born in the US and the ninth pair living in the world! Buddy is the crowd pleaser at the Wildlife Ranch. He will run along his railing as children run by. He will mirror your actions and even lick your fingers to show you how much he likes you. Buddy and his sister, Wasswa, are 2.5 years old. M&I could have spent all day in their area to play and run with the twins.

Wasswa, the female twin and oldest

Nakato means second born twin and Wasswa is means first born twin in Luganda. I didn't know they were twins at the time, but while doing research on their website I discovered their adorable videos they have been keeping of the animals as they grow up at the Ranch.

The Wildlife Ranch is sharing a lot of information about these rare giraffes as they grow - I learned a lot just by reading the bullet points!

While $80 seemed a bit steep for four people to enjoy the ranch, it was was definitely worth every single penny! I would highly suggest you visit the Ranch and it's partner location (right across the street), the Natural Caverns. This will definitely be M&I's next stop!

Animals, San Antonio, San Antonio Food, Sanantonio, Things to do, travel, Wildlife Ranch

About the Author

Eryn @ Raybans to Rodeos

Eryn is a twenty-something who moved from sunny Florida to the Lonestar state with her special someone to start anew. She enjoys long walks on the beach - if they include a frisbee and an adorable cover-up.