SAN ANTONIO – You’ll soon be able to vacation overnight on an African safari without ever having to leave San Antonio.
San Antonio Zoo officials announced they’re building a rentable overnight lodge as part of the expansion to the zoo’s savanna habitat.
Recommended Videos
The savanna section of the zoo combines the former elephant habitat with the giraffe area and will showcase giraffes, plains zebras, sitatungas, dama gazelles, ostriches, white storks, marabou storks and East African crowned cranes.
When the expansion is completed next year, there will be a two-story barn that will allow guests to view giraffes even when they are inside. It will be large enough to allow the zoo to begin a giraffe breeding program.
The expansion will also allow the rhinos to move from their current habitat into a portion of the giraffe yard.
Zoo officials said the area will include a rentable lodge called Spekboom Lodge that will give guests the ability to stay overnight in the savanna habitat.
The lodge will have a primary suite, a kitchenette, a living area, kid bunk beds and a private outdoor patio and will be the only one of its kind with giraffes at an AZA-accredited zoo in Texas, according to the zoo’s press release.
“Nestled within the historic rock quarry walls of San Antonio Zoo, this expansive habitat showcases the zoo’s dedication to preserving the natural environment while offering an unforgettable encounter with wildlife,” said Cyle Perez, director of public relations, in a press release. “The construction of the savanna takes advantage of the preexisting rock walls, which were a byproduct of the quarry for the San Antonio Portland Cement Company in the early 1900s.”