Lions and Tigers and Bears—Oh My

Lions and Tigers and Bears—Oh My

By Mary Damiano

Want to leave the rat race behind, break free of the urban jungle and settle in where the really wild things are?

Officials at Lion Country Safari in Loxahatchee are seeking permission to allow 1,000 homes to be built on undeveloped land next to the drive-through zoo. The land, between Wellington and Palm Beach Gardens, had been designated agricultural, but commissioners had agreed to allow the building of 500 homes on the land.

Lion Country Safari, which owns the land, contends that the homes would be good use of the land and that there is no plan to close Lion Country Safari. In fact, even though the zoo recently decided to close their elephant exhibit, it has added a giraffe feeding exhibit, a Ferris wheel and a water playground. It has also opened a pavilion to draw more events to the park.

But the plan is not going over well with some residents of the area, where growls of overdevelopment can be heard. Right now, homes now sit on 1.25 or more acres, and residents fear that a proliferation of new homes and town homes built in an area at a rate of two per acre will unleash the biggest predator of rural areas: the dreaded suburban sprawl.