Looking Back: 1977- Taking Care of Lion Country Safari's Animals During Ohio's Coldest Winter
Kings Island Team
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In the early months of 1977, Ohio experienced some of the coldest temperatures it may ever see with a record 26 consecutive days of below-freezing temperatures and more than 30 inches of snow. The Ohio River froze, up to 12 inches thick, allowing some to walk from Cincinnati to Newport, Kentucky, without using a bridge.
At Kings Island, the amusement park was closed for the winter, but zookeepers and park staff were busy taking care of warm weather animals that were part of Lion Country Safari*. In January 1977, that meant keeping them warm and healthy.
Lion Country Safari was an upcharge attraction at Kings Islanding featuring a two mile journey through 100 acres of animal habitats, similar to the ‘drive-in zoos’ that grew in popularity during the 1960s and '70s. But, instead of park guests driving their personal vehicles through the reserve-like area, the Lion Country Safari experience was unique because they traveled in an electric-powered monorail.
On Jan. 29, Rick Van Sant, a reporter for United Press International, published an interview with Kings Island’s Lion Country Safari Director Nick Reindl about the tremendous challenge of caring for animals in sub-zero temperatures.
“I’ve got seven young African elephants that weigh about 3,500 pounds each and they’re extremely sensitive to the cold,” Reindl said “We’ve built a heated shelter for them or else they’d be subject to pneumonia in this weather.”
In addition to the elephants, Reindl’s team was tasked with cold weather care for more than 250 animals that year, including:
- Nine 3,000-pound rhinoceroses that were susceptible to frostbite
- Two 3,000-pound hippopotamuses that did “amazingly well in the cold”
- Four 15-foot tall giraffes that were sensitive to the dangerously cold January wind
- 58 African lions that seemed “entertained by the snow,” but when they weren’t outside they were in a specially constructed enclosure with a heated floor and an open, wire-mesh top
“Our animals are doing very well in the cold wave,” Reindl said. “They don’t seem to be complaining as much as some of our people around here.”
Some Lion Cubs Were Cared for At Home by Kings Island Employees
Just like people, the cold weather affects very young and very old animals the hardest, so the animal care team used creative ways to ensure newborn lion cubs were taken care of that winter.
Current Kings Island associate Sarah Boone started her Kings Island career as a secretary at Lion Country Safari. In 1977, just months after starting her new position, she volunteered to take home one of the newborn cubs when it was just 5 days old. Supervisors endorsed the at-home care because the young lions thrived on the individual attention provided by the employees and their families. Her story caught attention across the country when the Associated Press featured her in a February 1977 article.
She admitted that before bringing home the young cub her parents needed a little persuading.
“But ultimately they agreed to let me bring her home and Shira got to be like one of the family,” she recalled. “I had to take care of her just like taking care of a newborn. In the beginning, I had to feed it with a bottle and it slept in a playpen overnight. She kept me on my toes once she reached her 'toddler' stage, and when she roamed around, you never knew what she was getting into!"
Boone would routinely take Shira on her daily errands like grocery shopping and allow it to roam free in her office during the workday.
Her animal care responsibilities included giving the cub regular manicures and baths in her home's kitchen sink. But, when Shira reached about 20 pounds it was time to go back to the park’s nursery where it was important for her to socialize with the other young lions.
"I have been blessed to work in several different departments here but working at Lion Country Safari was absolutely the most unique job I've ever held at the park," Boone said. "Not just because of my time with Shira, but because I was able to watch animal births, feed giraffes, walk up to elephants and even hold a Capuchin monkey. Not many secretaries were able to experience that!"
During its 20 years of operation, more than 15 million visitors rode through Lion Country Safari, which later was renamed Wild Animal Safari and Wild Animal Habitat, before closing in 1993.
*Lion Country Safari’s name changed in Spring 1977 to Wild Animal Safari to better reflect the growing variety of animals, and because the park bought out the management contract of Lion Country Safari.
