In Business: Safari North Showcases Almost 100 Different Species Of Animals

Many Minnesotans spent Memorial Day Weekend boating, camping, fishing, and barbecuing. In the Brainerd Lakes Area, many families spent the weekend doing something a little different: visiting a zoo.

Owning a zoo had always been a dream for Kevin Vogel.

“I’ve always wanted a zoo, ever since I was a little boy. It’s something I’ve always wanted and we’ve always been in the exotic animal field and it just took a while to find the right location,” said Safari North owner Kevin Vogel.

In 2013, when Vogel and his family bought a piece of property along Highway 371, that dream became a reality.

“This is our 6th year that we’ve been open. We bought the property in 2013. We built the first year and then opened in 2014,” explained Vogel.

Safari North features almost 100 different species of animals.

“We have a little bit of everything. We have grizzly bears and black bears, hyenas, and just a really wide variety of animals,” Vogel said.

What’s unique about Safari North Wildlife Park is visitors’ ability to get up close to the animals.

“One of our great things is that you can get really close and interact with a lot of the animals,” Vogel added. “Feed a giraffe. Ride a camel.”

“You get to look at animals and feed some of them,” said Ashton, who visited the zoo on Monday with his family.

“You get to pet animals and it’s a really nice zoo,” added his sister Olivia.

Having a zoo in Minnesota is not always the easiest. “The weather is a big challenge. It’s either too hot or too cold or raining,” Vogel said.

According to Vogel, owning Safari North has been very rewarding. “I love the interaction with the people and just to be able to do what you’ve always wanted to do ever since you were a little kid,” Vogel said.

The wildlife park has been a huge hit with visitors and locals alike. For Vogel, Safari North is more than just a business: it is a way for him to share his love of animals with the community.

“When you have places like this where you can interact, you can care about the animals,” Vogel added. “It’s better than reading a book when you can actually see and pet and feed a giraffe – it touches home a lot more.”

Safari North is open everyday from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. until September 29th.