‘No place like it’: Saint Louis Zoo prepares to open massive WildCare Park in North County

NORTH ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. (First Alert 4) - Those in St. Louis will soon be able to get up close and personal with animals from half the world away, all in north St. Louis County.

The Saint Louis Zoo plans to open WildCare Park next year, a 425-acre park with multiple safari trails.

This is in Spanish Lake, just south of the Missouri River, where the Saint Louis Zoo is now in its final phase of construction.

“They’re coming to someplace in St. Louis that they will absolutely forget they’re in St. Louis,” said Sabbarras George.

WildCare Park Executive Director Sabbarras George said this new zoo will trick people into thinking they’re on an African safari.

“There’s just no place like it,” said George.

Other zoo staff agree.

“It really does resemble being in Kenya when you see these species together,” said WildCare Park curator Tim Thier.

First Alert 4 trekked down one of the two guided safari trails at WildCare Park Monday.

At times, traffic came to a halt because of roadblocks and antelope.

At other points, you got so close to giraffes you could almost smell them.

“See giraffes and the antelope out there and being that close to them, you can’t get that experience anywhere around here,” said Thier.

Thier said the vast space allows them to hold more animals than they keep at their Forest Park Zoo, and the animals, many of which are endangered, have acre after acre to graze.

“Really helping those species grow and be more sustainable,” said Thier.

The zoo will open next year and will be free for St. Louis County residents because of a special sales tax passed last decade.

Outside of the guided safaris, there will also be a walking safari.

“You’re going to walk through an area with kangaroos and wallabies and those animals are going to be around you with no barriers between you and them,” said Director of Architecture and Construction Leslie Garner.

Garner said the property’s rolling hills dictated where they built and where they let the animals roam.

The park will also have a museum, restaurant, glamping cabins and an event space, one with a view in the back.

“The backside opens up and it opens up into the habitats, so just think about a selfie with a giraffe,” said George.

There are also plans for a large observation tower. Zoo staff say it’s going to be nearly 200 feet high and the highest elevation point in St. Louis County. You may be able to see the Arch on a clear day.

“Really wanted to do something that people weren’t expecting. And so it’s like to make yourself world-class, you’re always doing something to keep people’s expectations high,” said George.

The zoo is expecting an economic impact north of $600 million, with the hope that other businesses follow them up to North County.