TRIP of a Lifetime

“Every day, we’d say it can’t get any better than this – and then it did.” That’s how Marco Islander Amy Poss summed up the safari tour to Tanzania she and her mother, Susan Poss, took this summer, through the auspices of Naples Zoo Conservation Safaris.

They spent 12 days immersing themselves in the wilds of East Africa, getting up close and personal with an incredible variety of exotic fauna.

“We saw tons and tons of animals. We saw four leopards,” said Susan. “The first was up in a tree eating a kill – then she dropped it down and ate it in front of us. The last night in Serengeti we saw a cheetah making a wildebeest kill. We saw thousands of wildebeest crossing the Mara River.”

“We saw hippos in and out of the water. In the Ngorongoro Crater, we saw white rhino crossing the road. In Arusha National Park, we were surrounded by giraffes.” Additional

wildlife experienced included numerous lions, elephants, zebras, Cape buffalo, hyenas, warthogs, monkeys, and more.

“And we saw so many baby animals,” said Susan, “lion cubs, hyena pups, little wildebeest, and baby elephants. Can I tell you an elephant story? This group of elephants was mud bathing at the water’s edge, and the mommas would just come and pick up the little ones with their trunks.”

The Poss’s safari had two features that make it stand out, along with the profusion of game and the immersive wilderness experience. One, this safari was hardly “roughing it” – with chef-prepared food, luxury accommodations, and personal attention from an attentive staff, this was “glamping” to the max.

“We took bush planes a lot of the time, so we didn’t have to spend so much time on the awful roads,” said Amy, and they had extra vehicles so they were not crammed in when they did go driving on or off the road. One thing about loading yourself and all your gear into a bush plane using backcountry landing strips meant each passenger was restricted to a strict 33-lb. limit for luggage.

“We were out there in the middle of nowhere,” said Amy. “Often, we wouldn’t see another vehicle.”

But the evening accommodations let them relax in comfort.

“They were mostly platform tents, permanent structures. We always had bathrooms and showers, and mosquito netting.”

They also had guards watching at night, keeping an eye out for animals who strayed into camp – which did occur. Amy has a photo of a zebra browsing in the grass outside their tent one night.

“They don’t want you out at night,” said Susan.

“Dusk to dawn, we always had to have escorts,” said Amy. We had lions two feet away (outside the tent). “It roared so loud, it vibrated our bodies. We were definitely scared. Another night, we had hyenas.”

The guests could take comfort in knowing they were in the hands of true experts, old “Africa hands” who have worked in and for the African continent all their lives. The Poss’s safari was also conducted by knowledgeable and committed stewards of the wild kingdom, and the premium price helped to fund research and conservation of African wildlife and other worthwhile causes.

The tour was led by Naples Zoo director of conservation Tim Tetzlaff, and Dr. Laly Lichtenfield, a Yale-trained Ph.D. and National Geographic Explorer who is co-founder of African People and Wildlife, where she heads a 250-person team. The pair used their connections and decades of experience to get the 10 members of the safari to the most outstanding and impactful venues to savor this amazing corner of the world.

“Our guides were so gifted – they really understood the behavior of the different animals,” said Susan. Their safari included talks by park rangers and conservationists who are on the front line of protecting wildlife, as well as its habitat and the indigenous people who share it.

All of this was made possible by the Naples Zoo and the outreach work they do in the countries where their wildlife species originate. The Naples Zoo is an outstanding local attraction, and a natural gem of ecological preservation. The zoo logged over 400,000 visitors last year, wowing them with an amazing bestiary containing a great many of the world’s most exotic, iconic, and visually striking species.

Zoogoers thrill to see the sights and activities of creatures including lions, tigers, and bears; anteaters, bongos, and coyotes; fossas, cheetahs, and leopard tortoises; hyenas, honey badgers, and African flamingoes – everything from alligators to zebras. You can take a boat tour among islands teeming with apes, monkeys, and lemurs, with no barriers except the water the simians don’t want to swim through, commune with a family of orangutans, or stand on a platform to hand-feed lettuce to a 16-foot-tall, 3,000-lb. giraffe.

But the work of Naples Zoo extends far beyond the boundaries of its 44-acre campus off Goodlette Rd. Naples Zoo partners with and funds animal conservation groups throughout the world, everything from providing vital equipment, including GPS collars for endangered giant anteaters in Central America, to fully funding the annual salaries of 27 conservation field staff in seven countries – Brazil, Kenya, Madagascar, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Zambia.

In all, Naples Zoo has invested over $4 million to help animals around the globe since 2014.

“We know these places,” said Tim Tetzlaff, Director of Conservation at Naples Zoo. “That’s the benefit of going back to the same place again and again.”

You might say that exotic animals are in Tetzlaff’s blood – Tim is the son of Naples Zoo founders Lawrence “Jungle Larry” Tetzlaff and his wife Nancy Jane “Safari Jane” Tetzlaff and grew up surrounded by and caring for the menagerie at the zoo.

As director of conservation, much of Tim’s work is focused on far-flung continents, the source countries for the animal species represented at Naples Zoo. He is concentrating on keeping the populations in the wild healthy and thriving, a cause that has become increasingly fraught in a time of rampant poaching and habitat loss to burgeoning human populations.

In one example, Naples Zoo provides ongoing support for game wardens protecting the rhinoceros population at Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater, funding residential outposts, high-powered binoculars, and all-terrain vehicles for them as they protect the endangered rhinos from heavily armed poachers intent on killing them for their prized horns.

“If the world wants rhinos, we have to have the backs of these men,” said Tetzlaff. The first two ranger shelters were completed in October, and eight more are in the works.

Tim Tetzlaff’s experience and knowledge help him focus the Naples Zoo efforts on where they can be most effective and get the maximum “bang for the buck” for the zoo’s support.

“There are some wonderful conservation NGOs (non-governmental organizations), but you can feel like you’re just putting your money into a big pot. We know exactly where our dollars are going,” said Tetzlaff.

Tim has another safari going to Tanzania in May of 2027 – “but that one’s already sold out,” he said. There are a few spots still available for the trip scheduled for next September.

Something that always gives him a thrill, said Tetzlaff, is when he sees one of the guests crying “happy tears – just sitting there enthralled by what they are seeing. Over and over, we have seen that a safari like this really is a life-changing experience.”

He gets no argument on that point from Susan and Amy Poss.

Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization cooperating in conservation programs for endangered species locally and around the world. ($26.95 adults age 13+/ $17.95 children 3 to 12, under 3 free.) Zoo memberships and discount tickets are available online at www.napleszoo.org. Naples Zoo is open daily from 9:00 to 4:30 and is located in the heart of Naples at 1590 Goodlette-Frank Road across from the Coastland Center mall. For more, click www.napleszoo.org, follow them at www.facebook.com/napleszoo, or call (239) 262-5409.