Lion Country Safari opened in 1967 with a bunch of lions and not much else. Western Palm Beach County was too wild to be called rural. At the time, Lion Country was the first drive-through safari park in the country, and it introduced a new concept to animal lovers: seeing wild animals roaming free outside of cages and enclosures in a more natural setting.

Today, Lion Country Safari is home to more than 900 animals on 320 acres. There’s a 4-mile drive-through preserve and a walk-through area, too. They recently added private VIP tours with personal guides.

There are also six stores, three food outlets, a sewer plant, a veterinary hospital, an animal demonstration theater and a gas station. It takes about 180 employees to care for the animals and maintain and operate the facility.

Here are five things you may not know about Lion Country Safari:

1. The best time to see the animals is when it’s raining. Don’t think a rainy day means it’s a bust. The animals generally love the cooler, wet weather and tend to be more active during this time. Don’t want to come in the rain? Arrive early in the morning before the heat of the day forces the animals to seek respite in the shade. 
2. New animals are born all the time at Lion Country. In the last six months alone, they’ve added seven impala, five blackbuck, an eland, two Barbados sheep, three silkie chickens, and, most recently, a brand new baby zebra. Sometimes, when herds get too large, management initiates birth control — usually separating intact males or sometimes vascectomies. 
3. The 4-mile drive-through safari is only part of the fun. There’s also a walk-through Safari World where you can ride a camel, feed a giraffe(did you know they have long blue tongues?) and shop for gifts. Rides include a Ferris wheel, toddler train ride, animal carousel, pontoon boat tour, paddle boats, and flying elephant ride.
4. Water playground. Beat the heat after visiting the walk through area by cooling off in the 4,000 square-foot water spray-ground. It has 23 interactive water features, surrounded by chaise lounges and umbrellas where parents can rest in the shade. Or, start at the water play area so the kids have burned off that restless energy when you get back in the car for the drive-through safari.
5. Stay overnight and doze off to the sound of lions roaring. Lion Country’s KOA Campground was opened in the 1980s. Now it has 200 campsites, RV hook-ups and even four rental “kabins.”