Knuthenborg Safaripark

{{Short description|Safari park in Denmark}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox zoo |zoo_name = Knuthenborg Safaripark |logo = |logo_width = |logo_caption = |image = Knuthenborg Safaripark entrance.jpg |image_width = 200px |image_caption = Knuthenborg Safaripark entrance |date_opened = {{start date|1950}} (deer park)<br />{{start date|1969}} (exotic animals) |date_opening = |date_closed = |location = near [[Bandholm]], [[Lolland]], [[Denmark]] |area = {{convert|660|ha|acre}}<ref name=size/> |coordinates = {{Coord|54|49|25|N|11|30|21|E|display=inline,title|type:landmark_region:DK}} |num_animals = 1000<ref name=hp/> |num_species = 40+<ref name=hp/> |annual_visitors = 310,000 (2019)<ref name=AtLi2019/> |members = [[European Association of Zoos and Aquaria|EAZA]],<ref name=eazalist> {{ZooOrg|eaza|zoos|accessdate=10 April 2015}}</ref> [[World Association of Zoos and Aquariums|WAZA]]<ref name=wazalist> {{ZooOrg|waza|zoos|accessdate=10 April 2015}}</ref> |exhibits = |website = {{URL|https://knuthenborg.dk/en/}} }}

''' Knuthenborg Safaripark''' is a [[safari park]] on the island of [[Lolland]] in the southeast of [[Denmark]]. It is located {{cvt|5|km}} to the north of [[Maribo]], near [[Bandholm]]. It is one of Lolland's major tourist attractions with over 300,000 visitors annually, and is the largest safari park in northern Europe. Among others, it houses a drive-through safari park, a monkey forest, large enclosures for [[Siberian tiger]]s and [[African bush elephant]]s, the '''Dinosaur Forest''' with full-scale models, the '''Museum of Evolution''' with fossils of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, an [[arboretum]], and the largest nature playground in Denmark.<ref name=Safari>{{Cite web|url=http://uk.knuthenborg.dk/|title=The best day out of the year!| publisher=Knuthenborg Safari Park|access-date=25 May 2013}}</ref><ref name="Elliott2007">{{cite book|last=Elliott|first=Mark|title=Lonely Planet Scandinavian Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=msR6s6ZCNRIC&pg=PA67|access-date=25 May 2013|year=2007|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-74104-553-6|page=67}}</ref><ref name=Park>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/denmark/zealand/sights/other/knuthenborg-safari-park#ixzz2UaZSpDw7|title= Lonely Planet review for Knuthenborg Safari Park|access-date=28 May 2013|publisher=Lonely Planet.com}}</ref><ref name=Ritzau15Nov2022>{{cite news | date=15 November 2022 | title=Knuthenborg Safaripark åbner sin største satsning nogensinde | url=https://via.ritzau.dk/pressemeddelelse/knuthenborg-safaripark-abner-sin-storste-satsning-nogensinde?publisherId=13560971&releaseId=13664363 | publisher=Ritzau | access-date=1 July 2023 | language=da }}</ref> Knuthenborg covers a total of {{convert|660|ha|acre}}, including the {{convert|400|ha|acre|adj=on}} Safaripark.<ref name=size>Knuthenborg: ''[http://www.knuthenborg.dk/oplevelser.htm Oplevelser til en hel dag...og meget mere!]'' Retrieved 10 April 2015.</ref> The park is viewable on [[Google Street View]].

==History== The park is set in [[Knuthenborg]], previously known as the medieval manor of Årsmarke, which was Denmark's largest private estate.<ref name="BainBooth2008">{{cite book|last1=Bain|first1=Carolyn|last2=Booth|first2=Michael|last3=Parnell|first3=Fran|title=Denmark 5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m_gT1lQpZEAC&pg=PA180|year=2008|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-74104-669-4|pages=180–}}</ref> In 1714, it became part of the new [[Counties of Denmark|county]] of Knuthenborg. The park has its origins in 1867 when [[Eggert Christoffer Knuth]] (1838-1874) built a sturdy {{convert|7.4|km|abbr=on}} wall around his property with stones fished out of the [[Smålandsfarvandet]].<ref name=hp>Heidi Pfeffer and Ove H. Nielsen (ed.), ''Lolland-Falster: historier in landskabet''. 2012, Lolland-Falsters Historiske Samfund, pages 122–123. {{ISBN|978-87-91059-12-4}}. {{in lang|da}}.</ref> He then hired English landscape architect [[Edward Milner]] who, on the basis of plans completed in 1870, laid out a park for his world collection of rare botanical plants as well as the many [[rhododendron]]s which are also a great attraction to tourists. There are several hundred species of exotic shrubs and trees.<ref name=Safari/><ref name="History">{{cite web|url=http://uk.knuthenborg.dk/about_knuthenborg.htm|title=History of Knuthenborg|publisher=Knuthenborg Safari Park|access-date=25 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318125628/http://uk.knuthenborg.dk/about_knuthenborg.htm|archive-date=18 March 2013}}</ref> In 1926, the park became protected under a preservation order. An enclosed zoological garden was established in 1950 adjacent to Swan Lake (Svanesøen) with 70 deer.<ref name="History"/> In 1969, Count Adam W. Knuth added the first exotic animals to the park;<ref name="History"/> [[antelope]]s, [[plains zebra]]s and [[ostrich]]es were the first to be acquired from [[Kenya]] followed by [[white rhino]]s.<ref name=Zoo>{{Cite web|url=http://www.goodzoos.com/Resteurope/Knuthenborg.htm|title=Knuthenborg Safari Park|access-date=28 May 2013|publisher=Good Zoos.com}}</ref>

==Attractions== ===Safari park=== {{multiple image |direction = vertical |align = right |width = 175 |footer = |image1 = Knuthenborg Safaripark - næsehorn.jpg |alt1 = |caption1 = [[White rhinoceros]]es at the Knuthenborg Safaripark |image2 = Knuthenborg Safaripark - tiger.jpg |alt2 = |caption2 = [[Siberian tiger]] in Knuthenborg Safaripark |image3 = Knuthenborg Safaripark Eland giraf baggrund.jpg |alt3 = |caption3 = [[Common eland|Elands]], [[Chapman's zebra|zebras]] and [[Rothschild's giraffe|giraffes]] at the Knuthenborg Safaripark }} Over the past 40 years, the number of animals in the park has grown to about a thousand of more than forty species, with a primary focus on mammals.<ref name=hp/> [[Bactrian camel]]s, [[antelopes]], [[Rothschild's giraffe]]s, [[yaks]], [[black rhinoceros|black]] and [[White rhinoceros|white rhinoceroses]], [[Chapman's zebra]]s, [[wildebeests]], [[moose]], [[American bison]] and [[ostriches]] are some of the animals on view in the safari sections of Knuthenborg. The park also includes enclosures for [[African bush elephants]] (the largest elephant enclosure in northern Europe<ref name=DR15July2020>{{cite news | date=15 May 2020 | title=Det sidste punktum er sat for Danmarks elefanter: I dag rykker Ramboline, Lara, Djungla og Jenny til Knuthenborg | url=https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/regionale/sjaelland/det-sidste-punktum-er-sat-danmarks-elefanter-i-dag-rykker-ramboline-lara | publisher=DR | access-date=1 July 2023 | language=da }}</ref>) and tigers (the largest enclosure for the species in Europe<ref>{{cite news | date=1 June 2021 | title=Europas største tigeranlæg er åbnet i Knuthenborg Safaripark | url=https://via.ritzau.dk/pressemeddelelse/europas-storste-tigeranlaeg-er-abnet-i-knuthenborg-safaripark?publisherId=11749177&releaseId=13622960 | publisher=Reuters | access-date=1 July 2023 | language=da }}</ref>), walk-through enclosures with [[lemur]]s and [[Red-necked wallaby|red-necked wallabies]], and an [[arboretum]]. In recent years, a number of animals from places no longer able to house them have been moved to the Safaripark, including African bush elephants in 2019 (after wild animals were banned from [[circus]]es in Denmark) and [[lion]]s in 2022 (moved from a Ukrainian zoo due to [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|the war]] with Russia).<ref name=DR15July2020/><ref>{{cite news | date=2 January 2023 | title=Tre løver evakueret fra Ukraine til Knuthenborg Safaripark | url=https://via.ritzau.dk/pressemeddelelse/tre-lover-evakueret-fra-ukraine-til-knuthenborg-safaripark?publisherId=11749177&releaseId=13667642 | publisher=Ritzau | access-date=1 July 2023 | language=da }}</ref> Prior to this, neither species was kept at Knuthenborg. In the areas with [[domestic animal]]s such as [[West African dwarf goat]]s, visitors can touch the animals if they allow it.<ref name=Safari/>

===Dinosaur Forest and Museum of Evolution=== [[File:Allosaurus in Knuthenborg.jpg|thumb|Skeleton of the ''[[Allosaurus]]'' "Big Joe" in the Museum of Evolution]]

In addition to living animals, Knuthenborg Safaripark is home to the [[Dinosaur]] Forest (''Dinosaurskoven'') with a large number of full-scale models of dinosaurs and [[pterosaur]]s. It opened in 2018 and some of the models are [[animatronic]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Axelholm | first=L.B. | date=26 April 2018 | title=Dinosaurskoven: Lollands svar på Jurassic Park er klar til at jage dig en skræk i livet | url=https://turisme.nu/dinosaurskoven-skraek/ | website=turisme.nu | access-date=1 July 2023 | language=da }}</ref>

The Museum of Evolution (''Evolutionsmuseet''), which opened in 2023, houses fossils of prehistoric animals, such as one of the largest ({{cvt|9|m|disp=sqbr}} long) and most complete (more than 95% preserved) ''[[Allosaurus]]'' skeletons named "[[Big Joe (dinosaur)|Big Joe]]", a ''[[Torosaurus]]'' named "Adam" with the largest known dinosaur skull, the [[holotype]] specimen of ''[[Lokiceratops]]'', [[dinosaur egg]]s, ''[[Dimetrodon]]'' and several other [[Permian]] animals, the giant ground sloth ''[[Eremotherium]]'' and one of only twelve known [[Specimens of Archaeopteryx|specimens of ''Archaeopteryx'']].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rossi |first=Andrew |date=July 28, 2024 |title=Massive Wyoming Dinosaur Shipped To Denmark Museum Got Lost In The Mail |url=https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/07/28/massive-wyoming-dinosaur-shipped-to-denmark-museum-got-lost-in-the-mail/ |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=Cowboy State Daily |language=en}}</ref><ref name=Ritzau15Nov2022/><ref>{{cite news| title=Knuthenborgs sjældne dinosauræg undersøgt - svaret overrasker | url=https://nyheder.tv2.dk/samfund/2023-10-17-knuthenborgs-sjaeldne-dinosauraeg-undersoegt-svaret-overrasker | date=17 October 2023 | publisher=TV2 | access-date=17 October 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title=Museum of Evolution | url=https://www.museumofevolution.com/ | publisher=Knuthenborg Safaripark | access-date=1 July 2023 }}</ref><ref name="Lokiceratops">{{Cite journal |last1=Loewen |first1=Mark A. |last2=Sertich |first2=Joseph J. W. |last3=Sampson |first3=Scott |author-link3=Scott D. Sampson |last4=O'Connor |first4=Jingmai K. |author-link4=Jingmai O'Connor |last5=Carpenter |first5=Savhannah |last6=Sisson |first6=Brock |last7=Øhlenschlæger |first7=Anna |last8=Farke |first8=Andrew A. |last9=Makovicky |first9=Peter J. |last10=Longrich |first10=Nick |last11=Evans |first11=David C. |author-link11=David C. Evans (paleontologist) |date=20 June 2024 |title=''Lokiceratops rangiformis'' gen. et sp. nov. (Ceratopsidae: Centrosaurinae) from the Campanian Judith River Formation of Montana reveals rapid regional radiations and extreme endemism within centrosaurine dinosaurs |journal=[[PeerJ]] |language=en |volume=12 |article-number=e17224 |doi=10.7717/peerj.17224 |issn=2167-8359 |doi-access=free|pmc=11193970 }}</ref>

===Amusement park=== An amusement park section houses Denmark's largest nature playground, a water playground, [[trampoline]]s, a family [[roller coaster]] (height requirement minimum {{cvt|1|m|disp=sqbr}}) and a [[Water coaster (roller coaster)|water coaster]] (height requirement minimum {{cvt|1.2|m|disp=sqbr}}).<ref name=BainBooth2008 /><ref>{{cite web | title=Limpopoland | url=https://knuthenborg.dk/limpopoland/ | publisher=Ritzau | access-date=1 July 2023 | language=da }}</ref>

==Visitors== In 2012, there were some 223,000 visitors to Knuthenborg Safaripark representing a 10% increase over the previous year. The increase has been ascribed to new attractions and facilities for children.<ref name=visitors>[http://www.tv2east.dk/artikler/stadig-flere-besoeger-knuthenborg "Stadig flere besøger Knuthenborg"], ''TV2 Øst'', 30 October 2012. {{in lang|da}} Retrieved 29 May 2013.</ref> In 2019, there were 310,000 visitors, making it the 29th most visited tourist attraction in Denmark.<ref name=AtLi2019>{{cite web| title=Attraktionslisten 2019 | url=https://www.visitdenmark.dk/sites/visitdenmark.com/files/2020-07/Attraktionslisten%202019.pdf | date=1 July 2020 | publisher=VisitDenmark | access-date=1 July 2023 }}</ref>

The safari park, dinosaur forest, Museum of Evolution and amusement park are all covered by a single entry ticket (cannot be visited separately).<ref name=KNFA>{{cite web| title=FAQ Generelt | url=https://knuthenborg.dk/faq-generelt-2/ | website=knuthenborg.dk | access-date=1 July 2023 | language=da }}</ref> The park is open to visitors every day during the spring, summer and fall, but closed in winter.<ref>[http://uk.knuthenborg.dk/Your+visit/OPENING+HOURS+%26+PRICES/opening_hours.htm "Opening times and prices"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410044433/http://uk.knuthenborg.dk/Your%20visit/OPENING%20HOURS%20%26%20PRICES/opening_hours.htm |date=10 April 2015 }}, Knuthenborg.dk. Retrieved 10 May 2015.</ref> Although some distances can be large (the full road system inside the park is {{cvt|23|km|disp=sqbr}} long), much of the Safaripark is [[bicycle]] or walk-friendly, but the African [[savannah]], and sections housing moose, American bison and [[Arctic wolf]] are accessible only by those in a closed motor vehicle (own car or a bus); however parts of the African savannah are also viewable from outside the enclosure. [[Holiday house]]s and [[Glamping|luxury tents]] overlooking some of the animal enclosures allow visitors to stay overnight.<ref name=KNFA/>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category|Knuthenborg Safaripark}} *[https://knuthenborg.dk/en/ Official site]

[[Category:Safari parks]] [[Category:Parks in Denmark]] [[Category:Zoos in Denmark]] [[Category:Natural history museums in Denmark]]  [[Category:Fossil museums]]  [[Category:Tourist attractions in Lolland Municipality]] [[Category:Buildings and structures of the Knuth family]]