Have you ever wanted to see goats, zebras, llamas, ostriches, and even yaks without leaving the comfort of your car?

Have you ever wanted to know just how tall an ostrich is? Well, there’s a place right here in Alabama! Only about thirty minutes away from the Huntsville Hospital dwells the lively creatures of the Harmony Park Safari. It’s Huntsville’s premiere drive through animal adventure. From 10 a.m. to sunset, you can experience the joy of feeding the herd of goats, llamas, and ponies. There’s even a zebra-horse hybrid and an albino peacock. It’s open daily from March through November.

It’s here that a friend and I decided to spend our ACT Enrichment Day (we did, afterword, take a detour to the Space and Rocket Center. Apparently the Safari doesn’t count as being educational enough). The park itself isn’t much of a park. It’s made up of a few acres of grassy hills and forest. It seems more of an out of place hodgepodge of loosely assembled enclosures more than anything else, situated at the edge of farm country. Once inside, though, you are immediately greeted by a selection of geese, emus, and cows. For only a few extra dollars, you can buy a cup full of feed for the critters.

Once they know that you’ll feed them, some of the animals will follow you around the park. Be wary of the goats when you get to the field – they will climb your car. And yes, the llamas will try to stick their heads in. The zebra can take some persuading to visit, but the tribe of goats will follow you loyally around for as long as you throw food to them. After their stable, there’s a small enclosure overgrown with dense foliage. Look closely enough, though, and nestled near the small pond you should just be able to see two alligators lounging in the sunlight. Then, after crossing a small bridge, there’s an enclosure of Oryx and more alligators.

After, if you need to stretch your legs, there’s a reptile house. My friend and I declined, as a wasp decided to make it’s home in the junction between the passenger’s window and side view mirror. All in all, it was an entertaining, enjoyable afternoon.

Harmony Park Safari:

431 Clouds Cove

Huntsville, AL 35803