The Joplin Globe Outdoors Slide Show featured on joplinglobe.com Have an adventure New owner of Animal Paradise preparing for summer, expansion By Derek Spellman dspellman@joplinglobe.com STRAFFORD, Mo. — Jim Meikle is taking a little time out before the afternoon rush to talk about his summer plans for Animal Paradise. In the background, there is the clatter of work crews remodeling the park restaurant. Just a stone’s throw away, there is a flurry of questions from a group of Head Start students as Reuben Miller, an animal caretaker and handler, cradles a young caracal — a cat whose trademark is long, tufted black ears and whose primary habitat is the wild of eastern Africa. Expansion is the byword this season at Animal Paradise, formerly Exotic Animal Paradise. “We have been shipping new animals in every week,” said Meikle, who as president of Wild Animal Safari Inc. acquired the park in early March. Meikle’s company also operates a Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain, Ga., which has almost 1,300 animals. When Wild Animal Safari took over Exotic Animal Paradise, there were fewer than 200 animals on the grounds, Meikle said. As of last week, the park had between 320 and 350 animals, with more on the way. Meikle said the goal is for the Strafford park to have as many animals as its Pine Mountain counterpart. The goal, Meikle said, is for Exotic Animal Paradise to draw between 65,000 and 70,000 visitors by the end of this year. Attractions include a small arcade, go-karts and a gift shop. The restaurant should be open within the next few weeks. Key attractions center around the animals, including a petting zoo, a walk-through tour and a driving tour. Visitors may walk among cages that house a variety of animals, including peacocks, silver pheasants, Flemish giant rabbits, brown lemurs and grivet monkeys. The walk-through component is undergoing a large expansion, Meikle said. Among the goals is to bring some of the animals that are on the drive-through tour, such as the tigers, to the walk-through tour. The driving tour allows visitors to get up close and personal, sometimes in the most literal sense, with a variety of animals. Visitors have the option of taking a guided tour or driving themselves through. Visitors may purchase feed to toss to animals while on either tour. The dangerous animals, such as the tigers, are confined to cages but can be viewed from the road. The rest of the animals roam freely about the grounds. A note to those who opt for their own driving tour: The park will provide a pamphlet outlining the rules and guidelines for feeding the animals. Read that pamphlet, particularly the part that tells visitors not to roll their windows all the way down and the part that says to feed the animals only by tossing the feed away from the vehicle. Some animals — camels, donkeys, bison — are not at all bashful about sticking their necks inside a vehicle if given the chance. The road curls through thinly wooded hillsides and man-made lakes that provide a habitat for a slew of animals: wildebeests, Barbary sheep, ostriches, goats, several species of antelope and deer, water buffaloes, emus, llamas, donkeys and Watusi cattle (a breed that is native to Africa and has enormous horns). Highlights of the tour include: • A very friendly, hungry and dogged camel. • An initially shy zebra that warms up with a lot of patience and a lot of feed. • A very eager herd of donkeys. The driving tour now takes between 40 minutes and one hour, although that can vary depending on the visitor, and more animals are likely to be added to the tour. Meikle said the park is revisiting its pricing and has been adding animals to draw more visitors, particularly from this area, and particularly in light of steep gas prices. Access to the variety of animals is a chief reason why Susan Schultz took her class of Head Start students to Animal Paradise on Thursday. The visit marked the third time she has taken a class to the park. The youngsters get an opportunity to see animals that many might not otherwise see. “They really enjoy it,” she said of the trip. An informal survey of her students, who ranged in age from 3 to 5, showed that the monkeys in the walk-through tour were the favorite animals. One student, Sebastian, 5, said he had seen wild animals during a visit to a zoo in western Oklahoma. “I like this place better,” Sebastian said. And the reason? “Because you don’t have to walk,” he replied, referring to the driving tour. Globe photographer Roger Nomer contributed to this report. • Destination: Animal Paradise, 124 Jungle Drive, Strafford. • Features: Drive-through animal tour, walk-through animal tour, petting zoo, gift shop, arcade, go-karts. • Distance from Joplin (one-way): About 86 miles. • Cost of round trip (assuming 27 miles per gallon and gas at $3.75 per gallon): About $23.90. • Admission: Adult, $14; children (ages 4 through 12) and seniors, $9; children 3 and younger, free; family (two adults, up to three children), $43. Admission includes guided drive-through, walk-through and petting-zoo tours. Animal feed is extra. • Contact information: (417) 859-5300. • Hours: Open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.