While driving along the backroads of Hope Hull, you might expect to see chickens in a yard, a horse or two in a field or some cows in a pasture. Instead, the small, unincorporated town is home to the Alabama Safari Park and more than a thousand animals — ranging from llamas, goats and pigs to zebras, wildebeest and bison.

The Alabama Safari Park got its start when Eric Mogensen, CEO of Zoofari Parks, which also owns and operates attractions in Virginia, Florida and Texas, was driving through the area. He saw a large parcel of land for sale and recognized its potential.

The 350-acre park officially opened in 2018, and today it draws visitors from all over the state and beyond, eager to get up close and personal with a wide range of animals including giraffes, camels, sloths and more.

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General Manager and Curator Kait Wilson said the park’s location is often a surprise to visitors. Look hard enough, and you can see its large entrance from Interstate 65, just a short drive outside Montgomery. However, once you’ve driven onto the open spaces that make up the park’s grounds, it feels like you’re a ways away from civilization.

“You know, a lot of the comments we usually get is how beautiful the facility is,” said Wilson, “and just how fun it is to kind of get away. It’s like your own little safari, but it’s right outside of Montgomery. You know, it’s crazy. It’s big wide open spaces where you see all these animals, but you’re literally 15 minutes away from the hustle and bustle.”

Admission includes unlimited access to its safari drive-thru for the day. The drive-thru takes visitors along a three-mile loop into the open habitats of everything from Scottish highland cows to water buffalo, ostriches and other creatures, which are all able to roam freely within the park’s wide open spaces. During the drive, guests can offer up buckets of food, sold by the park, to the animals, who are anything but shy when it comes to their quest for snacks.

“What we’re striving for here is a more natural environment,” said Wilson. “We obviously keep track of everything very closely, but we want to keep it as natural to their habitat as possible by allowing them to interact with each other and form friendships and relationships as they see fit. You can go through as many times as you want in a day, so if you came when we first opened in the morning, you could literally stay here all day. Every loop is different, and you’ll see different animals every time because they eat at different times and are out at different times of the day.”

The drive-thru portion can take anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours to make the full loop, and while you can draw out the experience, it’s a hard thing to rush. From the moment your car enters through the park’s large gate, animals looking for their next nibble are headed your way, and you’re officially on their time.

Is it unavoidably messy? Absolutely. Is it a little bit scary to suddenly find yourself sharing space with an emu, zebra or llama? Sure. Are you going to get your bucket stolen by the camels, also known as the “bucket bandits”? Without a doubt. But is it fun? 100 percent.

“I do think people enjoy the drive-thru portion the best,” said Wilson. “I think it surprises people how much they enjoy llamas coming up to their vehicles and having cows slobbering all over the edge of their cars and losing a bucket to the camels.”

That said, the walk-about section involves a little less slobber while still letting visitors interact with the animals it houses, including everything from potbellied pigs to tiny parrots and full-grown giraffes. There are also several viewing exhibits, including lemurs and kangaroos, and you can pay to have additional experiences, like a sloth and tortoise encounter, while there.

That said, providing a fun experience for its guests isn’t the only thing the Alabama Safari Park is striving for. It also works alongside other parks in conservation efforts to help protect endangered species, educate the public and provide aid for conservation programs, including the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, the International Rhino Foundation, the Sumatran Orangutan Society and more.

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Ultimately, Wilson said their goal is to give their visitors an opportunity to see and experience these animals in a place that feels as much like their natural habitat as possible within the park while also raising funds to help preserve and protect animals and their habitats in the wild.

“The animals have wooded areas to get away, shaded areas and ponds,” said Wilson. “We’re not trying to step in their way too much. We keep them healthy, we make sure they’re fed and they get everything they need, but you know, they’re able to just walk around, graze, interact as much as they want. We just want to make sure that everything is as natural as possible.”

The Alabama Safari Park is located at 1664 Venable Road in Hope Hull. It is open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., seven days a week. General admission starts at $18.95. For more information, visit the park’s website.