Due to strong efforts from the previous owner and Mogensen, the animals were able to stay comfortably in their own homes until it was officially purchased, renovated and rebranded to great success. Gulf Breeze Zooīefore the acquisition in 2009, the Gulf Breeze Zoo, then known as Zoo Northwest Florida, had been hit by an economic downturn and faced the damages of Hurricane Ivan, resulting in a permanent closure. Virginia Safari Park also features walk-through exhibits, including Tiger Territory, Penguin Plunge, the Australian Walk-About, Giraffe Feeding Overlook, free-flight bird aviary, and more. It is a 180-acre drive-through safari park that is home to over 1,000 animals. Virginia Safari Park is the original safari park built by Mogensen. Mogensen is the CEO of Zoofari Parks, which consists of the Gulf Breeze Zoo in Florida, Virginia Safari Park, and the Alabama Safari Park. He spent many years cultivating his extensive experience with the transportation and management of exotic animals, such as zebras, tapirs, white rhinos, hippos, gorillas, and orangutans.
Experience with Exotic AnimalsĮric Mogensen’s professional experience working with animals started when he was just a child, working to help care for the animals on the family-run zoo he grew up on.Īfter attending Virginia Tech, he was hired as the Curator of Animals at Benson’s Animal Park in Hudson, NH. Mogensen’s parks are currently visited by over 500,000 guests annually, allowing him to provide grants and funding to conservation projects, work with partnered charities and animal welfare associations, and give back to the community itself. To date, he has spent over 50 years mastering animal care and nurturing conservation programs to help at-risk species around the world. Mogensen has dedicated his life to animal welfare. Each park works with multiple conservation projects in order to provide better education for the guests, as well as protection and care for animals in both captivity and the wild. Growing up on a family-operated zoo sparked his love and passion for animals, and has been the impetus to invest in the creation, acquisition, and expansion of several safari parks and zoos throughout the United States.