Animals on Safari debuted on 6 July 2009, at the newly-renovated the Activity Pavilion in the Zoo’s entryway. Created as an educational and entertaining animal show, Animals on Safari was produced specifically for the Zoo by internationally-known animal trainer Joel Slaven. Renowned for his ability to train animals from binturongs to beagles, Mr. Slaven currently is best known for his shows that feature mostly domestic animals like dogs and cats – the majority of which are rescued from local shelters and groups. It is this unique and vital component of his shows that inspired the Zoo to bring his show to Columbus.
Taking place in a set created to look like Jack Hanna’s base camp from the Jack Hanna’s Into the Wild show, Animals on Safari features tricks and performances by more than 100 animals, as they “prepare” the base camp for filming. The animals perform both with and without the trainers onstage. The mixture of animals is approximately 60 percent domestic and 40 percent exotic/wild; all of the animals are rescues and many are rescues from local organizations.