Five Hills royalty get wild at Topsey Safari

Special to Leader-Press 

Copperas Cove Five Hills Ambassador Dawn Hale quickly grabbed the paper bag full of feed as a camel extended his long neck and his tongue as he reached for a snack. Little Miss Five Hills Braelyn Liles shrieked as each animal approached Hale’s pickup truck but then quickly became friends with the animals. 
“I had to laugh when Braelyn screamed because the camel tried to steal our bags of food but then she smiled and petted the animal,” Hale said. “We spoke about the different animals we saw and learned some facts about each one. We each petted a huge bison almost as big as our truck and held animals as small as little baby goats.”
“Braelyn learned the camels are a lot bigger when she was riding in the bed of truck then they look from the back seat of a vehicle,” mother, Christy Liles, said. “She was scared of them at first, but she overcame her fear of bigger animals with Dawn’s help.”
Topsey Safari offers up-close and personal experiences with more than 50 species of animals, many of which are extinct in the wild. The ranch hosted the Five Hills royalty for a special visit that included a tour of the petting zoo, a walking tour of close-up views of small animals, a drive- through experience of more than 350 acres to see, touch and smell animals that one often only sees in movies or books, followed by a picnic.
“From being able to hold baby goats to feeding camels, deer, zebras and so many other animals, the best memory we made was trying to hide the food from the camel and llamas when they were trying to steal it,” said Teen Miss Five Hills Angelica Torres.
Five Hills Junior Ambassador Maddox Tobias visits the safari every couple months and his family takes out of town guests for a visit. 
“My favorite part was the petting zoo area with goats, especially the baby goat,” Tobias said.
Junior Mister Five Hills Nathan Garner said It was “really cool” to be able to see all the animals up close. 
“Usually when you go to a zoo, you are far away from the animals, but having them come right up to your car was pretty awesome,” the fourth grader said. “I enjoyed feeding the animals, especially the goats. They would follow me around and I was able to touch them and pet them.”
Preteen Miss Five Hills Dorianna Gilbert was afraid of the animals until she had a personal experience with them. 
“I use to be terrified of the zoo.  I overcame my fears,” Gilbert said. “This is by far one of the best petting and feeding zoos I’ve ever seen. I will definitely come back again in the near future.”
Young Miss Five Hills Emily Kimball said her visit was really an educational experience. 
“From the critically endangered Barasingha from India to the Scimitar horned Oryx that is extinct in the wild in Africa, visitors get to enjoy seeing animals in their native habitat,” Kimball said. “Topsey Safari’s efforts to keep these animals from becoming extinct means generations will be able to enjoy them for years to come.”