Africam Safari

Wikipedia says Captain Carlos Camacho Espiritu, a Puebla businessman, broadcaster and aviator, founded the park after collecting animals on his travels and keeping them at his home in Valsequillo. When visitors kept coming, he opened the collection to the public. The park opened on 2 April 1972 and its name combines Africa, where most of the original animals came from, with Camacho's surname. Camacho died in 1976. His wife, Louise Wardle de Camacho, carried on the project until her death in 1980, and the couple's eight children then took over its operation, according to Spanish-language sources and English Wikipedia.

Wikipedia gives the collection as more than 2,500 animals from about 350 species, kept in habitats modelled on their natural environments, though other sources quote different numbers for different dates. The safari section is toured by vehicle through themed areas inspired by places such as the Okavango Delta, the Kalahari Desert, Yellowstone and the Huasteca. A walking section called the Adventure Zone includes Australian and Amazonian areas, a botanical garden and a reptile and insect house. The park also runs a Nocturnal Safari during the December holiday period, when animals such as lions and hippos are said to be more active.

Wikipedia says Africam Safari was the first Mexican institution to successfully breed the golden eagle, the bird shown on Mexico's flag, and that it breeds the endangered Tuxtla quail-dove. It takes part in conservation programmes for jaguars, African lions, humpback whales, flamingos, Mexican military macaws, sea lions and manatees, among other species. In June 2012 the park received nine orphaned African elephants from Namibia whose mothers had been killed by illegal hunting. Its founder's stated aim was to build public awareness of animal protection.

In October 2016 Africam Safari hosted the WAZA world congress of zoos and aquariums in Puebla, according to Wikipedia. In 2012 the park announced investment in a sister project in Chile, though the source gives conflicting information on its opening and the details are not covered here.

Puebla is a colonial city in central Mexico, and the park lies in the countryside outside it, about 16 to 17 km away according to Wikipedia, so it is typically an out-of-town half-day trip. A private guided visit with a vehicle and driver can link the park with a day in Puebla city or with other sights in the state, without the need to arrange separate transport.