Keo Hornbostel, Executive Director of Safari West
Our speaker for Thursday, April 27, 2023, was Keo Hornbostel, Executive Director of Safari West. Keo joined Safari West in 2015 and oversees all operational aspects of the business. Prior to joining Safari West Keo had a 30-year hospitality career running vacation resorts from the Caribbean to Hawaii. He moved to Sonoma County in 2005 and ran the Hyatt Vineyard Creek before joining Safari West. He’s married and has a son at CU Boulder.
Safari West’s mission is to actively promote conservation and environmental education while imparting knowledge that helps each individual make well-informed choices in regard to the environment and wildlife conservation. Safari West was started in the late 1980’s by Peter Lang. There are now over 1,000 animals at the facility and 140 full and part-time employees. Keo specifically mentioned 3 or 4 varieties of monkeys, flamencos, cheetahs, and rhinoceros. In fact, their rhinoceros recently became one of only a few rhinoceros in captivity to give birth! Keo gave us some interesting information about rhinoceros’ sexual behavior; it turns out their mating is extremely violent, and the Safari West rhinoceros’ mating was exceptionally violent (4 on a scale of 5 – with 5 being the death of one of the participants!).
Keo also mentioned that Safari West has available luxurious tents for overnight “glamping” stays! You’ll get a great night sleep after an amazing safari unless the flamencos wake you up during the night! (Frankly, I’d be more concerned with the 70 mph cheetahs!). They also have breakfast, lunch, and dinners for the “campers.”
Safari West is self-sufficient. It does its own landscaping, maintenance, housekeeping, and they even have their own veterinarian. They survived the 2017 fire with firehoses, forklifts, and a bit of luck because the fire blew over the top of the facility! They have also recently suffered avian flu issues but have recently re-opened the aviary.
Thank you, Keo, for the great presentation. Safari West is an amazing operation!
