Mane event

Lion Country Safari to get new owner.

Lion Country Safari, one of Palm Beach County’s oldest attractions, will soon have a new owner who plans to expand the park’s work.

Wildlife conservationist Marcella Leone, founder and director of Leo Zoological Conservation Center in Greenwich, Conn., plans to buy the wildlife park for an undisclosed amount.

She intends to expand Lion Country Safari’s conservation and education programs and bring in new species of animals, the park said in a news release Tuesday.

In a telephone interview Tuesday, Leone told the Sun Sentinel that Lion Country Safari is the “perfect vehicle” to continue her passion for conservation and for educating the the public about endangered wildlife.

“We will be moving a lot of animals to Florida,” said Leone, a regular visitor to South Florida for 30 years who has developed ties to the Wellington equestrian community and Lion Country Safari.

Orangutans, cheetahs and a colony of African blackfooted penguins are among the new additions expected at the Palm Beach County attraction in coming months, Leone said.

Leone was married to U.S. Olympics show jumper Peter Leone, who won a silver medal for the American equestrian team at the 1996 summer games. He also competed in events at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington.

The Leo zoological center is situated on a 100-acre equestrian facility the couple owned and operated in Greenwich called Lionshare Farm.

Leone, who divorced in 2016, confirmed that the Lionshare property is up for sale. The asking price for Lionshare is $39 million, according to a May article on Realtor.com. She said plans for the Greenwich zoological center, a nonprofit breeding reserve for rare and endangered animals, are “in flux” and “unfolding.” Its operations could either be expanded or reduced, she said.

Lion Country Safari, situated in Loxahatchee on the county’s western edge, opened 50 years ago and has attracted 25 million visitors in that time. The attraction, covering more than 600 acres, houses about 1,000 animals from six continents, officials said.

Visitors can view many of the animals up close and uncaged from their vehicles during a four-mile drivethrough tour. A separate walk-through area of the park includes a restaurant and multiple water slides for families.

Palm Beach County property records list the current owner as Lion Country Safari Inc. The site of the attraction at 2003 Lion Country Safari Road has a 2016 total market value of $9.67 million, according to the county property appraiser’s website.

State corporation records name the officers of Lion Country Safari Inc.-Florida as Leon Unterhalter, Harold Kramer and Marc Unterhalter. A spokeswoman said the owners were selling because “it was the right time.”

“We will be moving a lot of animals to Florida.” Marcella Leone, prospective new owner of Lion Country Safari, who said she plans to add orangutans, cheetahs and a colony of African black-footed penguins