The Panhandle of Florida has always been a tourist destination for the sugar white sandy beaches and emerald colored gulf waters. Now the area has been targeted for a unique family-oriented adventure destination as well.

Florida land developer, Blue Dolphin II, Inc., has plans for a family theme park as well one which may provide millions of Floridians and tourists a new reason to travel further inland.

Over the past several years Blue Dolphin II, Inc. has acquisitioned thousands of acres of land on the coast of Florida's great Northwest to develop one of the largest safari parks in the USA.

The "Jim Fowler's Life in the Wild" theme park spanning over 1,000 acres of Bonifay, Florida natural habitat will be the first attraction to the park. Recreation, adventure and education will combine, and developers are betting on the star of their show. Jim Fowler is a beloved household personality from his frequent appearances with his exotic animals on the "The Johnny Carson Show" and as the cohost of Mutual of Omaha's "Wild Kingdom."

Fowler spent a lifetime studying, appreciating and celebrating the natural world and is ready to partner to bring his vision to Florida.

"I've had a passion for presenting wildlife in a different way than the normal zoo. I'm much more in favor of using nature and creating adventure," stated Jim Fowler. "I've been doing that for about 20 years. I've been involved in creating what we call Ecological Parks. These are places where you don't just walk down a trail and see a field mouse. You have things that are really exciting and adventurous to you so that you can open up your mind and learn about the important things."

The park will have an exceptional educational wildlife adventure center that will set new standards for attractions that present both native and exotic species of animals and nature to the public. Visitors will be transported in specially made vehicles to take them on a safari trek to observe animals in their natural state - free roaming. Visitors will have the option to spend the night(s) in the park in luxurious accommodations uniquely designed to look like Tarzan's tree house. In cooperation with Parks and Wildlife Services, Inc. and the Fowler Center for Wildlife Education, Inc. - a non-profit corporation, animals and people will begin to share the natural world together in a more positive manner.

"We came up with the concept of giving entertainment to local Floridians as well as to generate more tourism for the state," said Barbara Farris, President of BDII, Inc. "[This is a] large scale development that will take five years to complete." From the moment of ground breaking it will take up to 24 months before the park will be open to visitors - due in part to the animals need to acclimate to their surroundings.

Blue Dolphin II, Inc. is planning for an easy lifestyle community, as surrounding developments will be engineered to retain the beauty of wild Florida. There will be other attractions as development continues during the next several months and years including an Amphitheater that will have an estimated 30-40 music acts perform throughout the year and a Celebrity Coast Theme Park - which will have family oriented attractions for all ages.

"If you're going to do an attraction that has a good demographic area like I-10 or in that area of (Northwest) Florida, it's good to have a variety of activities for people. I think that we can use the natural world as a base and yet we can still have exciting things that enter the world of recreation," said Fowler. Are you too young to remember Jim Fowler?

Though baby boomers grew up watching a favorite TV show, Emmy Award-winning television "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom," its popularity faded some with the next generation and the last show aired in 1988. But through reruns of favorite "Late Night with Johnny Carson" shows, most Americans know who zoologist Jim Fowler is. Fowler would bring exotic animals that Carson could interact with to the show -often for comedic effect. In one frequently-shown clip, Carson provoked a panther to swipe its huge, clawed paw at him, and he bolted across the stage and into Ed McMahon's arms.

Fowler is an Albany, Georgia native, a professional zoologist and, ofcourse, TV host. He first served as the cohost of Wild Kingdom with Marlin Perkins, and then later became the main host. While Fowler was serving as host of Wild Kingdom, he received four separate Emmy awards