years of the original 29 year lease, which he then subleased to the operators of the Wild Rivers water park, the Camp Frasier (later Camp James) summer camp and the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre. The water park and summer camp closed in 2011, with the land turned into a housing development. The same fate befell the amphitheatre in 2016, such that the original Irvine-based Lion Country Safari land is now a 3,700-unit housing development. In popular culture Lion Country Safari plays a major role in Frederick Buechner's 1971 novel Lion Country. The park was referenced in The Simpsons 1991 episode "Old Money" when the family takes a trip to Discount Lion Safari. The story of Frasier the Sensuous Lion, and a lion portraying one of his descendants, featured prominently in The Leftovers 2017 episode "It's a Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World". The "Frasier the Sensuous Lion" song, as performed by Sarah Vaughan, played over the episode's closing credits. Incidents Bubbles the hippopotamus escaped from Lion Country Safari in Irvine, CA in 1978 and enjoyed her freedom for 19 days until she was killed, 5 months pregnant, by an overdose of tranquilizing drugs. Notes References McDaniel, Sharon. "The mane attraction" The Palm Beach Post, January 6, 2006. Gilken, Rochelle E.B. "At Lion Country, cats cut off from cars", Palm Beach Post, December 29, 2005. External links Memories of Lion Country Safari, Irvine, CA Lion Country Safari on Modern Day Ruins Protected areas of Palm Beach County, Florida Safari parks Tourist attractions in Palm Beach County, Florida Zoos established in 1967 Zoos in Florida 1967 establishments in Florida