COUNTY APPROVES WILDLIFE PERMITS ON ACTON ACREAGE.

Byline: ByTeresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer

Two neighboring areas for wildlife were granted conditional use permits Monday that allow creatures such as cheetahs and tigers to roam on somewhat secluded Acton properties.

The two requests involved separate property owners and different interests, but were for property within about three miles of each other in this community between the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys along the Santa Clara River.

The Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission members made their decision after previous discussions on the two projects and an October field trip to the sites, said Russell Fricano, a principal planner for the county.

Under the permit request, Shambala, actress Tippi Hedren's wild animal preserve that opened 26 years ago, will continue to be open for picnics, private parties, tours and overnight camping for Boy Scouts and other special groups.

Shambala currently is open to the public the third weekend of every month, and people usually reserve a spot several months ahead for the safari, said Marcia Newyear, an assistant to Hedren.

The preserve has been particularly popular recently because of publicity on television on shows such as ``Rosie O'Donnell'' and others, Newyear said.

``A lot of people are interested and want to do stories about it,'' she said.

Shambala, at 6867 Soledad Canyon Road, can accommodate about 85 animals on the 20 acres, Fricano. The preserve has elephants, lions, tigers, cheetahs, leopards, cougars, panthers and other animals, he said.

``The animals are in cages, but some of the cages are as big as 10 acres,'' Newyear said. ``It's not like a zoo. And when you walk around, you're very close to them.''

Also on Monday, the Regional Planning Commission approved a request by Hayden Rosenaur, who trains wild animals for movies, to keep the animals on his property not far from Shambala, Fricano said.

Rosenaur, who has 148 acres on the 30300 block of Arrastre Canyon Road, will have wildcats, lions, tigers, cheetahs, rhinoceroses, elephants, zebras and other animals on the property, known as Serengeti Ranch, Fricano said.

Two neighbors had been concerned about the proposal because they plan to build homes on their properties, Fricano has said.

Rosenaur's property, which previously has been used for agriculture, would not be open to the public, and would strictly be used to keep animals close by as part of his profession, Fricano said.

``There's been a history of wild animals up here. A lot of people don't know that,'' Newyear said.