SAN PASQUAL VALLEY -- A new attraction at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park offers visitors the chance to "fly" above Indian rhinos, giraffes and other endangered species -- on a zip line.

Park officials unveiled their Flightline attraction during a media event Thursday.

Dangling from harnesses, riders leave a mountaintop launch tower and zip down cables to the park's Kilima Point two-thirds of a mile away.

By the time they reach the landing site, riders have dropped from an elevation of 900 feet to 421 feet, reaching speeds up to 47 miles per hour along the way.

The zip line offers unobstructed views of rhinos, Przewalski's wild horses, Pere David's deer and several other endangered species on the ground during the 1 1/2- to 2 1/2-minute "flights."

Riders also enjoy extensive views of the rural San Pasqual Valley.

Thursday's guests had high praise for the zip line, which stretches over the park's Asia and Africa field exhibits.

"Wow, that was awesome," was a common reaction from riders being unharnessed at the end of the ride.

Flightline opens to the public Friday. Rides cost $70 per person, in addition to regular park admission of $35 for 12-year-olds and up and $26 for 3- to 11-year-olds.

Park officials said the new attraction was part of an ongoing effort to offer guests unique experiences that increase their understanding of the park's conservation programs.

"We're all about wildlife," said Michael Mace, the park's curator. "And people have been enamored with flight for centuries. So what better way to tie the two together than giving people the opportunity to simulate flight?"

The not-for-profit Zoological Society of San Diego operates the internationally known zoo in Balboa Park and the 1,800-acre Wild Animal Park, just east of Escondido.

The park is a preserve for hundreds of endangered species. A conservation research center that draws scientists from around the world is also at the park. Known for its efforts to increase endangered species populations, the animal park has been particularly successful at breeding and raising California condors.

Flightline was designed by Canada-based Greenhart Conservation Construction Co., a company that creates and operates nature-themed attractions around the world.

The zip line, which cost $1.75 million to install, incorporates a condor theme, with guides teaching riders to "soar" and "land" like the giant scavenger birds during an orientation session.

Participants take a 10- to 15-second "fledgling run" on a 450-foot-line before boarding a park truck for the trip to the "real" ride.

Some exotic animals spotted from the air Thursday looked up curiously at the people zipping between 36 and 130 feet overhead, four at a time.

Other creatures appeared oblivious and continued to graze, snooze in the sun or cool themselves in ponds on the ground.

"Our animals out here are used to seeing other things flying over their heads," Mace said. "So now they've got people flying over them."

One-third of the money the zip line brings in is earmarked for conservation projects at the animal park and the zoo, with the condor program getting most of those funds, Mace and other park officials said.

The entire Flightline experience takes about 90 minutes. Riders must be at least 10 years old, free of back or neck injuries, and weigh between 75 and 250 pounds.

Call (760) 747-8702 or visit www.wildanimalpark.org to make a Flightline reservation.

Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com.