Anthony Knowlton

Review of Central Florida Zoo and Botani...

i went into the park optimistic of its content sim...

i went into the park optimistic of its content simply because i love a good walk through the zoo with all the different sounds and sights that a diverse zoo can bring, but it was a solid let down. There were many exhibits down for refurbishment and many exhibits were too small for the animal it contained, notably the cloud leopard and the black bear but these were just some. the black bear exhibit seamed like it was built to advertise anti-bear home security equipment, not to take care of the black bear. there was even an obviously fake exhibit of frogs which was covered in spider webs! (frogs EAT spiders) As for the "botanical garden" it was a sad display of various plants that had been shoved in a hole in the ground and forgotten and watered with the same 15-5-15 bag of fertilizer you find at menards. nothing except the chaty crowd of tamarin got me smiling there, as they seemed to like the crew simply for their relation to their food source, everything there was depressing. only positive take away was the lady at the front desk with a great attitude. as for the so called "zoologist" that care for these animals, i can only hope that they are not to blame for the vast mistreatment of that entire place. i was vastly upset at how tired and worn down that place was. it is sad that the locals in Florida have to rely on a place like this to represent wildlife in this beautiful world, i only hope they go ANYWHERE else. i hope this place closes down for destroying some of the valuable lives they imprison.