Sarah Taylor

Review of World Wildlife Zoo

I'm convinced the people giving this zoo the five ...

I'm convinced the people giving this zoo the five stars it obviously does not deserve have not seen a proper zoo. The animals in this zoo lived in such small, lonely, dull exhibits it left me feeling shaken to my core and beyond sad. Half way through I felt as though I wanted my 34 dollars back because obviously the wild price for this place wasn't going towards better lifestyles for the animals. An advertisement I saw said, "Just don't call us a zoo." I agree -- it should be called an animal prison.

Fish were kept in tanks so small they had to swim in place, a hawk was chained to a perch, an eel was stuck under a rock and was panicking, when we told the keeper she said that they enjoy hanging up there, completely ignoring us. Snakes were stuffed in a small cages with turtles, other snakes were much too large for their area and could only stay curled up. I saw alligators that were stuck indoors and it made me question if many of these animals had ever felt the sun in the first place. There were about 4 small monkeys stuck inside an indoor cage and they kept pacing probably because there was no other way to expel their excess energy. The poor lemurs were stuck in what looked like bird cages, and the bird cages that housed several macaws were tiny. There seemed to be no real rhyme or reason as to where the animals were placed, and it made for some very tense animals. The baby animals were stuck in white concrete rooms with no stimulation or companions. Completely unhealthy for a developing animal. The petting zoo housed at least 40 animals and was much too small, as well. I'm shocked at how this place could get a 5 star rating from its guests.. Even if the cruelly small exhibits weren't disturbing enough, the bathrooms were a wreck and the restaurants stank of mildew. Yes, there were many animals here, but I would think it to be much more beneficial to have fewer animals living in a more humane environment than stuffing the zoo to the brim.

There are, however some less gut-wrenching areas for animals in the obviously newer parts of the zoo (which you have to pay an extra $5 per person.) I hope the rest of the zoo catches up and surpasses this. Still, in my honest opinion, I wouldn't go here unless you were looking for an example of how horrible captivity life can be for animals.