We had high hopes based on the reviews but found Tiger World to be largely run down and poorly maintained. Some of the newer enclosures look good, but others made us feel really sorry for the animals. As a family day out, it's not nearly as nice as other zoos and rescue centers we've been to and is overpriced for the size and condition of the facilities.
Spent the day with my grandchildren and had such a good time!! The animals were amazing and close enough to us that we could see them well. Their habitats were clean and they all had toys to play with. Plenty of shade and water and you could tell all the animals were well fed and cared for. Great place to spend with your loved ones and friends, no matter what age. We will be back again soon!
Open and family friendly. There are places for picnics and meetings. Nice and open with free parking
Great place for kids, but I found it slightly disturbing how distressed some of the lions and tigers looked. Pacing is a sign of distress in animals and we saw about 3 or 4 of the large cats pacing the perimeter of their small cages. I felt some of the animals had a lot of room to roam, but yet the large cats (Panthers, cheetahs, lions, tigers) had too small of cages.
Every time we come there have been improvements made that benefit the animals. The humans clearly take good care of the animals here.
We have been to Tiger World many times as my husband works closeby and my children and I visit him often. We have always enjoyed it for the most part despite general uncleanliness and a lack of paved footpath in areas that make it tough with a stroller. We buy the animal feed, we buy cold drinks, we always buy something from the gift shop- not today. My husband went into the gift shop to buy ice cream for everyone and the cashier (older lady) asked him if he'd like to donate the change. He said no. She said "no?" And he repeated it (we needed some change, it wasn't personal). She said "guess we didn't impress you much" rudely (in front of my daughter) and went to help the next customer in line. We've spent 60 dollars today here. It will probably be the last time we visit. I hope losing the hundreds a year we spend here was worth being snarky over 37 cents- when your operation is funded by the public you shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you.
Great place, great staff and great animals. The animals are extremely well cared for and very social! Great place for the family and everyone of all ages!
Tiger world is awesome. Try to get there before the animals eat, like everyone they get sleepy after eating. There are a lot of tigers and lions. They have a liger that's pretty sweet. There's also a bear with a big enclosure who was sleeping, that's what bears do, and I saw his head. Moral of the story, for 15 bucks tiger world is a cool place to get close to some big endangered cats and rescued wild pets that have a new home.
I went to check out Tiger World today because of the excellent reviews online. It cost $16 to get in & about 1-2 hours to see all of the animals.
Although I understand this facility is for rescues, the conditions of all the enclosures are extremely sad, dirty, small and claustrophobic; I would never wish any animal to be caged up at Tiger World. I m a zoo lover and appreciate a facility that respects the space and enrichment animals need to be physically and mentally healthy.
All of Tiger World s enclosures are caged with chicken-wire type fencing; very weak fencing that they could probably be pushed down with enough force. All of the enclosure s ponds were either dried up or dirty, dung littered the grounds, and the poor animals hardly had spaces to escape from the heat today (87F+). One tiger just sat there and kept crying because it was so bored.. what gets me is they want to expand with a safari and more claustrophobic enclosures.
Tiger World, you are in no condition to expand. You need to substantially increase the size of all your enclosures, maintain sanitary habitats for the animals, and provide them with ANY kind of enrichment before you decide to expand. I don t plan a return in the near future. I was in a happier mood before I went in and experienced the depressing conditions.
This little rescue is BIG on tigers, lions, leopards, serval cat and dozens of other exotic animals. My kids have seen exotic animals in and out of at least a score of zoos and we still had to tear them away after 3 hours. The habitats are thoughtful and suprisingly roomy. It is clear the resue is expanding as it can. Honestly, one of my favorite trips ever to see big cats.
Had a great time!! Kids loved feeding the animals which included geese, swans, ducks peacocks (& more). The big cats & other large animals were fascinating!! Love that all the animals were rescued & now have a better life!!!
I've been to Tiger World a half dozen times and it's still an enjoyable place to take the family. Just bought a year's family pass.
A very fun and interesting place to go. A great place to take the kids or a fun date with someone special.
This was amazing, well worth the drive and money..get real close to big animals that are endangered
A great place for the whole family. TW depends on volunteers and could use some help. Not as well groomed as it should be. Exhibits and variety of animals is great.
Amazing staff, affordable prices, great views of all kinds of beautiful animals.
Animals looked very angry not enough of room for them to roam and roar. Makeshift fences or cages or whatever you wanna call it. I understand these animals are endangered however there is not enough land for these size animals in the middle of a neighborhood. There water was green looked unsanitary. The only stable foundation was the building you pay in. I felt sorry for these animals and am willing to adopt one however I'll have to know my animal is getting what I am giving.Very skeptical.If the owner Lea Jaunakais cannot afford Tiger world then pass it on to someone who can. I do see it's under development but the animals seem angry, hostile, and misfortunate In other words cramped and would like there freedom.
This is a great non-profit organization, very educational and the staff is awesome
This was an ok person, however I will say that it cost to much for what they have. The cages are run down. Some animals didnt have water. Some didnt have a good place out of the sun. The others were in a bit better shape. I also saw where they were still building more cages. Still to much for this location.
This place is really run down, the animals look stressed - pacing back and forth or just laying there - and the front desk woman was really rude. The only good thing about my visit was feeding time. It was cool to watch and the girls who were doing the feeding were very knowledgeable. I still felt sorry for the animals the whole time though.
Absolutely the most big cats you will ever see in one place. Animals were pretty active and engaging. Highly recommend visiting if you get a chance!
Such a wonderful place! So many beautiful animals to see, super nice staff, never overcrowded
Spent more than half a day in the park got to see the lions roar for a while. Has number of animals and kids would definitely love it.
Tiger world? Hardly. More like someone had a small collection of exotic cats and assembled them on their land. This place is just ok. Nothing memorable. Pretty unremarkable. There were a hand full of tigers and lions and a few kangaroos too.
The site had chairs scattered throughout the park under trees so you could sit and rest in the shade. There was a little play area for kids. Pretty steep admission for what you get. $13 for kids 2-17 and $15 for adults. I think I would rather spend that kind of money at a zoo instead.
You can see most big cats young and healthy unlike in other zoo's.
A great little place to take your kids for some fun and education. Spent about an hour and a half and was able to see everything. A great variety of wild animals and they are worth the visit.
This place takes better care of its animals than most sanctuaries do, and they keep doing better. No better place can be found for an abused or mistreated animal than Tiger World; they, their staff and even their patrons practically spoil the animals here. It's a wonderful place to see and experience!
Interesting place, small but not too small. Well worth the money. You'll not get closer to such big cats anywhere. Good variety too.
Loved this place more than the zoo. Great variety of animals, not just cats, and you can get so close to them. Kids loved it because walking is minimal and there is a playground. Free range chickens, ducks, peacocks are fun to chase around. No food, bring your own picnic items and sit in the covered picnic area. Low ticket prices. This is a rescue operation, so the passion shines through.
Animals Beautiful and seem well taken care of.
Small and up close look at these wonderful cats and other animals too
Not super handicap accessible though.
Great day for tiger lovers and alike.
Really fun place for the kids. The peacocks, ducks, geese and roosters roam free and that was cool. Of course the tigers wer awesome and the sloth experience is cool.
Great place loved the animals. The enclosures were just way to small.
So hot that animals weren't outside much of the time.
Awesome tiger zoo, very friendly staff and animals roam around freely, except tigers off course
I really enjoyed it. . . The peacocks, black swans, and of course the TIGERS!!! :-
Really a great place for a family outing. Not overly large but nicely laid out. Has a picnic area which is undercover. Great gift shop with lots to choose from and money goes towards the up keep of the animals. The animals are very well looked after. Really a to do on your list
Really cool zoo, you can get super close to the animals staff very nice.
We have been about a half dozen times, it's close to home and so peaceful there,
and in many ways better than driving all the way to Columbia zoo. Never crowded,
but up close and personal with the animals. You can just sit and watch the animals
as long as you like. A great stress reliever, highly recommended. Get a season pass,
you'll be back.
While the animals were really cool, the upkeep on the zoo itself was below average.. the enclosures were very small, ponds were completely dried up and everything seemed extremely outdated..I get that they are saving animals, protecting them from the dangers being in the wild, but I would think they would try to give them more room and definitely add more ponds and make their habitats more like "home"... the prices are a little high, considering you can go to the NC Zoo for the same admission price to see pretty much the same thing with better habitats and the drinks were $4+, which they didn't even have when we asked for one.. some staff was quite nice with great information but the gift shop attendant was somewhat rude..
Great little experience for the family, we really enjoyed it. They had a lot of animals to see. Was reasonably priced. Some of the enclosures could use an update. Lots of peacocks and other birds roaming around. Would definitely recommend.
You are lucky if you find all the tigers and lions awake
Amazing place and I'm very grateful for people saving and caring for such beautiful creatures! This is a great place for families to visit!
This place was pretty neat but very rundown looking. And a lot of the animals seemed stressed and would just pace the length of their tiny cages. The cougars tail was bent and had trouble walking and the wolf s cage was terrible it was smaller then the average persons backyard and they looked miserable. All the water in the cages was frozen and filthy not clean at all. The reptile thing was a huge disappointment only 4 snakes and some random birds who s cages were nasty it looked like it was set up in someone garage. I feel like the whole place is to spend 15 bucks a person to see 15 sick animals. Please fix the wolf cages and give them space to actually move. And the otters cage didn t have any water at all and they were in there with monkeys don t even in their own cage if you think to a normal zoo the otters have enough room to dive and run and aren t forced to share a tiny cage with monkeys and no water
Good for the family. Not so spread out that you'll spend the day there and you get much closer than you will at the state zoo.
An excellent variety of big and small cats, and some REALLY big cats of unique breeds. The evening feesing tour is a fun experience. You can also "adopt" their cats on their website to sponsor their care. Also have primates, reptiles, wolves, bears, vultures, owls, and other animals.
Anyone who knows anything about animals would find this place incredibly depressing.... when the lady at admission was asked if the tigers ever get let out to any bigger space than what they are displayed in, so they can roam, she huffily said she didn t understand the question. When It was clarified she replied saying that they sleep
Most of the day and the spaces are bigger than they look......... one of the worst zoos I have seen. I will not go back. Very sad for the animals, pathetically small spaces, very dirty bathrooms, horrible concessions, not even the gift shop was nice. I also found it expensive for what it was, though I would happily pay double if it was a place that seemed more animal friendly. We definitely will not be back.
A zoo is a zoo. This is way beyond that. The wonderful felines available for viewing by the public and the care of these animals is absolutely fantastic. I would recommend this facility to the entire world.
BEST ZOO ON THE EAST COAST!! Most animals in other zoos are not maintained as well as the Animals here at Tiger World. Amazing experience, will be coming back soon. Baboon threw feces at me, very sad ;(
Sadly disappointed. We had a friend and her daughter in town and I was so excited to take them here because of all the good things I've heard. Unfortunately, it was not even close to what was expected. The only encounter with staff was the admission lady and she should have taken the day off. We couldn't find half of the animals and the other half were in the back and/or laying down. Both kids lost interest within 5 minutes and wanted to leave. The only highlight was the parrot who talked to us. Sorry to say I won't be recommending this place to anyone
What an incredible experience. Magnificent animals lovingly cared for. We plan to support this place, so should anyone who cares for these endangered miracles. It's remarkable.
Not sure if it's because of covid but this place seems like it needs some help with the up keep. I thought for the prices it would be a little cleaner and the ground would be kept up more. The kids had fun but by a certain time the animals all start sleeping and go inside. You have to get there right as they open as by 12 you feel like the park is closed as people start leaving and animals aren't active.
Cool place to visit and interact with animals. Get to see the wild animals from close distance. Just have to take a hat and sunglasses
AWESOME PLACE FOR A FAMILY DAY! we've been there 3x since September!
Love this place grate place to take the grown kids and my grandkids too
Was told every one should go as itvis a super experienced
This is an incredible place, for you and your kids, or even as a date, if youre that type of person. I am, i loved it. You can tell they take a lot of care when it comes to keeping their animals safe and happy, it is a little better when its not a million degrees, because you will sweat, a lot, but aside from that the place is clean, the restrooms were clean, and the way its set up is easy to navigate and not that big. The selection of animals is pretty good, but it also isnt a zoo, its tiger world, so expect to see alot of lions and tigers, and a pretty good bit of monkeys, with a handful of other animals. Very family friendly and totally worth the trip. We will be going back, when its cooler, but very soon.
I loved the whole thing! My only complaint is there was a dead bird by pond, which none of the workers picked up before or during our visit. All the animals were out and moving or interacting with there environments.
Really neat place. If you love big cats, you will really like this place.
Its a nice place for a relaxing visit. Pack your own lunch.
Enjoyed watching the animals and learning about some of the animals.
This place is hella noice, they even had my favorite animal wolves!
They have a wide variety of big cats. All of them look well cared for and healthy. The staff seems to really care. It is sad to see animals locked in enclosures however all of them are rescued and are living in better conditions now. This is a privately funded facility and deserves a visit and any support that can be provided. Once a month they sell tickets for the animal feeding. It cost twenty dollars and you must make a reservation. Well worth it. Check their website for dates.
Great Zoo for a day out with children and family, staff are very friendly and helpful in all the information they give about the big cats they have rescued and look after. They also have a reptile house and a bear den.
In the summer go early as the big cats will be more active then.
Needs more shaded area. It's bearly spring and Most of the animals were hiding or just not moving. The pathways were very hot to walk.
They take wonderful care of the animals.thwy have many rescue animals.
This place is awesome you can really get close up to the animals. Definitely worth a trip.
It was great! There are lions, tigers and bears, oh my!! The peacocks walk around among everyone and are beautiful and at ease. All of the animals are attentive and fascinating to just quietly watch. There are two black and one white swan who are graceful and elegant. When they are in the water and you see them from a distance they don't look real, they are so beautiful. The grounds are neat and clean. I would go everyday if I lived closer!
This is a nice place. I hope they can build some bigger cages for some of the animals. Overall, a good job.
tigerworld.us