Where to see captive animals in the USA

Neil chace said:
Just a quick note: Both of these places have a handful of non-domestic species. Both have (or at least in recent years did have) emu, and the WWI Park in North Attleborough (yes, I know it's confusing, but despite it being "North" of Attleboro, North Attleborough did not drop the "ugh") has peafowl and some pheasants as well (plus the aforementioned deer). Winslow Farm also has spurred tortoises.

Since when did Woods Hole have a sea turtle? I don't remember them ever having one.

As far as smaller nature centers go, Oak Knoll Wildlife Sanctuary in Attleboro has a *very* small nature center with a few turtle species.
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I don't consider emu, peafowl, or pheasants to be wild species. They are all heavily bred in captivity, super easy to buy on farm websites, and are common on private farms. They aren't enough for me to push a place up from the domestic category. The deer I go back and forth on, I can never remember which I put the "and deer" places under so there might be some inconsistency there. My personal spreadsheet (and the one I'll post at the end here) doesn't have this division into 4 types of places, that's being done just for this thread.

I thought the Attleborough was a typo on my spreadsheet :)

Woods Hole video that came from: Meet Joy, Our Loggerhead Sea Turtle! | Again, a warm thank you to everyone who has emailed or messaged us about our Woods Hole Science Aquarium and its residents. We realize that many miss our... | By NOAA Fisheries New England/Mid-Atlantic | Facebook
 
TinoPup said:
I thought the Attleborough was a typo on my spreadsheet :)
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Nope, not a typo. Attleborough became Attleboro when it re-incorporated as a city in 1914, but North Attleborough (which split off from Attleboro in 1887) did not "drop the ugh" from it's name. Across the state of Massachusetts, even to this day you'll see a lot of "boro"s, a lot of "borough"s, and some that can't seem to make up their mind. Here's a recent article about it: Boro or borough: What's the proper spelling for Massachusetts towns?
 
Neil chace said:
Nope, not a typo. Attleborough became Attleboro when it re-incorporated as a city in 1914, but North Attleborough (which split off from Attleboro in 1887) did not "drop the ugh" from it's name. Across the state of Massachusetts, even to this day you'll see a lot of "boro"s, a lot of "borough"s, and some that can't seem to make up their mind. Here's a recent article about it: Boro or borough: What's the proper spelling for Massachusetts towns?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the article :)
 
TinoPup said:
MASSACHUSETTS

Zoos, Aquariums, Safaris, large Nature Centers, etc:
  • Animal Adventures Family Zoo, Bolton – Zoo – “Rescue” zoo converted from a house. A few rare species. Pet most of them.
  • Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield – Aquarium, NH Museum – 35+ aquarium tanks. Beautiful gallery of native species. Museums For All.
  • Blue Hills Trailside Museum, Lincoln – NC – BOP, otters, foxes, deer, herps. Part of Mass Audubon.
  • Buttonwood Park Zoo, New Bedford – Zoo – AZA – Train. KultureCity.
  • Capron Park Zoo, Attleboro – Zoo – AZA.
  • EcoTarium, Worcester – Museum, live animals – Puma, otters, a few BOP and smaller species. Science museum with some NH sections. Trails. Museums For All.
  • Franklin Park Zoo, Boston – Zoo – AZA – KultureCity.
  • Lupa Zoo, Ludlow – Zoo – Seasonal – “Train”. KultureCity.
  • Museum of Science, Boston – Museum, live animals – AZA, AAM – Tamarins, insects, native species, birds, herps. Dioramas, trophy room, dog sculptures, science stuff. Museums For All.
  • New England Aquarium, Boston – Aquarium – AZA, AAM – Large aquarium with multiple pinnipeds. Whale watching tours. KultureCity.
  • Southwick’s Zoo, Mendon – Zoo – Seasonal – ZAA – Train goes around elk pasture. Skyfari makes a triangle over part of zoo.
  • Stone Zoo, Walter D. Stone Memorial Zoo, Stoneham – Zoo – AZA – KultureCity.
  • Woods Hole Science Aquarium, Woods Hole – Aquarium – Possibly the USA’s oldest aquarium. Sea turtle, native fishes, harbor seal.
  • Zoo in Forest Park, Springfield – Zoo – ZAA – Mostly natives, leopard, wallaby, lemurs.

Smaller Nature Centers and places with a limited amount of species:
  • Berkshire National Fish Hatchery, New Marlborough – Hatchery – USFWS – Brook trout, lake trout.
  • Butterfly Place, Westford – Insects – Seasonal.
  • Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, Brewster – NH Museum, Aquarium.
  • Cronin Aquatic Resource Center / Richard Cronin National Salmon Station, Sunderland – Hatchery – USFWS – Brook floater, blue herring, freshwater mussels.
  • Curious Creatures, Groveland – Traveling – Seasonal – Offer barn tours in summer.
  • Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary, Lincoln – NC – Domestics, BOP, fox.
  • Look Memorial Park, Christenson Wildlife Center/Zoo, Florence – NC – Domestics, fallow deer, rescue BOP.
  • Maria Mitchell Complex, Nantucket – Aquarium, NC – Home to the Maria Mitchell Aquarium (tiny), Maria Mitchell Natural Science Museum (herps, possibly birds), and Maria Mitchell Research Center. Several other buildings.
  • North Attleboro National Fish Hatchery, North Attleboro – Hatchery – USFWS – Brook trout, American shad, freshwater mussels.
  • Springfield Science Museum, Springfield – Museum – A few fish tanks, herps? Small complex of tiny museums.
  • Wolf Hollow, North American Wolf Foundation, Ipswich – Carnivore – Tours – Gray wolves.

Better places to see domestics:
  • Davis Farmland Discovery Farm, Sterling – Farm Park – Mostly domestics, a few deer and semi-domestics (yak, water buffalo, etc).
  • Green Hill Farm, Worcester – Park – Park with domestics. No petting allowed.
  • North Attleboro WWI Memorial Park, North Attleboro – Park – Domestics, deer. No petting.
  • Red Apple Farm, Phillipston – Farm Park, Store – You-Pick farm with domestics, store, wagon rides, etc.
  • Winslow Farm Animal Sanctuary, Norton – Rescue – Domestics.
Natural History Museums and other notable facilities without animals:
  • Harvard Museum of Natural History, Cambridge – NH Museum.
  • Shark Center Chatham, Chatham – Museum – Small museum run by Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.
  • Shark Center Provincetown, Provincetown – Museum – Seasonal – Small museum run by Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.

State Fish Hatcheries: https://www.mass.gov/masswildlife-trout-stocking-program
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I’m sorry that I am a week late, but I just wanted to say that I appreciated this list from MA! There were several places you mentioned I hadn’t heard of before, so it is cool to learn about more places in my home state. There were also a couple places I wanted to mention that could be added to your list:
  • For nature centers, there is the Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellfleet, and they have several nice tanks of fish plus a turtle species or two. There is also the Buzzards Bay Center in New Bedford, and it seems like they have a small fish collection and a touch tank.
  • There are two butterfly / insect places I know of that could also be added: 1) Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory in Deerfield, and 2) Butterflies of Cape Cod in Bourne.
  • Lastly, I know that museums aren’t a major focus of this thread, but one that might be noteworthy enough to be included is the New Bedford Whaling Museum in New Bedford. The museum claims to be the largest whaling museum in the world, and it is a very historic place considering New Bedford is known as “The City That Lit The World” and was once the world capital of the whaling industry.
 
ZooElephantsMan said:
I’m sorry that I am a week late, but I just wanted to say that I appreciated this list from MA! There were several places you mentioned I hadn’t heard of before, so it is cool to learn about more places in my home state. There were also a couple places I wanted to mention that could be added to your list:
  • For nature centers, there is the Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellfleet, and they have several nice tanks of fish plus a turtle species or two. There is also the Buzzards Bay Center in New Bedford, and it seems like they have a small fish collection and a touch tank.
  • There are two butterfly / insect places I know of that could also be added: 1) Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory in Deerfield, and 2) Butterflies of Cape Cod in Bourne.
  • Lastly, I know that museums aren’t a major focus of this thread, but one that might be noteworthy enough to be included is the New Bedford Whaling Museum in New Bedford. The museum claims to be the largest whaling museum in the world, and it is a very historic place considering New Bedford is known as “The City That Lit The World” and was once the world capital of the whaling industry.
Click to expand...

All great additions, thanks! I had a hard time figuring out which Mass Audubon places actually held live animals.
 
In Maryland there is also Marshy Point Nature Center. I've been there recently along with some other nature centers. They have a variety of herps (including venomous copperhead snakes), birds and fish. For such a small state Maryland sure has many nature centers with live animals.

Also in Maryland theres Frisky's Wildlife & Primate Sanctuary. They are private tour only and have both native animal and primate rescues. The website shows rarities like Mona Monkey though I don't think they have those anymore.

In Massachusetts there's also South Shore Natural Science Center of Norwell. They are part of or within the local YMCA. Hard to tell what exactly they have but herps and birds of prey seem to be present.
 
SusScrofa said:
In Maryland there is also Marshy Point Nature Center. I've been there recently along with some other nature centers. They have a variety of herps (including venomous copperhead snakes), birds and fish. For such a small state Maryland sure has many nature centers with live animals.

Also in Maryland theres Frisky's Wildlife & Primate Sanctuary. They are private tour only and have both native animal and primate rescues. The website shows rarities like Mona Monkey though I don't think they have those anymore.

In Massachusetts there's also South Shore Natural Science Center of Norwell. They are part of or within the local YMCA. Hard to tell what exactly they have but herps and birds of prey seem to be present.
Click to expand...

I didn't know Frisky's does tours.

If you want, could you PM me a list of of nature centers you've been to that *don't* have live animals, especially for MD? Would help with my searching!
 
ZooElephantsMan said:
I have another place to add for MA: Kimball Farms in Westford. I never knew this place had an animal collection, but I went this afternoon for other reasons and was surprised to see that they have a section with cages for at least 9 taxa (mostly non-pets and non-domestics). I wrote a brief write-up with more details here: https://www.zoochat.com/community/threads/kimball-farms-species-list-westford-massachusetts.488087/
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Looking into this more, I'm undecided on including it. It's called Animal Adventures because it *is* Animal Adventures - if the weather is decent they bring over some animals from their facility.
 
MICHIGAN

Zoos, Aquariums, Safaris, large Nature Centers, etc:
  • Anderson & Girls Orchards, Stanton – Zoo, Store – Seasonal – Farm store and orchard with many animals. Bongo, nilgai, felids, genet, lemurs, domestics, etc.
  • Belle Isle Aquarium, Detroit – Aquarium – AZAptm – "Oldest operating aquarium in USA". Museums For All.
  • Binder Park Zoo, Battle Creek – Zoo – AZA – Train that only passes goats. Tram that transports you up the 0.5 mile uphill walk to Africa. KultureCity.
  • Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park, Alto – Safari – Seasonal – ZAA – Small train. Safari ride via wagon.
  • Detroit Zoo, Royal Oak – Zoo – AZA, WAZA – Train goes around half the perimeter of zoo and back. KultureCity.
  • DeYoung Family Zoo, Wallace – Zoo.
  • Garlyn Zoo Wildlife Park, Naubinway – Zoo.
  • Howell Nature Center, Howell – NC – Wild Wonders Wildlife Park. 70+ native ambassadors.
  • Indian Creek Zoo, Lambertville – Zoo – Seasonal – Train.
  • John Ball Zoo, Grand Rapids – Zoo, Aquarium – AZA – Funicular cable car. KultureCity.
  • Outdoor Discovery Center, Holland – NC – Several native mammals, herps, 13 BOP. Also home to De Witt Birds of Prey Center.
  • Potter Park Zoo, Lansing – Zoo – AZA – KultureCity.
  • Roscommon Zoo, Roscommon – Zoo – Seasonal.
  • Saginaw Children’s Zoo, Saginaw – Zoo – AZA – Train goes around perimeter.
  • SEA LIFE Michigan Aquarium, Auburn Hills – Aquarium – AZA – In Great Lakes Crossing Outlets.
  • Site 57 Safari, Cedar Springs – Safari – Seasonal – Bears, deer, bison, etc. With Deer Tracks Junction.
  • Wilderness Trails Zoo, Birch Run – Zoo – Seasonal.

Smaller Nature Centers and places with a limited amount of species:
  • Amber Elk Ranch, Ludington – Ungulate – Seasonal – Elk farm.
  • Bear Store, Hale – Carnivore, Store – Store with several live bears.
  • Belle Isle Nature Center, Detroit – NC – AAM – Herps, fish. KultureCity.
  • Blandford Nature Center, Grand Rapids – NC – BOP, herps, native mammals including bobcat. KultureCity.
  • Carousel Acres, South Lyon – Petting Zoo, Traveling – Kangaroo, wallaby, reindeer, domestics, etc.
  • Creature Conservancy, Ann Arbor – Zoo – Tours – Kangaroo, sloth, porcupine, warthog, puma, binturong, etc.
  • Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary, Athens – Herps – Alligators, Nile croc, a few other herps.
  • Deer Ranch, St. Ignace – Ungulate – Seasonal – Whitetail.
  • Deer Tracks Junction Adventure Park, Cedar Springs – Farm Park – Seasonal – Deer and domestics. Also own Site 57 Safari.
  • DeGraaf Nature Center, Holland – NC – A few native species.
  • Farmington Hills Nature Center, Farmington Hills – NC – Live animals.
  • Frederik Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids – Insects, Birds – Butterflies and tropical birds, including hummingbirds. Museums For All.
  • Gaylord’s City Elk Park, Gaylord – Ungulate – Town elk park, sika, fallow.
  • Harbor Springs Deer Park, Harbor Springs – Ungulate – Town deer park with whitetail.
  • Hess-Hathaway Park, Waterford Township – Ungulate – Town park with deer.
  • Iron Mountain City Park, Iron Mountain – Ungulate – Town park with deer.
  • Jordan River National Fish Hatchery, Elmira – Hatchery – USFWS – Visitor center. Lake trout, cisco, rainbow trout.
  • Kalamazoo Nature Center, Kalamazoo – NC – Herps, BOP.
  • Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, Augusta – Birds – Captive BOP and game birds, lots of wild species. Michigan State University.
  • Kensington Metropark Nature Center, Harrison Township – NC – BOP, other live animals.
  • Lake Erie Metropark Marshlands Museum, Brownstown – NC – BOP.
  • Lake St. Clair Metropark Nature Center, Harrison Township – NC – Herps, fish.
  • Leslie Science & Nature Center, Ann Arbor – NC – BOP, herps.
  • Lewis Adventure Farm & Zoo, New Era – Farm Park – Seasonal – Deer, coati, sloths, domestics, etc.
  • Michigan Whitetail Hall of Fame Museum, Grass Lake – Ungulate, Museum – Whitetail (surprise!).
  • Nature’s Creek Zoo, Hillsdale – Petting Zoo – Appointments – Primates, kangaroo, zebra, domestics, etc.
  • Nature Discovery, Williamston – NC – 40+ herp species.
  • Oakwoods Metropark Nature center, New Boston – NC – BOP, herps.
  • Ogemaw Nature Park, West Branch – Ungulate – Town park with deer.
  • Original Mackinac Island Butterfly House & Insect World – Mackinac Island – Insects – Butterflies, lots of other insects.
  • Oswald Bear Ranch, Newberry – Carnivore – Seasonal - $10 photo with bear cubs.
  • Pendills Creek National Fish Hatchery, Brimley – Hatchery – USFWS – Visitor center. Lake trout.
  • Pete’s Safari / Pete’s Petting Zoo, Baraga – Zoo – Many primates, coati, zebra, kangaroos, porcupines, etc.
  • Raven Hill Discovery Center, East Jordan – Museum, NC – AAM – Herps.
  • Reindeer Ranch, Kalamazoo – Ungulate – Tours – Reindeer.
  • Reptarium, Utica – Herps.
  • Sterling Heights Nature Center, Sterling Heights – NC – Herps, fish.
  • Stony Creek Metropark Nature Center, Shelby Township – NC – Herps, fish.
  • Sullivan Creek National Fish Hatchery, Brimley – Hatchery – Appointments – USFWS – Lake trout.
  • Supe’s Exotic Jungle, Fenton – Zoo – Tours – Expensive tours. Lemur, stingray, alligator, etc.
  • Timber Creek Petting Farm, Lexington – Petting Zoo – Seasonal – Nilgai, fox, kangaroo, various other rescues.
  • Valley Camp, Museum Ship Valley Camp, Sault Ste. Marie – Aquarium, Museum – Freighter ship with four 1,200 gallon tanks of native fish.
Better places to see domestics:
  • Critter Barn, Zeeland – Petting Zoo – Domestics.
  • Domino’s Farms Petting Farm, Ann Arbor – Petting Zoo – Domestics.
  • Duke Petting Farm & Carriage Company, Temperance – Petting Zoo, Traveling – Domestics, mainly horses.
  • Nelis’ Dutch Village, Holland – Theme Park – Domestics.
  • SASHA Farm Animal Sanctuary, Manchester – Rescue – Tours – Very limited tours. Strict photo policy.
  • Scidmore Park Petting Zoo, Three Rivers – Petting Zoo – Town park.
Natural History Museums and other notable facilities without animals:
  • Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills – NH Museum – NH and science museum, no live animals.
  • University of Michigan Museum of Natural History, Ann Arbor – NH Museum – No animals.


State Fish Hatcheries: https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/fisheries/hatcheries


*Cicchelli’s Second Chance Rescue in Lake City was shut down by the USDA in 2023.
*Even Keel Exotics in Temperance was shut down in 2023.
*Detroit Zoo dropped their plans for Great Lakes Center for Nature.
 
MINNESOTA

Zoos, Aquariums, Safaris, large Nature Centers, etc:
  • Como Park Zoo & Conservatory, St. Paul – Zoo, Theme Park – AZA - Adjacent/connected Como Town has 18+ kiddie rides including roller coaster, train.
  • Great Lakes Aquarium, Duluth – Aquarium – Also have otters and BOP.
  • Hemker Park & Zoo, Freeport – Zoo – Seasonal – ZAA – 30 minute tram ride.
  • Lake Superior Zoo, Duluth – Zoo – AZA – Train. KultureCity.
  • Minnesota Zoological Garden, Apple Valley – Zoo, Aquarium – AZA, WAZA, AMMPA.
  • Oxbow Park & Zollman Zoo & Nature Center, Byron – Zoo, NC – Small zoo with native species including badger, wolves, otters, etc. NC has herps.
  • Paul Bunyan Animal Land, Bemidji – Zoo – Seasonal – Bears, deer, big cats? Appears to still be open.
  • Pine Grove Zoo, Little Falls – Zoo – Seasonal – Mostly native species.
  • Safari North Wildlife Park, Brainerd - Safari - Seasonal - Drive yourself or ride a train through the safari. Small area of kiddie rides.
  • SEA LIFE Mall of America, Bloomington – Aquarium – In Mall of America.
  • SeaQuest Roseville, Roseville – Aquarium, Petting Zoo – Sloth, porcupine, otters.
  • Sustainable Safari, Maplewood – Petting Zoo – In Maplewood Mall. Pet/feed basically everything, from binturongs to kangaroos to cows and muntjac.
  • Trowbridge Creek Zoo, Vergas – Zoo – Seasonal – Ungulates, jackals, etc.
  • Wildlife Science Center, Stacy – NC – Native species including puma, bears, large wolf pack, BOP, etc.
Smaller Nature Centers and places with a limited amount of species:
  • Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center, Hastings – NC – Native herps, BOP.
  • Cold Springs Deer Farm/Park, Orr – Ungulate – Possibly closed? I can’t find anything going back several years.
  • Dodge Nature Center, West St. Paul – NC – Domestics, BOP, bees, ambassadors.
  • Eastman Nature Center, Dayton – NC – Elm Creek Park Preserve. Herps.
  • International Owl Center, Houston – Birds.
  • International Wolf Center, Ely – Carnivore – Gray wolves.
  • Jay C. Hormel Nature Center, Austin – NC – “Live animals”.
  • Lakeview Park, Janesville – Ungulate – Town park with deer pens.
  • Lowry Nature Center, Victoria – NC – “Live animals”.
  • Mississippi Gateway Visitor Center, Brooklyn Park – NC – Large aquarium, lots of herps.
  • National Eagle Center, Wabasha – Birds – AAM – Have cruises to see wild eagles.
  • North American Bear Center, Ely – Carnivore – Seasonal – Bears.
  • Quarry Hill Nature Center, Rochester – NC – Herps.
  • RAD (reptile & Amphibian Discovery) Zoo, Owatonna – Herps – Medford Outlet Mall.
  • Raptor Center of University of Minnesota, St. Paul – Birds – University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. Gabbert Raptor Center is private rescue area of center.
  • Redwood Falls Zoo / Ramsey Park Zoo, Redwood Falls – Petting Zoo – Bison, elk, deer, prairie dogs, domestics.
  • Richardson Nature Center, Bloomington – NC – Herps, possibly birds.
  • Snake Discovery, Maplewood – Herps – Have a physical location but do a lot of travel so not always open.
  • Sunnybrook Park, Wadena – Camp, Ungulate – Campground with bison, deer, ducks.
  • Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary / American Bear Association, Orr – Carnivore – Technically wild bears, I think?
  • Westwood Hills Nature Center, St. Louis Park – NC – Native species?
  • Wood Lake Nature Center, Richfield – NC – Herps, fish.
Better places to see domestics:
  • Sibley Farm, Mankato – Petting Zoo – Petting farm in town park.
Natural History Museums and other notable facilities without animals:
  • Bell Museum, St. Paul – NH Museum – Beautiful dioramas. Smithsonian Affiliate.

State Fish Hatcheries: Minnesota's fish hatchery system
 
Last edited:
TinoPup said:
MINNESOTA

Zoos, Aquariums, Safaris, large Nature Centers, etc:
  • Como Park Zoo & Conservatory, St. Paul – Zoo, Theme Park – AZA - Adjacent/connected Como Town has 18+ kiddie rides including roller coaster, train.
  • Great Lakes Aquarium, Duluth – Aquarium – Also have otters and BOP.
  • Hemker Park & Zoo, Freeport – Zoo – Seasonal – ZAA – 30 minute tram ride.
  • Lake Superior Zoo, Duluth – Zoo – AZA – Train. KultureCity.
  • Minnesota Zoological Garden, Apple Valley – Zoo, Aquarium – AZA, WAZA, AMMPA.
  • Oxbow Park & Zollman Zoo & Nature Center, Byron – Zoo, NC – Small zoo with native species including badger, wolves, otters, etc. NC has herps.
  • Paul Bunyan Animal Land, Bemidji – Zoo – Seasonal – Bears, deer, big cats? Appears to still be open.
  • Pine Grove Zoo, Little Falls – Zoo – Seasonal – Mostly native species.
  • SEA LIFE Mall of America, Bloomington – Aquarium – In Mall of America.
  • SeaQuest Roseville, Roseville – Aquarium, Petting Zoo – Sloth, porcupine, otters.
  • Sustainable Safari, Maplewood – Petting Zoo – In Maplewood Mall. Pet/feed basically everything, from binturongs to kangaroos to cows and muntjac.
  • Trowbridge Creek Zoo, Vergas – Zoo – Seasonal – Ungulates, jackals, etc.
  • Wildlife Science Center, Stacy – NC – Native species including puma, bears, large wolf pack, BOP, etc.
Smaller Nature Centers and places with a limited amount of species:
  • Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center, Hastings – NC – Native herps, BOP.
  • Cold Springs Deer Farm/Park, Orr – Ungulate – Possibly closed? I can’t find anything going back several years.
  • Dodge Nature Center, West St. Paul – NC – Domestics, BOP, bees, ambassadors.
  • Eastman Nature Center, Dayton – NC – Elm Creek Park Preserve. Herps.
  • International Owl Center, Houston – Birds.
  • International Wolf Center, Ely – Carnivore – Gray wolves.
  • Jay C. Hormel Nature Center, Austin – NC – “Live animals”.
  • Lakeview Park, Janesville – Ungulate – Town park with deer pens.
  • Lowry Nature Center, Victoria – NC – “Live animals”.
  • Mississippi Gateway Visitor Center, Brooklyn Park – NC – Large aquarium, lots of herps.
  • National Eagle Center, Wabasha – Birds – AAM – Have cruises to see wild eagles.
  • North American Bear Center, Ely – Carnivore – Seasonal – Bears.
  • Quarry Hill Nature Center, Rochester – NC – Herps.
  • RAD (reptile & Amphibian Discovery) Zoo, Owatonna – Herps – Medford Outlet Mall.
  • Raptor Center of University of Minnesota, St. Paul – Birds – University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. Gabbert Raptor Center is private rescue area of center.
  • Redwood Falls Zoo / Ramsey Park Zoo, Redwood Falls – Petting Zoo – Bison, elk, deer, prairie dogs, domestics.
  • Richardson Nature Center, Bloomington – NC – Herps, possibly birds.
  • Snake Discovery, Maplewood – Herps – Have a physical location but do a lot of travel so not always open.
  • Sunnybrook Park, Wadena – Camp, Ungulate – Campground with bison, deer, ducks.
  • Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary / American Bear Association, Orr – Carnivore – Technically wild bears, I think?
  • Westwood Hills Nature Center, St. Louis Park – NC – Native species?
  • Wood Lake Nature Center, Richfield – NC – Herps, fish.
Better places to see domestics:
  • Sibley Farm, Mankato – Petting Zoo – Petting farm in town park.
Natural History Museums and other notable facilities without animals:
  • Bell Museum, St. Paul – NH Museum – Beautiful dioramas. Smithsonian Affiliate.

State Fish Hatcheries: Minnesota's fish hatchery system
Click to expand...
It appears you forgot Safari North Wildlife Park :p. In addition, The Bell Museum had a sizable section dedicated to Herps & Inverts the last time I checked, with roughly 20 or so species. I'm suprised to learn Great lakes Aquarium isn't AZA! The are most certainly at a similar level of quality as other similar aquariums, so its quite strange to hear they haven't been let in!
 
Dhole dude said:
It appears you forgot Safari North Wildlife Park :p. The Bell Museum had a sizable section dedicated to Herps & Inverts the last time I checked, with roughly 20 or so species. I'm suprised to learn Great lakes Aquarium isn't AZA! The are most certainly at a similar level of quality as other similar aquariums, so its quite strange to hear they haven't been let in!
Click to expand...

No I didn't :P Thanks for that, got the edit in! No idea how I managed to miss that, as they have cheetahs. For Bell Museum, I couldn't tell if they have actual exhibits or if it's just a few ambassadors they bring out? The only photo I saw of live animals was someone holding a snake.
 
Dhole dude said:
I'm suprised to learn Great lakes Aquarium isn't AZA! The are most certainly at a similar level of quality as other similar aquariums, so its quite strange to hear they haven't been let in!
Click to expand...
It seems more often with small aquariums than with zoos that there are decent facilities that simply opt not to become accredited.
 
Couple notes on Minnesota:

-Can confirm that Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary is strictly a wild animal viewing location. It consists of a big viewing deck overlooking feeding/baiting stations for wild black bears.

-As a quick historical note, Sibley Farm used to be a full zoo (lions, monkeys, etc.) until it was destroyed by a flood in 1965. It was replaced by a small petting zoo on higher ground with a few exotics (mainly waterfowl), then in about 2008 the current domestic-only petting zoo was built.

-Probably doesn't count for purposes of this thread, but for two weeks every year the Minnesota State Fair DNR building displays a wide range of Minnesota fish species (including gigantic sturgeons, paddlefish, and muskellunge) plus a selection of herps. It also has some large taxidermy displays. Elsewhere in the fairgrounds there is a reptile display and a butterfly house.
 
Gondwana said:
Couple notes on Minnesota:

-Can confirm that Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary is strictly a wild animal viewing location. It consists of a big viewing deck overlooking feeding/baiting stations for wild black bears.

-As a quick historical note, Sibley Farm used to be a full zoo (lions, monkeys, etc.) until it was destroyed by a flood in 1965. It was replaced by a small petting zoo on higher ground with a few exotics (mainly waterfowl), then in about 2008 the current domestic-only petting zoo was built.

-Probably doesn't count for purposes of this thread, but for two weeks every year the Minnesota State Fair DNR building displays a wide range of Minnesota fish species (including gigantic sturgeons, paddlefish, and muskellunge) plus a selection of herps. It also has some large taxidermy displays. Elsewhere in the fairgrounds there is a reptile display and a butterfly house.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Yeah I haven't been including fairs or anything very temporary, since most of them have traveling zoos, etc. too. The paddlefish is unusual though, and has been noted a few times on here, including in my paddlefish thread :)

I'm grateful for that Sibley info, too. I had to zoo on my spreadsheet of closed zoos but didn't have any further info, that helps a lot.
 
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