Please forgive my typos: I’ve been on Earth since the 1970’s…these phones still look like something from Star Trek to me and I’m using two thumbs to write this review on my lunch break. If at any point you come across an indecipherable passage…let me know in the comments and I’ll try to interpret. Thank you in advance. ;-). Now, let’s get to the review:
I visited Gulf Breeze Zoo in Gulf Breeze, Florida twice earlier this fall. My first visit was with my 10 and 12 year old nieces and the second four days later by myself.
My overall impression of the Gulf Breeze Zoo is that it is a pleasant medium sized zoo that is well maintained with adequate to excellent exhibits and a fair collection of animals from all continents, save Antarctica, mostly Mammals with a fair number of Birds and, for a Florida Zoo, a notable lack of reptiles…with the large land tortoises and American Alligators being the exceptions.
Gulf Breeze Zoo does appear to be actively breeding several species and maintains sizable herds of three hoofed mammals. A large flock of Rheas, with a great many colts, was present and Spectacled Owls and King Vultures also had juvenile animals on display.
The zoo is located just off the main Highway between Gulf Breeze and Navarre and fits nicely into its present location. The area is rapidly developing, but that does not appear to be a problem for the zoo as it regards either increased traffic or ambiance.
The grounds are sandy, Florida barrier island scrub and pine forest. There are several areas of dense shrubbery and mature trees. During late October and early November the daytime temperatures were pleasant…what they would be in mid-summer? I don’t know…but this is not a zoo I’d enjoy visiting on a hot and humid day or during a rainy day.
The enclosures for the hoofstock (in the main part of the zoo), including domestics are fine, if not exceptional. Same with the large birds and tortoises.
For many of the birds, primates, and cats the exhibits are functional and unimaginative. The Clouded Leopard and the Tiger seem to get a bit of a short shrift…although the Tiger enclosure is large. For the Lions, an open grassy field with a couple of elevated resting points is probably fairly decent. The male Lion seems to be most comfortable resting in a manner where he is looking away from the Zoo guests outside his enclosure. Viewing for all of these cats is through chain-link and hog wire. The Clouded Leopard exhibit was not necessarily the worst cat exhibit I saw during my trip…but seeing the cat in a smallish, “rabbit hutch/chicken coop” (see photos in the gallery) was…I don’t know…surprising?
That Wood and Wire type enclosure was pretty standard for most of the birds and small primates on exhibit. While I was viewing the Binturong with some frustration because of the fencing and shadowing of the exhibit…I did note one advantage (intentional or not) that those enclosures did provide shade for animals that might be more at home in thick forests (floor or canopy).
About 30 acres of the south-west corner of the zoo is viewable only be a small, free, narrated train ride. The train moves slowly enough that viewing and photographing the animals is possible…but a longer period of observation is not. A few of the animals in this area of the zoo can be views from an elevated walkway that passes the Greater One-horned Rhinoceros, Thomson’s Gazelles, Greater Kudu, and comes to an end near the Pygmy Hippo enclosures and the Orangutan Island. Blackbuck, Rhea, and Axis Deer can sometimes be seen in this area as well. And it would seem the Wildebeest and Sable Antelope have access to this area as well.
All that being said…the train ride is actually pleasant and my only complaint regarding the visitor experience would be the haste with which the tour passes by the area where the Wildebeest and Sable seemed ti spend their time. The Axis Deer and Blackbuck main herds were out at the far end of their multi-acre pastures and it was nice to observe the large groups of animals as they went about their natural behaviors. On my second visit I brought a pair of my binoculars and was glad I did.
You may pay extra for a Nile Hippo Encounter where you are able to spend extra time at the exhibit…which is otherwise passed by pretty quickly by the train. This exhibit is pretty nice, maybe the best…for the animals…hippo exhibit I saw…with another Florida facility (Homossassa Springs) also having a great hippo exhibit. Basically at Gulf Breeze Zoo the animals have a very large, duck-weed covered pond and a shaded natural land area. Also primarily viewed from the train the Pygmy Hippo exhibit was hands down one of the best I’ve ever seen…and that’s including the exhibit at Henry Doorly Zoo where an active Pygmy Hippo appeared to be be enjoying themselves immensely. The often celebrated Tampa Zoo had in my opinion a horrible Pygmy Hippo exhibit which would be a fairly awesome Warthog or Bush Pig exhibit.
On the other hand…I believe Gulf Breeze Zoo could do better by its family group (mother, father, son) of Lowland Gorillas. The three animals are on a fair sized island with a couple if climbing structures that double as shade. The animals seemed bored (even as zoo animals go) and while a guess Gorillas May on occasion forage in bright sunny meadows and these animals can happily rest and feed without worry…I think a better exhibit taking the animal’s natural behaviors and habitats into account in the main part of the zoo would be better.
The zoos playground structure is nice…but they have few of the diversions that allow parents to rest or zoo nerds to use to avoid crowds. They do have a series of feeding opportunities along the entire north perimeter of the zoo.
While there were attentive and knowledgeable Zookeepers and staff throughout the grounds the feeding zones are largely unsupervised. This was interesting as it related to the Giraffes (their feeding station was designed so the animals bent the heads over a fence to reach the vegetable greens held up at arms length by children…unlike most other zoos which have an elevated feeding station where the Giraffes head was very near the visitor, the potential for visitor intrusion into the exhibit was plausible, and a keeper was on hand closely supervising the crowd…not going to exaggerate…I think Gulf Breeze Zoo’s operation worked better) and the Budgies (about a hundred birds…along with a few chickens…maybe to keep the pests down?…in a large circular shaded aviary…no extra cost to enter…seed sticks available at the zoo entrance and again minimal supervision).
Other animals to be feed included exotic Geese, Goats, Sheep, and Highland Cattle. More on the Highland Cattle later.
As we noted, animal feed can be purchased at the entrance of the zoo, which is inside a large air-conditioned building. When you first pull into the zoo from the highway, onto the hardpacked dirt parking area, you do get an almost instant “roadside zoo” vibe. I’ll caveat that by saying…some of the other zoo parking lots on this trip are absolute nightmares (Calgary…maybe Miami on a busy day).
I’ll also add that for a person of a certain age the parking area and entry point brought back fond memories of the Catskill Game Farm and Bensons Wild Animal Park (two large private northeastern zoos sadly no longer in existence) or even Texas’s Natural Bridge Wildlife Park (once through the gate) or Southwick’s Zoo in Massachusetts. Which is to say…as soon as that gravel crunched beneath my tires…I was thrilled with anticipation.
Once through the entrance facility and into the zoo proper…you are facing a Gibbon Island on the right and a waterfowl exhibit on the left. Well shaded with large trees, the walkway leads you directly the Budgie Aviary and then to the left towards the domestic animals and Giraffes waiting for their shot at the feed you just bought along with your ticket. On my first visit 2/3rds of the time was spent with my nieces inside the Budgie Aviary or at the Giraffe Station…I did not begrudge them the experience and happily returned to the zoo entrance for additional seed sticks and vegetable greens.
The zoo cafe was very nice (quality of food…if not ambiance) and the gift shop was well stocked and unavoidable as you left the zoo.
Surprises:
- I would not have expected the Clouded Leopard.
- I would have expected Cheetahs
- I also would have expected African Wild Dogs.
- I was kind of surprised to see Red Wolves, Wild Turkeys, and Bobcats were not present.
- Florida Native Species…only five on exhibit! Black Bears (2), American Alligators (8), Wood Duck (2), Turkey Vulture (1), Eastern Screech Owl (1)
- No domestic pigs.
- The only canid was the Maned Wolf and they probably had the nicest exhibit (aside from the hippo species and the large pasture inhabited by the hoofstock on the zoo’s southwest corner) of all the mammals…and more effort was put in for them…as the hoofstock and hippo exhibits were literally just ponds and pastures.
- I’m pretty sure if your local zoo is not breeding their own Rheas…they are probably getting them from this zoo…ditto Emus from the Virginia Safari Park (which is a sister facility to Gulf Breeze Zoo?).
Best Exhibits:
- Other than those mentioned above: the African Spurred Tortoises and American Alligators (except for the white one).
Worst Exhibits:
- The Florida (American) Black Bears. Bare Bear Pit with a ground level viewing window. Nice information signs though.
- Highland Cattle. Large dusty paddock with a sun shelter and mister. The breed seems inappropriate for the area. I know they are docile, but I think Florida Cracker Cattle (for regional flavor) or Texas Longhorns (because of the dusty, sun-beaten paddock) would be better suited.
Overall I enjoyed my visits to the Gulf Breeze Zoo. Would probably visit 3 or 4 times a year if I lived nearby.
My initial score is a B+…once these reviews are done, I’ll run each zoo through an impartial scoring matrix to rate against the other zoos I visited.
I visited Gulf Breeze Zoo in Gulf Breeze, Florida twice earlier this fall. My first visit was with my 10 and 12 year old nieces and the second four days later by myself.
My overall impression of the Gulf Breeze Zoo is that it is a pleasant medium sized zoo that is well maintained with adequate to excellent exhibits and a fair collection of animals from all continents, save Antarctica, mostly Mammals with a fair number of Birds and, for a Florida Zoo, a notable lack of reptiles…with the large land tortoises and American Alligators being the exceptions.
Gulf Breeze Zoo does appear to be actively breeding several species and maintains sizable herds of three hoofed mammals. A large flock of Rheas, with a great many colts, was present and Spectacled Owls and King Vultures also had juvenile animals on display.
The zoo is located just off the main Highway between Gulf Breeze and Navarre and fits nicely into its present location. The area is rapidly developing, but that does not appear to be a problem for the zoo as it regards either increased traffic or ambiance.
The grounds are sandy, Florida barrier island scrub and pine forest. There are several areas of dense shrubbery and mature trees. During late October and early November the daytime temperatures were pleasant…what they would be in mid-summer? I don’t know…but this is not a zoo I’d enjoy visiting on a hot and humid day or during a rainy day.
The enclosures for the hoofstock (in the main part of the zoo), including domestics are fine, if not exceptional. Same with the large birds and tortoises.
For many of the birds, primates, and cats the exhibits are functional and unimaginative. The Clouded Leopard and the Tiger seem to get a bit of a short shrift…although the Tiger enclosure is large. For the Lions, an open grassy field with a couple of elevated resting points is probably fairly decent. The male Lion seems to be most comfortable resting in a manner where he is looking away from the Zoo guests outside his enclosure. Viewing for all of these cats is through chain-link and hog wire. The Clouded Leopard exhibit was not necessarily the worst cat exhibit I saw during my trip…but seeing the cat in a smallish, “rabbit hutch/chicken coop” (see photos in the gallery) was…I don’t know…surprising?
That Wood and Wire type enclosure was pretty standard for most of the birds and small primates on exhibit. While I was viewing the Binturong with some frustration because of the fencing and shadowing of the exhibit…I did note one advantage (intentional or not) that those enclosures did provide shade for animals that might be more at home in thick forests (floor or canopy).
About 30 acres of the south-west corner of the zoo is viewable only be a small, free, narrated train ride. The train moves slowly enough that viewing and photographing the animals is possible…but a longer period of observation is not. A few of the animals in this area of the zoo can be views from an elevated walkway that passes the Greater One-horned Rhinoceros, Thomson’s Gazelles, Greater Kudu, and comes to an end near the Pygmy Hippo enclosures and the Orangutan Island. Blackbuck, Rhea, and Axis Deer can sometimes be seen in this area as well. And it would seem the Wildebeest and Sable Antelope have access to this area as well.
All that being said…the train ride is actually pleasant and my only complaint regarding the visitor experience would be the haste with which the tour passes by the area where the Wildebeest and Sable seemed ti spend their time. The Axis Deer and Blackbuck main herds were out at the far end of their multi-acre pastures and it was nice to observe the large groups of animals as they went about their natural behaviors. On my second visit I brought a pair of my binoculars and was glad I did.
You may pay extra for a Nile Hippo Encounter where you are able to spend extra time at the exhibit…which is otherwise passed by pretty quickly by the train. This exhibit is pretty nice, maybe the best…for the animals…hippo exhibit I saw…with another Florida facility (Homossassa Springs) also having a great hippo exhibit. Basically at Gulf Breeze Zoo the animals have a very large, duck-weed covered pond and a shaded natural land area. Also primarily viewed from the train the Pygmy Hippo exhibit was hands down one of the best I’ve ever seen…and that’s including the exhibit at Henry Doorly Zoo where an active Pygmy Hippo appeared to be be enjoying themselves immensely. The often celebrated Tampa Zoo had in my opinion a horrible Pygmy Hippo exhibit which would be a fairly awesome Warthog or Bush Pig exhibit.
On the other hand…I believe Gulf Breeze Zoo could do better by its family group (mother, father, son) of Lowland Gorillas. The three animals are on a fair sized island with a couple if climbing structures that double as shade. The animals seemed bored (even as zoo animals go) and while a guess Gorillas May on occasion forage in bright sunny meadows and these animals can happily rest and feed without worry…I think a better exhibit taking the animal’s natural behaviors and habitats into account in the main part of the zoo would be better.
The zoos playground structure is nice…but they have few of the diversions that allow parents to rest or zoo nerds to use to avoid crowds. They do have a series of feeding opportunities along the entire north perimeter of the zoo.
While there were attentive and knowledgeable Zookeepers and staff throughout the grounds the feeding zones are largely unsupervised. This was interesting as it related to the Giraffes (their feeding station was designed so the animals bent the heads over a fence to reach the vegetable greens held up at arms length by children…unlike most other zoos which have an elevated feeding station where the Giraffes head was very near the visitor, the potential for visitor intrusion into the exhibit was plausible, and a keeper was on hand closely supervising the crowd…not going to exaggerate…I think Gulf Breeze Zoo’s operation worked better) and the Budgies (about a hundred birds…along with a few chickens…maybe to keep the pests down?…in a large circular shaded aviary…no extra cost to enter…seed sticks available at the zoo entrance and again minimal supervision).
Other animals to be feed included exotic Geese, Goats, Sheep, and Highland Cattle. More on the Highland Cattle later.
As we noted, animal feed can be purchased at the entrance of the zoo, which is inside a large air-conditioned building. When you first pull into the zoo from the highway, onto the hardpacked dirt parking area, you do get an almost instant “roadside zoo” vibe. I’ll caveat that by saying…some of the other zoo parking lots on this trip are absolute nightmares (Calgary…maybe Miami on a busy day).
I’ll also add that for a person of a certain age the parking area and entry point brought back fond memories of the Catskill Game Farm and Bensons Wild Animal Park (two large private northeastern zoos sadly no longer in existence) or even Texas’s Natural Bridge Wildlife Park (once through the gate) or Southwick’s Zoo in Massachusetts. Which is to say…as soon as that gravel crunched beneath my tires…I was thrilled with anticipation.
Once through the entrance facility and into the zoo proper…you are facing a Gibbon Island on the right and a waterfowl exhibit on the left. Well shaded with large trees, the walkway leads you directly the Budgie Aviary and then to the left towards the domestic animals and Giraffes waiting for their shot at the feed you just bought along with your ticket. On my first visit 2/3rds of the time was spent with my nieces inside the Budgie Aviary or at the Giraffe Station…I did not begrudge them the experience and happily returned to the zoo entrance for additional seed sticks and vegetable greens.
The zoo cafe was very nice (quality of food…if not ambiance) and the gift shop was well stocked and unavoidable as you left the zoo.
Surprises:
- I would not have expected the Clouded Leopard.
- I would have expected Cheetahs
- I also would have expected African Wild Dogs.
- I was kind of surprised to see Red Wolves, Wild Turkeys, and Bobcats were not present.
- Florida Native Species…only five on exhibit! Black Bears (2), American Alligators (8), Wood Duck (2), Turkey Vulture (1), Eastern Screech Owl (1)
- No domestic pigs.
- The only canid was the Maned Wolf and they probably had the nicest exhibit (aside from the hippo species and the large pasture inhabited by the hoofstock on the zoo’s southwest corner) of all the mammals…and more effort was put in for them…as the hoofstock and hippo exhibits were literally just ponds and pastures.
- I’m pretty sure if your local zoo is not breeding their own Rheas…they are probably getting them from this zoo…ditto Emus from the Virginia Safari Park (which is a sister facility to Gulf Breeze Zoo?).
Best Exhibits:
- Other than those mentioned above: the African Spurred Tortoises and American Alligators (except for the white one).
Worst Exhibits:
- The Florida (American) Black Bears. Bare Bear Pit with a ground level viewing window. Nice information signs though.
- Highland Cattle. Large dusty paddock with a sun shelter and mister. The breed seems inappropriate for the area. I know they are docile, but I think Florida Cracker Cattle (for regional flavor) or Texas Longhorns (because of the dusty, sun-beaten paddock) would be better suited.
Overall I enjoyed my visits to the Gulf Breeze Zoo. Would probably visit 3 or 4 times a year if I lived nearby.
My initial score is a B+…once these reviews are done, I’ll run each zoo through an impartial scoring matrix to rate against the other zoos I visited.
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