Where to see captive animals in the USA

KANSAS

Zoos, Aquariums, Safaris, large Nature Centers, etc:
  • Clay Center Zoo, Clay Center – Zoo – Vastly improved from past years!
  • David Traylor Zoo of Emporia / Emporia Zoo, Emporia – Zoo – AZA.
  • Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo / Great Bend Zoo, Great Bend – Zoo – Also home to a Raptor Center.
  • Hutchinson Zoo, Hutchinson – Zoo – AZA – Train.
  • Lee Richardson Zoo, Garden City – Zoo – AZA – Train.
  • Ralph Mitchell Zoo in Riverside Park, Independence – Zoo – Small town zoo.
  • Rolling Hills Zoo, Salina – Zoo, NH Museum – AZA, AAM – Also have taxidermy museum.
  • Safari Zoological Park, Caney – Zoo – Let people pet bear cubs.
  • Sedgwick County Zoo, Wichita – Zoo – AZA, WAZA – Boat ride through North America and part of Africa, train around entire zoo. KultureCity.
  • Sunset Zoo, Manhattan – Zoo – AZA.
  • Tanganyika Wildlife Park, Goddard – Zoo – ZAA – Water park.
  • Topeka Zoo, Topeka – Zoo – AZA, WAZA.
  • Wright Park Zoo, Dodge City – Zoo – ZAA – Small town zoo.
Smaller Nature Centers and places with a limited amount of species:
  • Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum, Lawrence – NH Museum, live animals – AAM – University of Kansas. Bug exhibit, herps including rattlesnakes.
  • Cedar Cove Conservation & Education Center, Louisburg – Carnivore – Tours – Felids.
  • Central Mall, Salina – Aquarium – Native species aquarium in shopping mall.
  • Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead, Overland Park – Petting Zoo – Domestics and native species exhibits. BOP, bison, bobcat, prairie dogs, etc.
  • Eagle Valley Raptor Center, Cheney – Birds – Tours.
  • Ernie Miller Nature Park, Olathe – NC – NC is currently closed for remodel.
  • Great Plains Nature Center, Wichita – NC – Fish, rotating live animals.
  • Hedrick's B&B Inn & Exotic Animal Farm, Nickerson – Petting Zoo – Tours – Tours only. Mostly domestic animals.
  • Kansas State University Insect Zoo, Manhattan – Insects.
  • Kansas Wetlands Education Center, Great Bend – NC – Herps, bats.
  • Kansas Wildlife Exhibit, Wichita – NC – Native species. In Riverside Park. A branch of Great Plains Nature Center.
  • Milford Nature Center & Fish Hatchery, Junction City – NC, Hatchery – Bobcat, birds, herps, prairie dogs.
  • Museum at Prairiefire, Overland Park – Museum, live animals – Herps, domestic rodents. Natural history, science, and arts.
  • Prairie Park Nature Center, Lawrence – NC – Ambassadors, including a black-footed ferret.
  • Pratt Education Center, Pratt – NC – Fish.
  • Southeast Kansas Nature Center / SE-Kansas Nature Center, Galena – NC – Herps, possibly others.

State fish hatcheries: Fish Hatcheries
 
Smaggledagle said:
So the singular difference between the 2 facilities is one is with the AZA and the other one is not, so the other one should not be added to the list? I personally do not see the logic with that.
Click to expand...

That's fine, it's not your thread. The only closed facilities I've included are ones that have another reason to be mentioned, like being AZA or ZAA. This thread is "Where to see".
 
TinoPup said:
That's fine, it's not your thread. The only closed facilities I've included are ones that have another reason to be mentioned, like being AZA or ZAA. This thread is "Where to see".
Click to expand...

You're right it is not my thread, I was just sharing my opinion. Then I would just like to bring to your attention a new facility that opened in Molino, Florida called Sunset Wildlife Connections.

Sunset Wildlife Connection
Sunset Wildlife Connection
 
Smaggledagle said:
You're right it is not my thread, I was just sharing my opinion. Then I would just like to bring to your attention a new facility that opened in Molino, Florida called Sunset Wildlife Connections.

Sunset Wildlife Connection
Sunset Wildlife Connection
Click to expand...

Then please re-read the third sentence in the OP. "Then"? So you're only mentioning this place because I didn't like your other one? This was already on my spreadsheet but I must have forgotten to add it in here, my bad.
 
TinoPup said:
Then please re-read the third sentence in the OP. "Then"? So you're only mentioning this place because I didn't like your other one? This was already on my spreadsheet but I must have forgotten to add it in here, my bad.
Click to expand...

No, I am not mentioning this place because of the discussion of that facility. I am saying this place because I was doing some research and noticed that this facility was not mentioned on the thread and instead of making a random post in the future, I decided to make it now.
 
Smaggledagle said:
No, I am not mentioning this place because of the discussion of that facility. I am saying this place because I was doing some research and noticed that this facility was not mentioned on the thread and instead of making a random post in the future, I decided to make it now.
Click to expand...

The grammar said otherwise. Suggesting new places is fine, but they should be open to the public in some way, at their own property. Or newly ZAA/AZA certified.
 
Few more things I've collected over the last couple of days:

Unmentioned Facilities:

101 Paws & Claws (Deltona, Florida)

https://www.101pawsandclaws.com/
101 Paws and Claws

Roos and Coos Farm (Plant City, Florida)

https://roosandcoosfarm.com/
Roos and Coos Farm

TinoPup said:
  • Lords Park Zoo, Elgin – Petting Zoo – Seasonal – Deer, bison, and elk pens, domestics.
Click to expand...

There is also the Elgin Public Museum (natural history museum) that is right by the zoo.

Elgin Public Museum

Updates:

TinoPup said:
  • Lions Tigers & Bears, Arcadia – CLOSED? – Carnivore – Tours – Website no longer works, fb last updated July 2021.
Click to expand...

The facility appeared to still be open, but closed due to damage from Hurricane Ian, though it can be inferred from the post that it would reopen again.

Lions, Tigers and Bears Inc.

TinoPup said:
  • Sheets Wildlife Museum, Huntington – NH Museum – Small taxidermy museum with trophies.
Click to expand...

Sheets Wildlife Museum is permanently closed as of July 2022.

Log into Facebook
 
Smaggledagle said:
Few more things I've collected over the last couple of days:

Unmentioned Facilities:

101 Paws & Claws (Deltona, Florida)

https://www.101pawsandclaws.com/
101 Paws and Claws

Roos and Coos Farm (Plant City, Florida)

https://roosandcoosfarm.com/
Roos and Coos Farm



There is also the Elgin Public Museum (natural history museum) that is right by the zoo.

Elgin Public Museum

Updates:



The facility appeared to still be open, but closed due to damage from Hurricane Ian, though it can be inferred from the post that it would reopen again.

Lions, Tigers and Bears Inc.



Sheets Wildlife Museum is permanently closed as of July 2022.

Log into Facebook
Click to expand...

When you're quoting posts, can you please include the states?

Glad to see the museum in Elgin is open again.

There's nothing indicating LT&B is open again. Their website still doesn't work, and that's the only social media post they've made since I last looked.
 
KENTUCKY

Zoos, Aquariums, Safaris, large Nature Centers, etc:
  • Dutch Country Safari Park, Horse Cave – Safari – Seasonal – Have to take a hay ride?
  • Kentucky Down Under Adventure Zoo, Horse Cave – Zoo, Cave – Zoo, cave, sheep herding demos. Focus on Australian animals.
  • Louisville Zoological Garden, Louisville – Zoo – AZA, AAM – KultureCity. Small tram with stops.
  • Newport Aquarium, Newport – Aquarium – AZA.
  • Salato Wildlife Center, Frankfort – NC – Native species, including bears, ungulates. Run by Kentucky Fish & Wildlife.
  • Woodlands Nature Station, Cadiz – NC – Seasonal – Native species including red wolves, coyotes, ungulates, herps, BOP.
Smaller Nature Centers and places with a limited amount of species:
  • Ark Encounter / Ararat Ridge Zoo, Williamstown – Petting Zoo – Lemurs, aoudad, binturong, domestics. Religious. Inside Ark Encounter.
  • Big Bone Lick State Historic Site, Union – NH Museum, live animals – Bison herd, visitor center, exhibits about paleontology and geology.
  • Creation Museum / Eden Animal Experience, Petersburg – Petting Zoo – Wallaby, coati, domestics, herps. Religious. Inside Creation Museum.
  • Highlands Museum & Discovery Center, Ashland – Museum, live animals – Fish, herps. Children’s history and science museum.
  • Kentucky Reptile Zoo, Slade – Herps – Many snake species. Venom extraction show.
  • Kentucky Wildlife Center, Lexington – Rehab – Events only.
  • Liberty Nature Center, Lake Cumberland Wildlife Refuge, Somerset – Rehab – BOP, domestic ambassadors.
  • Primate Rescue Center, Nicholasville – Primate – Events – Do very limited tours.
  • Second Chances Wildlife Center, Mt Washington – Rehab – Tours – Give private tours.
  • Wendt’s Wildlife Adventure, Carlisle – Petting Zoo – Seasonal – Typical exotics species for a small, personal petting zoo.
  • Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery, Jamestown – Hatchery – USFWS – Visitors center/education center, gift shop. Bonneville cutthroat trout, yellowstone cutthroat trout, brook trout, brown trout, rainbow trout. A bunch of mussels.
  • Wolf Run Wildlife Refuge & Education, Nicholasville – Carnivore – Groups – Hybrids, coydogs, bobcats, deer. Take hybrids to events.
Better places to see domestics:
  • Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington – Museum, live animals – Horse park with different breeds, many events. Several museums including Smithsonian’s Museum of the Horse.
Natural History Museums and other notable facilities without animals:
  • Mammoth Cave Wildlife Museum, Cave City – NH Museum – Over 1,600 specimens.
State fish hatcheries: https://fw.ky.gov/Education/Pages/Fish-Hatcheries.aspx

I also have Kentucky Kingdom, a theme park in Louisville, on my list, but I can't figure out why it's there?
 
TinoPup said:
KENTUCKY

Zoos, Aquariums, Safaris, large Nature Centers, etc:
  • Dutch Country Safari Park, Horse Cave – Safari – Seasonal – Have to take a hay ride?
  • Kentucky Down Under Adventure Zoo, Horse Cave – Zoo, Cave – Zoo, cave, sheep herding demos. Focus on Australian animals.
  • Louisville Zoological Garden, Louisville – Zoo – AZA, AAM – KultureCity. Small tram with stops.
  • Newport Aquarium, Newport – Aquarium – AZA.
  • Salato Wildlife Center, Frankfort – NC – Native species, including bears, ungulates. Run by Kentucky Fish & Wildlife.
  • Woodlands Nature Station, Cadiz – NC – Seasonal – Native species including red wolves, coyotes, ungulates, herps, BOP.
Smaller Nature Centers and places with a limited amount of species:
  • Ark Encounter / Ararat Ridge Zoo, Williamstown – Petting Zoo – Lemurs, aoudad, binturong, domestics. Religious. Inside Ark Encounter.
  • Big Bone Lick State Historic Site, Union – NH Museum, live animals – Bison herd, visitor center, exhibits about paleontology and geology.
  • Creation Museum / Eden Animal Experience, Petersburg – Petting Zoo – Wallaby, coati, domestics, herps. Religious. Inside Creation Museum.
  • Highlands Museum & Discovery Center, Ashland – Museum, live animals – Fish, herps. Children’s history and science museum.
  • Kentucky Reptile Zoo, Slade – Herps – Many snake species. Venom extraction show.
  • Kentucky Wildlife Center, Lexington – Rehab – Events only.
  • Liberty Nature Center, Lake Cumberland Wildlife Refuge, Somerset – Rehab – BOP, domestic ambassadors.
  • Primate Rescue Center, Nicholasville – Primate – Events – Do very limited tours.
  • Second Chances Wildlife Center, Mt Washington – Rehab – Tours – Give private tours.
  • Wendt’s Wildlife Adventure, Carlisle – Petting Zoo – Seasonal – Typical exotics species for a small, personal petting zoo.
  • Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery, Jamestown – Hatchery – USFWS – Visitors center/education center, gift shop. Bonneville cutthroat trout, yellowstone cutthroat trout, brook trout, brown trout, rainbow trout. A bunch of mussels.
  • Wolf Run Wildlife Refuge & Education, Nicholasville – Carnivore – Groups – Hybrids, coydogs, bobcats, deer. Take hybrids to events.
Better places to see domestics:
  • Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington – Museum, live animals – Horse park with different breeds, many events. Several museums including Smithsonian’s Museum of the Horse.
Natural History Museums and other notable facilities without animals:
  • Mammoth Cave Wildlife Museum, Cave City – NH Museum – Over 1,600 specimens.
State fish hatcheries: https://fw.ky.gov/Education/Pages/Fish-Hatcheries.aspx

I also have Kentucky Kingdom, a theme park in Louisville, on my list, but I can't figure out why it's there?
Click to expand...

Two more private tour facilities.

Broadbent Wildlife Sanctuary (Guston, KY)
Raptor Rehabilitation Of Kentucky (Louisville, KY)

Wolf Runs facebook says it does educational programs but the site is only open to volunteers, I don't think tours are available.
 
LOUISIANA

Zoos, Aquariums, Safaris, large Nature Centers, etc:
  • Alexandria Zoological Park, Alexandria – Zoo – AZA – Train that goes around entire perimeter.
  • Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, New Orleans – Aquarium – AZA – Sea otters. KultureCity.
  • Audubon Zoo / Audubon Nature Institute, New Orleans – Zoo – AZA, WAZA – KultureCity.
  • Barn Hill Preserve, Ethel – Zoo – Tours – Interaction-focused zoo that has otter swims, striped hyena, etc.
  • BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo, Baton Rouge – Zoo, Aquarium – Train that goes around entire perimeter. KultureCity.
  • Gators & Friends, Greenwood – Herps, Zoo – Mostly American alligators. Lemurs, deer, domestics. Go-karts.
  • Global Wildlife Center, Folsom – Safari – Wagon tours.
  • Gone Wild Safari, Pineville – Safari – Drive yourself.
  • Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo, Monroe – Zoo – Boat ride, only way to see some hoofstock. Train goes over lagoon, through hoofstock pastures. Formerly Monroe Zoo.
  • Shreveport Aquarium, Shreveport – Aquarium – AZAptm – No mammals, medium sized sharks.
  • Wild Country Safari Park, Delhi – Safari – Drive yourself or a guided tour (wagon?).
  • Zoosiana, Zoo of Acadiana, Broussard – Zoo – ZAA – Train, website indicates it goes through pastures.

Smaller Nature Centers and places with a limited amount of species:
  • Bayou Pierre Alligator Park, Natchitoches – CLOSED.
  • Blue Zoo Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge – Aquarium, Petting Zoo – Mall aquarium with a lot of non-animal activities for kids.
  • BREC’s Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center, Baton Rouge – NC – Live animals.
  • Cameroon Park Zoo, Keithville - ?? – Working on building a location? Native rescues, kangaroos, etc.
  • Chimp Haven, Keithville – Primate – Tours – GFAS.
  • Cypress Nature Study Center, Benton – NC – Fish, possibly others.
  • Cypress Pond Gator Pond, Lake Charles – Herps – Like a town deer yard, but with alligators.
  • Cypress Zoo, Benton – Zoo – Very small town zoo. Mostly native species and domestics. In Cypress Black Bayou Recreation and Water Conservation District.
  • Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center, New Orleans – Ungulates – Private – AZAc – Part of Audubon Zoo.
  • Gator Chateau, Jennings – Herps – A bunch of young alligators at a highway visitor center.
  • Gator Country/Natchitoches Alligator Park, Natchitoches – Herps – Go by multiple names. Go in the water with young gators, feed, hold snakes, etc.
  • Greenwood Gator Farm, Gibson – Herps – Tours – Facility tours, swamp tours.
  • Insta-Gator Ranch & Hatchery, Covington – Herps – Hold, feed. Help an egg hatch and put the baby in water for the first time.
  • Jubilee Zoo, Shreveport – Petting Zoo – Appointments – Only open for parties. Mostly domestics, zebras.
  • Jungle Gardens, Avery Island – Birds – No captive animals? Do tours of wild birds, though.
  • Kliebert & Sons Gator Tours, Ponchatoula – Herps – American Alligators, a few others.
  • LSU Mike the Tiger’s Habitat, Baton Rouge – Carnivore – Tiger mascot’s exhibit.
  • Museum of Natural History, Monroe – NH Museum, aquarium – Multiple fish tanks. University of Louisiana at Monroe.
  • Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery & Aquarium, Natchitoches – Hatchery – USFWS – Focus on Louisiana pearlshell mussel, gulf coast striped bass, alligator snapping turtle, bluegill, redear, channel catfish, largemouth bass, other recreational species.
  • Pinola Conservancy, Pinola Aviary, Shreveport – Birds – Private – AZAc – Major producer of birds for zoos.
  • Zam’s Swamp Tour, Thibodaux – Herps – American alligators, a few others.

Better places to see domestics:
  • Morgan City Petting Zoo, Morgan City – Petting Zoo – Domestics.
  • Tiger Truck Stop, Grosse Tete – Store – Only domestics now? Formerly had tigers.
  • Triple H Exotics, Ragley - ?? – Can’t find current info.
  • Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park, Shreveport – NC – Deer, BOP, herps.

Natural History Museums and other notable facilities without animals:
  • Louisiana Museum of Natural History, Baton Rouge – Museum – Louisiana State University. Includes the LSU Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State Anthropod Museum, Textile & Costume Museum, Herbarium, etc.
  • Touchstone Wildlife & Art Museum, Haughton – Museum – Dioramas

State Fish Hatcheries: Freshwater Fish Hatcheries | Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
.
 
TinoPup said:
LOUISIANA

Zoos, Aquariums, Safaris, large Nature Centers, etc:
  • Alexandria Zoological Park, Alexandria – Zoo – AZA – Train that goes around entire perimeter.
  • Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, New Orleans – Aquarium – AZA – Sea otters. KultureCity.
  • Audubon Zoo / Audubon Nature Institute, New Orleans – Zoo – AZA, WAZA – KultureCity.
  • Barn Hill Preserve, Ethel – Zoo – Tours – Interaction-focused zoo that has otter swims, striped hyena, etc.
  • BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo, Baton Rouge – Zoo, Aquarium – Train that goes around entire perimeter. KultureCity.
  • Gators & Friends, Greenwood – Herps, Zoo – Mostly American alligators. Lemurs, deer, domestics. Go-karts.
  • Global Wildlife Center, Folsom – Safari – Wagon tours.
  • Gone Wild Safari, Pineville – Safari – Drive yourself.
  • Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo, Monroe – Zoo – Boat ride, only way to see some hoofstock. Train goes over lagoon, through hoofstock pastures. Formerly Monroe Zoo.
  • Shreveport Aquarium, Shreveport – Aquarium – AZAptm – No mammals, medium sized sharks.
  • Wild Country Safari Park, Delhi – Safari – Drive yourself or a guided tour (wagon?).
  • Zoosiana, Zoo of Acadiana, Broussard – Zoo – ZAA – Train, website indicates it goes through pastures.

Smaller Nature Centers and places with a limited amount of species:
  • Bayou Pierre Alligator Park, Natchitoches – CLOSED.
  • Blue Zoo Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge – Aquarium, Petting Zoo – Mall aquarium with a lot of non-animal activities for kids.
  • BREC’s Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center, Baton Rouge – NC – Live animals.
  • Cameroon Park Zoo, Keithville - ?? – Working on building a location? Native rescues, kangaroos, etc.
  • Chimp Haven, Keithville – Primate – Tours – GFAS.
  • Cypress Nature Study Center, Benton – NC – Fish, possibly others.
  • Cypress Pond Gator Pond, Lake Charles – Herps – Like a town deer yard, but with alligators.
  • Cypress Zoo, Benton – Zoo – Very small town zoo. Mostly native species and domestics. In Cypress Black Bayou Recreation and Water Conservation District.
  • Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center, New Orleans – Ungulates – Private – AZAc – Part of Audubon Zoo.
  • Gator Chateau, Jennings – Herps – A bunch of young alligators at a highway visitor center.
  • Gator Country/Natchitoches Alligator Park, Natchitoches – Herps – Go by multiple names. Go in the water with young gators, feed, hold snakes, etc.
  • Greenwood Gator Farm, Gibson – Herps – Tours – Facility tours, swamp tours.
  • Insta-Gator Ranch & Hatchery, Covington – Herps – Hold, feed. Help an egg hatch and put the baby in water for the first time.
  • Jubilee Zoo, Shreveport – Petting Zoo – Appointments – Only open for parties. Mostly domestics, zebras.
  • Jungle Gardens, Avery Island – Birds – No captive animals? Do tours of wild birds, though.
  • Kliebert & Sons Gator Tours, Ponchatoula – Herps – American Alligators, a few others.
  • LSU Mike the Tiger’s Habitat, Baton Rouge – Carnivore – Tiger mascot’s exhibit.
  • Museum of Natural History, Monroe – NH Museum, aquarium – Multiple fish tanks. University of Louisiana at Monroe.
  • Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery & Aquarium, Natchitoches – Hatchery – USFWS – Focus on Louisiana pearlshell mussel, gulf coast striped bass, alligator snapping turtle, bluegill, redear, channel catfish, largemouth bass, other recreational species.
  • Pinola Conservancy, Pinola Aviary, Shreveport – Birds – Private – AZAc – Major producer of birds for zoos.
  • Zam’s Swamp Tour, Thibodaux – Herps – American alligators, a few others.

Better places to see domestics:
  • Morgan City Petting Zoo, Morgan City – Petting Zoo – Domestics.
  • Tiger Truck Stop, Grosse Tete – Store – Only domestics now? Formerly had tigers.
  • Triple H Exotics, Ragley - ?? – Can’t find current info.
  • Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park, Shreveport – NC – Deer, BOP, herps.

Natural History Museums and other notable facilities without animals:
  • Louisiana Museum of Natural History, Baton Rouge – Museum – Louisiana State University. Includes the LSU Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State Anthropod Museum, Textile & Costume Museum, Herbarium, etc.
  • Touchstone Wildlife & Art Museum, Haughton – Museum – Dioramas

State Fish Hatcheries: Freshwater Fish Hatcheries | Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
.
Click to expand...

Another facility:

Wings Of Hope (Livingston, LA)
 
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