Tregembo Animal Park

Reviews 3

CA

Candace Williams

I had an awful experience. After paying we were told we had one hour, and they sure meant that, we were treated like criminals because we left at 5:01 and not 5:00. At 20 minutes until 5 they came around and reminded everyone of the time, which is reasonable. But I was there with my 83 year old grandmother, my 2.5 year old, and my infant that I was pushing in a stroller, so we were the last people on the walking trail. We were followed out by the men, when we stopped, they stopped, so it became very apparent they were making sure we left by 5 pm and no later. I finally asked if we were being chased out in which they both jumped at the opportunity to tell us that we had "8 minutes until they closed." I politely told them we were aware of the time and that we would finish looking at the rest of the zoo, of which we were almost finished. At 5:00 on the dot, my daughter and I were looking at the last exhibit when a lady comes out and very loudly proclaimed that it was 5. As I walked up to the door I asked if she was the manager and she rudely said, "no! Im the owner honey!" I was flabbergasted to the point of not knowing what to say because I was utterly shocked that an owner of a business would treat paying customers with such disrespect. I was not given a chance to explain why I was upset nor did she care. All she cared to do was very angrily go on and on about how she "closes at 5 and no later" and that "if I had come earlier" I wouldnt have been rushed out and "they have to feed the animals." They had already fed some of the animals because they were all at the back of their concrete "dog pens" eating and we couldnt see some of the animals because of this. I paid $20 for myself and my 2.5 year old and regret ever stepping foot on this property. Not only are the animals very depressed, the owner is extremely rude, and obviously ungrateful for her customers. My problem was not with the closing time, as we would have been finished even without being chased out, but with HOW we were treated in the process. I have NEVER been treated so poorly by the owner of a business. And as if it couldnt get worse, I was nursing my infant in my car before leaving the parking lot and was supervised by this woman, she sat behind me in her vehicle until I left, so much for feeding the animals! It was all very ridiculous!!! Needless to say, dont waste your money. This place was more like a prison than a zoo, very few animals are in natural habitat, and there are pacing paths because the animals are bored, stressed, and obviously hopeless. If this woman treats people this way I can only imagine how she treats those animals.

KA

Kaitlyn Duhon

Im really not sure what rating I should give. . Today my husband, 15 month old, and I visited this zoo. We got there at 2 and stayed until they closed at 5. I got online to see what other people had to say about this place and thought I would share also... The staff was very nice to us! We bought three bags of peanuts and a bag of corn to feed the animals. I think this zoo is trying hard to help these rescued <--- animals, unfortunately, most of the cages were small and didnt provide what the animals need. The Tigers, black leopard, Bobcat, bear and lion were pacing. We liked feeding the bears the peanuts, but didnt like how we had to chuck them into the cages. The monkeys didnt care about the peanuts what so ever. The giraffe was beautiful!! Sadly, alone and without tress. She was trying so hard to reach a branch from a tree outside her cage... Sticking her tongue out... I felt horrible. Most animals didnt have water or if they did it was very dirty. They had amazing animals... Beautiful animals and the zoo was very clean. We were there when most of the animals got fed... The Bears got a lot of tomatoes, half a watermelon, lettuce... The moneys got mainly white powdered donuts ?? I didnt like how they throw the food inside the cage with a bucket.. Half the food didnt even make it inside the cage and the guy kept slamming the bucket on the side of the cage to get everything out. It was loud for us and Im sure the animal inside didnt like it The thing that bothered me the most was the otter. Otters are so fun to watch and they love water and Ive never seen an otter look so unhappy. This otter didnt have clean water no branches no waterfall just dirty water and ALOT of sunlight. Kangaroos needed more shade. The black leopard was very very aggravated. We took multiple videos.. it was hissing and pacing trying to attack or maybe play ( hopefully ) with the other spotted leopard. They had no room to run and hunt. The black leopard was watching a monkey in another cage and looked like it wanted to hunt / eat. Im sure I could go on and on, but Im just going to stop and say I visited and wont be returning. I wish the best for these animals. I wish they all had fresh clean running water and toys to play with. . Sorry for my long post.

A

A Private User

Im giving it one star because I cant give it zero. First, the positives: the cages seem to be kept fairly clean, as were the walkways (except for peacock poop, noted below) and grounds in general. The little playground adjacent to the "snack bar" is a nice touch, to let the little kids actually behave like little kids. Thats it for the postive. There should be laws prohibiting this type of animal exhibit. The enclosures for most of these animals are entirely too small, especially the big cats and those pitiful bears. The signs posted everywhere, prohibiting loudness and running, are ironic. Do you suppose its the living conditions that bother the animals, more than the behavior of the people who pay to gawk at them all day long? Also, many of the animals appear to be extremely thin, so much so that they actually look underfed. Perhaps the staff expects that the animals are adequately sustained by the corn and peanuts thrown at them...through the bars of the cages. The peacocks running free and a) scaring the wits out of small children with their aggressive chasing and screaming, and b) pooping all over the walking paths, was an added bonus. Last, but certainly not least, is the rude staff and complete lack of customer service. I came close to walking out before I even made it past the cash registers. Im sure they must be tired of people complaining about them all the time; it cant be good for morale. But heres a tip: worry more about the guy whos wandering around chain-smoking and less about whether or not my child is drinking contraband tap water from a sippy cup while sitting outside the CLOSED snack bar at 12 noon on a summer afternoon. So, in summary: terrible customer service, animal habitats that border on cruelty, arbitrary "rules" enforced at random, and rude stinky peacocks. Also, its overpriced. Skip it and try one of these other kid-friendly attractions, instead: Childrens Museum of Wilmington, North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, Cape Fear Serpentarium, New Hanover County Arboretum or Airlie Gardens.

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