Luray Zoo A Rescue Zoo

Reviews 3

KA

Katherine Neal

I visited the zoo in August of 2012, and was upset with what I saw. I drove up there to see the snake collection, because I had heard it was the best in VA. When I got there, I found there certainly was a large collection of snakes... almost none of which are healthy. I am not sure how to gauge the weight of venomous snakes by looking, but they all appeared quite thin. Some barely breathed when I watched them, even for 30+ seconds, basically indicating that they were feeling lethargic (even for a snake). Most of the snakes didnt have any sort of log or hide box to escape into, and many had too little water in their dishes. The enclosures were dirty. Worst of all were the skin problems-- there were a large number of snakes there which were shedding poorly, with strips of old skin still clinging to their bodies, indicating the humidity is way too low for them. One individual had so many pieces of old skin still stuck to it that it basically had not shed at all, and until I saw it breathe I thought this may have been a dessicated carcass rather than a living snake-- thats how bad it looked. The zoo has a pair of large pythons-- a reticulated python and a burmese. Both appeared to be lacking muscle tone. Since Mark, the owner, is the only person who handles the snakes, there shouldnt have been any large pythons there anyway as these require more than one person to handle due to weighing in excess of 200 lbs. Furthermore, the reticulated python had almost no water. The burm had strips of skin stuck to it, again indicating that humidity is too low. Such low humidity will harm and can kill snakes. The problems did not end with the snakes. There is a single Bengal tiger on exhibit. This animal was, in my opinion, quite skinny for a tiger of that size; it was not emaciated, but clearly had little muscle mass and was therefore not being fed and exercised enough. One of the gray parrots on display was sitting with fluffed feathers, a common sign of illness in birds. There was a dove exhibit with way too many birds for the space they were given. One was sitting on the ground and I suspect it was sick. The whole zoo smelled, indicating that cleaning was not exactly meticulous (I know animals can smell, but zoos are generally kept as pristine as possible as the animals are on public display). I suspect this zoo is broke. The "bathrooms", for instance (a pair of port-a-johns) had no hand sanitizer. A quick look at the gift shop reveals nearly empty soda refrigerators. I spoke to Mark, the owner of the zoo, and basically played dumb, acting like I know little about caring for snakes or other exotics and letting him talk. My impression is that I was talking to a man who had some passion for snakes but had become embittered and, finally, broke (I didnt ask him about the history of the zoo; this is my subjective impression, based on how he talked about the snakes, the zoo, and the visitors). I suspect he had enthusiasm at one point, but through a combination of ignorance (he said his knowledge of how to handle and care for venomous snakes came from his mother, who had kept snakes; he may never have gone to the trouble of researching them further, believing the skills hed learned to be adequate), apathy (no matter how broke you are, you can still clean the poo out and put water in the dishes), and financial problems, basically gave up on trying to care properly for the zoo animals. I feel sorry both for him and the animals stuck in his care; the whole situation is just sad. There are some enthusiasts out there who keep venomous snakes, and it would be nice if some responsible zoos and private owners could take at least some of his animals.

WI

Will Chase

This is a really, really nice small zoo. Actually, I have been to many other larger municipal zoos which are not as nice as this one. Its a rescue zoo, so (as I understand) most/many of the animals in the zoo were abandoned by folks not interested in keeping their exotic pets any more...However, I rate the zoo as "Okay" for one very simple reason: ZOO GUY! Yes, the only "downer" in the zoo is the actual owner...he is very confrontational and is quick to dispel any ideas/thoughts which he thinks are not correct (usually you will not even know hes around, until he goes-off on you, or your toddler child...yes, toddler child)...example: Four year old child points at King Cobra and says "Snake look mean Da Da!"...Zoo Guy magically appears from nowhere, and then springs into action: "Snakes are not mean, they are products of their environment. People are mean, kids who call snakes mean are bad kids and need to be spanked...you should learn more about snakes...you are so wrong, and misinformed little guy" (walking off shaking head in disgust)...Ok, you get the idea. Ive been to the zoo several times, and I swear this guy probably spends half his day constantly negatively accosting patrons about their absolute ignorance about the zoos animals...pretty annoying...would love to close and lock the door on him while hes in the tiger cage, but that would not be a nice thing to do to the tiger... Zoo Guy also has a crazy negative perception/obsession about domestic animals...namely cats; and hes not afraid to let you know about it either... One day I visited and he had a domestic cat in a small cage with a sign in front of it which stated that domestic cats are responsible for more death and destruction than all animals in the world combined (no, really)..say what? One day I asked Zoo Guy if he had ever been to any of the exotic places where his animals are from...he immediately answers "hell no...I could care less about going anywhere...". Nice, so zoo guy is not only unapproachable, hes small mined and unworldly too...surely, Zoo Guy will probably not be nominate for "Most Interesting Man in the World" anytime soon... So, dont get me wrong, this is a nice place, and overall Zoo Guy does a great job with the zoo ...however, if you do visit be forewarned to stay clear of the zoos most obnoxious, ornery and petulant creature...you got it, ZOO GUY!

SA

Sarah Threet

First thing, the front door is an alligator mouth, my kids (2 and 3 years old) were a little nervous walking through that door. :) The kids price was wonderful! Free for under 3, and only $5 for kids. $10 for adults was a little much for what there was. If you are into snakes, this may be more fun for you. The snakes were very active in the cages, and that just made me nervous. While we were in the first snake room, the owner was in the second snake room giving the "rules" of the "zoo." Just unbelievable! No running is understandable, and no throwing the rocks, also understandable. But he said "No making animal sounds at the animals!!" and proceeded to scold the group about what noises mean what to animals, and you are showing aggression by doing that. Then he told all of these CHILDREN that 30 people die every year from dog attacks and most of those were little boys growling at dogs. REALLY??? He kept saying "WHY would you do THAT??!!" Just very uncomfortable. My toddlers have been waiting for this moment too, all those months of practicing their animal sounds they can now put to practical use. We wanted to turn around right then, not 4 steps into the building. But for our kids, we went on. We hung back and waited for him to leave before we went on, so we wouldnt get the lecture. The alligators and turtles were neat to see. Then you walk outside. It seemed like most of the cages were empty. There were lemurs and some monkeys and different kids of birds. Not much to look at. I overheard the owner cornering some poor guy and giving him a speech on government run zoos and how terrible they were... anyway.... The petting zoo was fun for the kiddos. They had a blast feeding the goats and llamas and deer. Another zoo employee was there answering questions. He was a little abrasive, and intrusive, but nothing like the first guy. But that was the zoo. They had a sign for a porcupine and tiger, but they were not in their cages. Some of the animals did look sickly, but it is a rescue zoo, its to be expected. Bathrooms are port-a-johns. But there were a few hand washing stations. A big plus there! Overall, we could have saved our $25 and went to a market to feed some goats. But it was worth a shot, while we were in the area.

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