PAWsitively Wild Animal Encounters — Attraction in Atoka

We arrived right at opening on a Saturday. I had my reservations about this place being another "Tiger King" type of environment, and it pains me to write that it was exactly that. Skip to the end if you want the TL;DR.

After a very fast introduction to the layout of the building, we were allowed to roam. There were some staff with baby kangaroos (wallabies?) in sacks. At human touch, the joeys would kick and seemed agitated. I asked the staff why they did that, and they just said, "He's just being silly." Not sure what to make of that. There were some signs saying not to touch certain animals, and we moved into the primary interactive space.

All the enclosures had concrete floors with a light dusting of pine shavings. The enclosures were constructed of dog kennel paneling for the large animals and a mixture of other enclosure types for the birds and small animals. The pine shavings looked mostly clean, but it was so thin I suspect these animals are resting directly on the concrete during off-hours. There was zero identification of the animal species, age, origin, educational materials – nothing on the enclosures. The free-roaming calves had hooves that were in poor condition and they were in need of a farrier. I was appalled at the enclosure conditions of the prairie dogs; bugs in the food, stagnant old water, and a lot of feces (see image). There was an enclosure with about 6 fawns. They didn't have teeth yet and clearly were bottle babies. Why do they have so many? Where are the moms? Who knows! There was no staff around to ask.

The birds. There was a macaw on a perch and two more in an enclosure. The macaw on the perch was STRESSED!!! I will not BS you here; I do not own birds. I have never owned a bird. That said, any idiot with eyes and some skills in observation can see this poor thing was puffed out, beak gaping, began to SHAKE, and move away from human touch. Its water? Barf. It had algea in it. Poor guy.

We found what I'm suspecting is the facility's breeding pair of marsupials in the back corner. Definitely an intact male and a female. They seemed okay, but why are they together and making babies? Because you need the babies for the kids to touch! What happens when the babies grow up? Dunno! There was no information or staff to ask.

Out in the barn area, it was much the same. Those conditions were a little better, but I suspect only because they were mostly farm animals and not exotics. The property didn't appear to have a pasture, and I again suspect the animals stay in the same place 24/7. The African Serval pen was way too small for an animal of that size. The owner's wife was around (yay, I can ask questions, right?) and I asked about its limp. She confirmed it had a limp and promptly ended the conversation and moved away. I was not satisfied with that response.

I feel this is a "get rich quick" thing, exploiting the animals for cash, with no concern for patron or animal safety. I think he wants the cash, she actually cares, and the animals suffer. The lack of background and education on their website is a big red flag.

TL;DR: If you want a location where your kids can touch animals mostly unsupervised by staff while the animals suffer, this is the place for you. If you want an ethical zoo experience where you interact with the animals in a way that ensures your and the animal's safety, this isn't the place for you. 0/5, will not return and will actively encourage others to avoid until major...

Very exciting and close up experience with all kinds of animals. Definitely a unique place worth visiting. However, I did have some real concerns about safety. We witnessed one of the baby bunnies inside another enclosure, and the staff said “it’s ok, they’ll go back to their enclosure”. Soon after, the baby bunny was eaten by the other animal! The staff response was “it happens” 😱 I feel like the animals should be kept safe from one another. One of the baby deer bit my 5 year old nephew in the side while trying to chew on his shirt. It was an accident (not like the deer was aggressive) but still really scared him and if it had broken the skin it would’ve been a trip to the doctor’s office for antibiotics. We were told not to pet the birds because they bite, but one of them was outside of its cage which made me very uncomfortable with my 2 year old. I think they should have more information (maybe signs or more staff) to let people know about the animals (at least the species) and any safety concerns or age appropriate precautions. Hope this helps other families prepare for...

Every time we have been here we have so enjoyed the animals. Such kind hearted staff members. I can tell they work hard to provide the animals with a comfortable environment. I wish the people who come here to visit were more mindful of being kind to animals. Last time we were here a little girl kicked the deer because she didn't want it to eat the food in her cup (that food is meant to be fed to the animals), it was quite upsetting that her parents did nothing. When we spoke up to the parents we got evil glares and told to mind our business. If you do visit here please be kind to the staff and the animals because they deserve better than abusive visitors! If you cannot keep your kids in check do not bring them to places where they can bring harm to others! I hope this place gets all the love...