Scovill Zoo — Attraction in Decatur

This is by far the most depressing zoo I have ever been to! The animals look completely miserable and some of the cages/exhibits looked too small for some of the animals. The animals such as the camels and zebras seemed fine, being that it is close to their normal environment; but almost all of animals were near the gate wanting to get out of their exhibit. Left us completely heartbroken. The wolf looked thin and I didn’t see another one in there, which they are pack animals and need to have companionship. The eagles had just a gated area and probably had their wings clipped to avoid them flying off, which wing clipping is common for pet birds, but it would probably be nicer for an enclosed cage so they can still fly. Didn’t see a perch either. The tuffed deer was curled up in the corner against the door in the back of the the exhibit, because it was the only bit of shade it had and it’s housing was shut with bricks to prevent it from opening! Probably because there are barely any animals here. It’s incredibly hot today. I feel so bad for the penguins too. Some, if not all, of the small animals you can actually have as pets. The flamingos and what I think were pelicans had a COMPLETELY bone dry pool with only totes of water randomly placed around that the pelican struggled to get water from. If I could post pictures of what I saw I would. I’m so furious I could cry!

The food is not only bad, but so were their drinks. The sodas were flat so they gave me a lemonade, which tasted like water with a shots worth of actual lemonade. We had nachos, chili cheese dog, hotdog and slushes. Slushes weren’t bad though.

The gift shop was crowded and had nothing really appealing. The cashier was nice and professional despite kids throwing fits. Train ride and carousel were okay. The only thing that looked great was the playground in the front.

In conclusion this place either needs to be completely redone or closed permanently and have the animals go into caring sanctuaries or zoos. I saw a sign that the zoo was closing soon for the season (I think). I have no doubt that the lack of business, large animals and the condition of the zoo has everything to do with it. Please close it down. The animals...

Our family recently attended the overnight zoo camp. It was an awesome experience. Our kids had a blast. There's nothing like hearing penguins and other zoo animals throughout the night while you're sleeping. The zoo employees were incredibly thorough and patient with the kids. They answered tons of questions and let the kids get involved with tons of zoo keeper activities. We were also lucky enough to almost see two baby goats be born. We were just a few minutes late. They served dinner and breakfast and also had S'mores and ice cream. They also took us two train rides and let us all ride the carousel a couple of times the next morning. The train ride is definitely recommended if you visit this zoo. At one point the train crosses over a bridge right next to the wolf enclosure with awesome views across Decatur lake and downtown. The bathrooms and facilities were all very clean and the animals seemed very well loved and respected by the zoo employees. We will...

It's a small zoo and doesn't have a lot of animals, but the staff is extremely friendly which is a HUGE plus especially when dealing with small children. They keep the zoo clean and surprisingly the odor isn't offensive or unpleasant to where you can't enjoy a meal inside the zoo with the animals, but if you are completely opposed to that they have a beautiful and HUGE playground outside the zoo with picnic tables + umbrellas for a great picnic. The animals they do have are definitely fun & the right mix for the kids to really enjoy themselves. They also offer a animal carousel and train ride for the children which are both quite fun (the train ride isn't that long due to the zoo being smaller, but it is still very nice & the kids really love it). It can be expensive though and I would advice packing a picnic over the food they sell, but otherwise it is an AMAZING experience for families with...