Summerfield Zoo — Attraction in Flora Township

There are some animals there. There is petting zoo area with baby goats and probably some other animals. I didn't go to that area so I can't say exactly what is there. They have: wolves, reindeer, emus, foxes, horses, ostrich, alligators, chickens, hens, tortoises, turtles, hares, various birds -some that could be pets others not, some big cats, some animal that is a close relative to raccoons, a zebra, a camel, and a pig. I know I probably missed some because an area was blocked off but that's most of them. A lot of the cages for the animals seemed awfully small for living spaces; especially the wolves, who need space to run. There are quite a few animals that don't have an option to get out of the sun when it is directly over head. I felt bad for most of the animals that had no cooler space to escape to in the middle of a hot day. Most of the animals seemed small for their size. If it weren't for things in this paragraph, this place would probably get 4 stars.

There are many positive things about this place too. I've never been able to get so close to any of the non-farm/pet animals that you'd see in a zoo. Most of the cages, for the dangerous animals, have a few feet of clearance between you and the animal; with a double cage to ensure that you are safe. There is a nursery for the baby animals that they have open on certain days. There's an equine program that might include a camel (?). You can volunteer to help out with the animals (?). And I'm sure there are many other things that I didn't see or don't know about. It's a small zoo with a small amount of animals. If you're looking for a large space to roam, or think that this will be a typical zoo, this is not that place. But, if you're looking for a nice time with the family and you want to get closer to some animals than you would at a regular zoo, this...

We had been here a few times before but this past time was a little less than stellar. It started with admission. They had a young employee/volunteer helping to sell tickets who wasn't very knowledgeable about what prices were and how to accept payment. It took a while to get our tickets to get in. Once we were in the zoo we saw the animal show. They were very knowledgeable about the cute little animals but it was more interactive in the past. We walked around and saw a lot of empty cages which was disappointing because it's not cheap to get into anymore. They have a camel and a zebra that you can see in the distance but can't get to, they had horses they were taking to a field outside the zoo so you couldn't see them. I was just disappointed that they charge $13/person to walk around and basically see a petting zoo of animals. The only good thing was the wolf pup. My son has been wanting to see a wolf pup for years here and the last time we came they were fixing the enclosure for the wolves so we couldn't see them. He was able to hold one and take a picture with it which was so great for him...

All the animals seemed to be in good condition and well taken care of. All of the paths and the parking lot are dirt - so good chance of mud.

We went for Christmas town. They sell time tickets so it wasn't crowded even on an unseasonably warm December Saturday right before Christmas. We loved the reindeer barn. The flight school show (baby reindeer learning what it takes to be one of Samta's reindeer) was very basic but cute. We enjoyed the photo opportunity with the reindeer after. Santa is in a cute little cabin. One family goes on at a time which increases the intimacy.

Not all animals are on exhibit this time a year. Most animals could come and go from their yard to the indoor habitat at will. There was an impressive array of animals including cougars, bobcats, lynx, wolves, foxes, otters (although the plexiglass on the other exhibit is extremely hard to see through), hyena, camel, zebra, donkey, and goats.

The souvenir shop was extremely over priced.

Overall a fun excursion. We will be going again when we can...