Emerald Coast Zoo — Attraction in Florida

This is a very nice and spacious zoo. You feel so up close to all the animals. All the enclosures have these cute little placards with all the animals names in the enclosure on them, that gave it a very personal feel. We did the kangaroo encounter with Dakota and he was very nice and knowledgeable. We caught the keeper in charge of the wolves while feeding them and that was cool to watch, I didn’t catch the woman’s name but you can tell she really cares for the wolves and they have a bond, she didn’t mind to stop what she was doing and tell us about the wolves and answer any questions that we had. Feeding the giraffes was really cool too. They also have the biggest tortoise I have ever seen in my life! The monkeys were running around playing and that was awesome to watch as well. All of the animals were active, we got to see EVERYTHING. Everything looked healthy.

It’s a great experience but here’s why I can’t give it 5 stars. The reptile area is subpar. It looks as if they have more snakes than they have room for and they are very large snakes. 3 large Reticulated Pythons in one enclosure together. 2 large Burmese Pythons in another enclosure together. Those kinds of snakes at the size they’re at need at least an 8ft enclosure for ONE. From my experience and knowledge, they’re not typically housed together either. Something else that really got me… an uneducated over-exaggerating keeper. He overheard us talking about the Croc Monitor, and said “wow someone who actually knows their stuff”, he was very correct. We chatted for a brief moment and he proceeded to tell me they have a 9ft 250lbs snake. Now that’s just not true. It’s unrealistic. If you know about snakes then you know that’s just not possible. It was a turnoff to hear a worker over exaggerate like that.

Overall, a good place, fun for the...

Rude! Today, 02/17/25, my little one and I went to the zoo, and I was so disappointed. My little one loves birds, and it's the only thing we go there for. So, we bought 3 sticks with food for the birds, and we're excited to see some. But instead of having fun, we've been disturbing all the time by a lady who sold us the sticks and was watching that area. She was rude, saying, "Hey!" to everyone who was reaching the birds because they were hiding all the time. So all those 20-25 min we were there, I kept hearing, "Don't touch that, don't go there, don't lean on the fence," and "Hey! Hey! Hey!" - to us, and other customers! Since I bought 3 sticks, I asked for a little bag to keep them, so my purse won't be dirty, and when our sticks were empty, I poured all the seeds I had left to my little ones hand and mine, and we were just reaching birds, by showing them our hands full of seeds, and that lady said - "if you don't have sticks, youre not supposed to do what yoire doing!" O, my!!! How rude it is!! Are you serious?! My little one is only 3 years old, and she is discovering the world! Why be so rude and disturb people all the time?! Interesting, but when I asked her something about birds, like what time is better to come so they're not hiding, or sleeping all the time - she said "I don't know, I'm actually working with the giraffes".... Guys, if you want to keep customers happy, you should do something with such behavior. Because I'm now seriously thinking of not coming there anymore. It's pity we bought an...

Great local "Zoo" to take your family to, also helps with local wildlife rescue and release which is a major plus. The property is not the prettiest, but the entire operation has changed owners recently and the current staff are very friendly and knowledgeable and have been making huge improvements over time to the entire area. Not a ton of different animal species, but a great selection for a smaller zoo. I would like to see more "pairs"/additions to the animals that are solo so long as they can live in a social environment.

A great must visit attraction if you are local.

Also in response to those complaining of the animals being "underfed", in "bad shape", or having too small of spaces...I was unaware we had so many Zoologists in the local area who could chime in with their EXPERT opinions on wild animals in captivity. Most wild animals tend to stay skinny/slim as opposed to the domesticated ones we deal with on a daily basis and being overweight is just as dangerous to them as it is to us (if not more in some cases), and in the end most animals just want food, mates, and a SAFE environment where they feel comfortable, so huge roaming areas are not really necessary for most so long as they are provided with entertainment for themselves (Which most/all cages had) and a good area to roam. Overall this is nowhere near the worse zoo I have...