Tanganyika Wildlife Park — Attraction in Goddard

I have very mixed feelings about Tanganyika. Do the kids enjoy getting up close to the animals? Yes. But is it right….I don’t think so. I raised concerns today about the condition of 2 different animals (a kangaroo and a rabbit). The kangaroo was skin and bones and out where the kids could pet it and stress it out more. In my opinion, this animal needed to be back behind the scenes getting rest and care. I’m not a kangaroo expert but I know what skinny on an animal is. I alerted a worker and they gave me a line about her being older and also new and having health issues. Which is fine, but if that’s the case, why is this animal out for humans to bother and further stress?

I have a big issue with the Guinea pig and rabbit care provided. Multiple Guinea pigs were obviously pregnant, which leads me to believe that they were not keeping males and females separated or neutering the males. There is a huge overpopulation of these pets so I don’t know what they do with all the babies other than replace the older animals when they die prematurely due to the poor treatment they receive. It was extremely hot today and Guinea pigs should not be out in the heat. The Guinea pigs at least had access inside. Rabbits also shouldn’t be out in this heat. Yes, I know these animals live in these conditions in the wild, but these are domesticated animals that do not live in these conditions. There was a rabbit out who had a huge bald spot on his back. He had been scratched, either by another bunny or himself on this bald spot and it was red and irritated. I’ve had several house rabbits myself who I’ve provided regular vet care for, and I know a bald spot like that is not normal. The direction given was to use 2 fingers to pet the animals on the back, so of course this poor guy with the irritated back was trying to hide, but wasn’t very successful. I again alerted staff, who told me he was new and a rescue. She did call the keepers to come check on him which I appreciate. And again, it was so hot. Rabbits sleep during the day and are active first thing in the morning and in the evening so to throw them out in an outdoor petting zoo situation where they don’t have access to an escape is really not fair to them.

I know Tanganyika has zoo certifications, but several of the enclosures seem very small to me. I do not plan to visit when they raise their prices next year, but I hope as they do so, they will make improvements focused on the best interests of the animals, and not just the big-ticket animals, but every single animal...

I took my flight from Mexico to be able to do my ultimate weekend at the Tanganyika zoo and it has truly been one of the best experiences of my life. I had never been in a zoo where you could interact with the animals like I did in this one. The check-in was super fast. They gave me my introductory talk about the generals of the experience, both Ana and Olivia were super nice and friendly. Once inside the zoo the magic begins. With the ultimate weekend access you can do many activities such as feeding the giraffes, the hippos, the lemurs that are incredible, lorikeets among others. But the best of the ultimate weekend are the meet and greets you have access to. When the time comes, the zoo keepers bring the animal they are in charge of and give you a super complete explanation of all the basics and even details that you can't even imagine about these animals. Each of them is super remarkable not only for the information they give you but also for the ability to care for and train animals in a super healthy environment and without any type of animal abuse. Of all the keepers and trainers, I would like to highlight how well Kiana (Otters, Penguins), Omar and Karen (Lemurs and primates), Kayleigh (giraffes), Ben (Bengal tiger), Miranda and Amy( Kangaroos), Becky (Mandrils),Erin (Rhinos) , Marta (Penguins) Sam O (Sloth) do their job. Among many others who always had an excellent attitude and a smile that, in addition to inviting you to enjoy the experience, shows how much they love their work. The experience that I liked the most was swimming with the penguins, which I think, if I'm not mistaken, is the only zoo in the United States that does it. Something that I really liked was the attention they always had in the administrative part. The logistics of the activities was very well planned and Regina was always very attentive to each change of activity. if I had to highlight the activities in the meet and greets, I would list the best ones as follows. 1.-Swim with penguins 2.-Interaction with the kangaroos 3.-Interaction with Otters 4.-Interaction with the Lemurs 5.-Feed the Lions (which by the way are impressive, perhaps the biggest lion I've ever seen) and the melanistic leopard or panther. This experience was incredible, highly...

This park is relatively small compared to other "zoo's." The main draw is interactive animal feedings throughout. This year's entrance model is charging very high entrance prices offering unlimited feedings (no more scanning a card on a lanyard to prove Gold membership) and having the addition of a "free" meal or two and snacks, and fountain soft drinks, and a friend in free every visit. The lunch meal and side selections were very meager as were meal sizes. There are a couple of gluten free items, but I would be wary of cross contamination as there doesn't appear to be a separate area in the kitchen for gluten free meal prep. Meals have to be ordered in advance of picking them up. Only the lunch menu was online. They offer a breakfast but there was no way to discover the menu. Also, members and their guests only get one meal per person, per mealtime. Kids meals aren't offered. Recent years had concessions and one could purchase or renew their purchase for a special lidded cup and get unlimited smoothie/icee type drinks or soft drinks from their self-serve fountains, water wasnt a choice in the fountain, diet/zero options were limited to one or two selections. It doesn't appear to be an option this year to have unlimited smoothies in Tanganyika cups(2025.) Alcoholic or specialty drinks are available for a fee. New members are gifted with a small fanny pack with coupons- one was for one free specialty drink. In addition to pictured food, baked chicken breast was available and, baked ckn sandwich were additional entrees and bagged potato chips as one of the three sides.

The playground is in some state of disrepair and missing sections of the tall slide. Hopefully it will be quickly repaired. Obviously the splash pad wasn't running in March, despite the day's high of 82°!

The food came cold, and wasn't particularly delicious. But we ate out of necessity and hunger. Very unimpressed with the choices and execution of meals. I'd rather have $100 knocked off the membership fee and go w/o meals. I've been to "all inclusive" attractions before and the meals were unlimited and knock-your-socks-off. Tanganyika has some work to do if they want this...