Global Wildlife Center — Attraction in Independence

I've been here many times, both as a kid and an adult, as I grew up in the area. Wildlife tourism is a sticky area of ethics but Global Wildlife, I think, probably falls into one of the gray areas where staff and owners are doing their best to provide an educational space for children to become passionate about animals while still turning a buck or two.

There was a somewhat-recent (2020ish) article online, with former staff making accusations regarding the treatment and care of animals, and I made sure to read it in full before I went and look closely for examples of these issues at the park - namely that animals were often injured by tour wagons and left to die. I'm really happy to say that, not only did I not see a single animal with any kind of injury or illness, but there was a clearly visible area where several animals were being kept and quarantined, so I felt that the article's implications of animals left in the fields to suffer while not receiving any veterinary care was likely either overstated or has been greatly corrected. Additionally the interviewee alleged that the vehicles on property were dangerous to the animals and needed modifications that the management refused to do, but when I went today those exact mods were clearly installed on the vehicles, so obviously that has been done. It also seems emergency buttons have been added, so if a rear wagon needs to alert the driver to an emergency (like an animal stuck between the wagons or a person with a medical emergency), there is a way to do that now. I was overall satisfied that, whatever issues were discussed in the article, the park had addressed to completion.

Our tour guide was funny, knowledgeable, seemed genuinely passionate about animals, and really showed a desire to make sure the guests had fun and the animals stayed safe. Every staff member we interacted with was friendly, helpful, and upbeat. The animals and grounds looked healthy, clean, and well kept. We really did have a wonderful time!

If I had a few complaints, they would be as follows:

I was visiting with toddlers, who did not enjoy the "long" wait of 10-ish minutes in line to board, and then another 10-20 ish minutes of waiting around before the tractor took off. This would bother no one over 4/5 years old, but it was a tough few minutes with toddlers staring at buckets of food and trying to remain seated.

-I have wished for a long time that GW would add additional enclosures of other animals. My daughter and niece were asking about things like hippos, flamingos, owls, and capybaras, all of which seem like possible great additions to the grounds here and would be a nice exotic addition, adding a little more variety to the hoofstock.

-I listened as closely as I could to the tour guide and really didn't hear much if anything mentioned about conservation efforts or endangered animals, besides the Chinese deer. The fact is that even animals not currently endangered or threatened still often need stricter protections, and teaching children/guests about the need for environmental protection is essential for preserving animal populations in the future. I would love if more language was added about this in tour speeches.

Even with these small things though I would gladly go back again and again. I can only hope the owner/manangers are doing their best to put the funds they receive to good use, but I know our group had an amazing time watching our kids learn about and interact with the animals. Highly...

This was the third time we've come here but it had been several years since the last time we were here. We happened to have some giraffes come straight up to where we were on our wagon, and that made our whole experience worth it and amazing - otherwise it would absolutely not have been worth it for the price, for multiple reasons, which I'll list below. Please keep in mind there were other wagons the giraffes didn't approach at all.

Also, before I get into this, I do want to say that the employee leading the tour was informative, interactive, and had a good sense of humor. He unfortunately shouted an expletive into the microphone when something went awry at some point (we couldn't see as we were in the last wagon and he was in the first one) - not the best look with wagons full of kids but, things happen.

Reserving online does not give you any preferred seating, closer spot in line, etc. The line was very long, and we waited a long time in the heat (past time for when the tour was supposed to start) with nowhere to sit without losing our spot in line, and when the line started moving there was zero employee oversight and people were cutting in front of us. There are no accommodations for people with disabilities to be able to rest or get in the shade while still having a spot in line. Due to the fact that people cut in front of us, we ended up being all the way in the back, with the least amount of animals coming to us and also making it extremely difficult to hear the tour guide.

Little to no employee oversight. There is not an employee on every wagon ensuring safety and monitoring what's going on. Our wagon was total chaos and did not make a pleasant experience. Hardly any animals came to our wagon at all. When the giraffes came, which was amazing, they came to the exact spot where my family was sitting. We were absolutely SWARMED with everyone else's kids (and some adults) on the wagon, literally stepping on our feet, crawling over our laps, ruining our photos, and even taking our animal feed, which was $$$$ and there's no way to buy more once you're on the tour.

Also, there was a mom with an infant on the wagon. She propped her up and the baby fell from the bench on to the floor of the wagon and there's very little chance that baby didn't have a concussion.

TL/DR: if the giraffes had not come over, we would have felt like we had been scammed. Even though they did, lack of employee oversight allowed for our experience to be nearly...

I've never really done anything like this before so I wasn't sure what to expect. Let me walk you through your visit so you know how this works. Once you get to the driveway, you need to slow down because the animals immediately greet you as you drive the long, shelled way to the center. Once you get there and get through the ticket building, you are now in a large waiting outdoor area with lots of room to run (for the kids), a giant covered picnic area with tables, and several covered viewing spots over the lake. There's a snowball truck and a food truck waiting for those hungry and hot guests who have some time to kill before the tour starts. When it does start, you all file into one of the covered and fanned wagons attacked to a tractor. It was pretty hot outside, but the electric fans help a lot to keep you comfortable. They give you buckets of feed and cups to scoop. And the you're off! It's a slow ride through a menagerie of various hungry animals. You'll see deer, rhea (like an ostrich), giant cows, and hopefully giraffes. The horse of animals with follow while you throw out food. They were all so hungry despite being fed by previous tours that day, so you'll always get a chance to feed these guys up close. The giraffes didn't come to us (I guess they were full) but there were so many herds of other animals that we were busy pretty much the whole ride. Eventually you run out of food and just sit and enjoy the views as the animals start to wander away while your guide tells you more of the history of the place. And then the roughly hour and a half ride is over, although it never felt that long. You exit right in front the bathroom and hand washing station. There's options to pet kangaroos and watch capybara paint, but they have specific times they do those, so most people head to the exit through the gift shop. Yes, the gift shop is expensive. But most of the proceeds go right to the animals, so it's understandable. My only gripe is I still have not found a good adult safari hat despite the number of zoo and wildlife gift shops I've been in. There's less clothing and hat options here than there are toys and things of that sort. Tons of stuffed animals live here so there's definitely something that will make you say AWWW and...