Paul Bunyan Animal Land — Attraction in Minnesota

Visited for the first time today. Some of the exhibits deserve 2 stars. Some are a little better. The indoor exhibits were such a strange variation from truly deplorable abuse to very suitable enclosures. The tortoises and snakes should legit be taken away... These people do not know how to take care of them, or they just dont care. Dry shavings like a desert, absolutely no moisture, clutter, or any environmental enrichment of any kind. Truly abusive. The burm had no hide and a tiny bowl of water he could have easily tipped accidentally, couldn't fit an 8th of his body inside if he tried. The ball wasn't any better. The tortoises were miserable trying desperately to escape, just endlessly trying to escape the entire time, that's literally all they did. No hide, no bowls, just 3 very unkempt tortoises on dry substrate scratching each other's faces trying to get free. One had such an overgrown beak I really doubt it can even eat properly. The parrot was great. Some of the smaller animals were great. The review about the limping deer isn't true at all. None of the deer had overgrown hooves and none of them were limping or underweight or sick looking. There were flies, just like deer in the wild have to deal with. The arctic fox was terribly concerning. I took a video of it stumbling around. The belly is enormously bloated while the body condition remains very poor; animal moves in a dizzy, zigzag motion and shakes its head nearly constantly. Coat is scruffy and dull. Other fox looked fine aside from a similarly dull coat. I couldn't help but notice that the staple diet of nearly every animal was the same cheap dogfood, despite the varied nutritional needs of all these species. The wolf was alone, which anyone knows is torture to a wolf. The wolves enclosure was probably about 1/4 the minimum recommended size for a single large canid, I'm really unsure how they were able to get away with that. The wolf had clearly been digging out of boredom, as there were no companions and no enrichment in its cage. The leopard had 0 enrichment. Nothing. A little house to sleep in, and that's it. It couldn't climb or bask or play with a rope or ball.... Literally nothing for it to do but sleep. What a sad life. The deer were well kept and had room to roam, but the fallow were freakishly skittish, which a park employee claimed is due to them being fallow deer.... News to me, the fallows at other parks are often friendlier than the white tails, being much more closer to actual domestication! The lemurs seemed content, but they were about twice as crowded as they should have been for 4 animals in a cage that size. Poor porcupine was just bored to death, as were several other creatures with no enrichment in their enclosures. Gift shop was reasonably priced, but I didnt feel right spending money knowing it isnt going to help the actual animals. Staff were very friendly, but I found myself wondering what the heck they are doing sitting around in lawn chairs when there are cages littered in droppings and uneaten food bits. If I worked there, I'd be working to improve the animals living situations. Over all, it isnt as bad as some, but I'm not sure if I'll be back, I'm very passionate about animal welfare and I'm not...

The experience is fun for the children but, as an adult, I am concerned about the small, dinky enclosures for the animals. I am sure they are visited often by agencies responsible for licencing such places and nearly all of the animals are all of appropriate weight and size. Their eyes are bright and they seem healthy and active. The deer park experience is always a favorite for children. However, the grounds are overgrown in many areas and appeared to have a great deal of burningweed which makes it hazardous, especially for children, as the weeds are tall. Animals included a leopard, male and female lions, porcupines, pigs, prairie dogs, monkeys, camels, trout pond, deer, kangaroo, and racoons. Inside are a variety of other, smaller animals in tanks and cages as well various educational and informational items. You may purchase corn and veggies you feed to the animals from the lobby or use the quarter machines outside which dispense dog food and cereal mixtures for...

I went with low expectations based on some of the reviews, and I was pleasantly surprised. The animals are all in clean enclosures, they all look relaxed and happy. the only one that I felt bad for was the lone wolf, he paced the entire time. Otherwise, you get fairly close encounters with all the animals, there are pvc tubes placed so you can drop treats for the animals. And both the kids and the animals really enjoyed that. You can go in with the deer, that was a favorite for our kids. They also loved feeding the trout as they got splashed everytime they threw food in. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, the place is really homey and peaceful. Each enclosure has some info on the animal. We really had a great time. Definitely recommend getting the box of treats to walk around and feed. We paid $10 per person did not matter what age. And $5 for the treat box. We would definitely go again. We spent about 1.5/2...