Zoo Idaho — Attraction in Pocatello

I’ve been to some pretty big zoos but knew going into this one, that it was going to be much smaller. The animal selection was appropriate for seeing animals native to Idaho. Some of the cages seemed a bit small (remember, I’m used to massive zoos) but none of the animals seemed unhappy. In fact, what my daughter and I experienced was quite delightful.

A small town zoo doesn’t do it justice. The keepers and the animals have a connection. In many cases, we got to interact with the zoo keepers before, during, and after feeding, and saw their interaction with the animals firsthand. It seemed at times, the zoo animals were pets. Sure they kept their wild demeanor but there was a sort of domestication or familiar bond with the staff there.

Plus, each of the staff we spoke to, really took time to talk to us. My daughter was fascinated and spent a good hour following one of the staff, asking her questions. Their knowledge of the animals proved to me that they do truly care for them.

Another plus for this zoo, is the layout (for those who don’t have difficulty walking). For a short time, it felt more like we were on a nature hike, enjoying the plant life and rocky scenery.

Last plus - the cost. Cheapest zoo I’ve ever paid for!!!

I suppose the negatives would be no masks required - however, the open air and spacious layout with multiple paths to take made it easy for us to keep our distance. The zoo also wasn’t offering food/drinks and the petting zoo was closed due to COVID. Lastly, they were doing construction so a large portion was shut down and the animals moved. I didn’t feel any of these ‘negatives’ warranted dropping the review. Overall, it’s a great zoo.

I look forward to going back and so does my...

I go to zoo buddies ($3 for my kiddo and me) and Zoo for Tots ($8). They are both weekly events during the summer. Great way to get out and meet other kids and their grownups in the community. Check out the events on Facebook for all the details. But there's a reading program from Marshall library at the playground (zoo buddies) and there's a weekly story, craft, and animal encounter (zoo for tots) during the summer... Maybe longer? I'm not quite sure.

I give four stars because I saw animals there that are from this area except, in a cage and it breaks my heart. Especially birds in cages that can't fly or fly far.

I wish the zoo was more like The Living Desert (Palm Springs, CA). Most, if not all, of the animals there have been hurt and cannot be released into the wild. It doesn't make me sad to see an American Bald Eagle in a cage because it's wing was broken and it cannot fly. They even have animals that were once domesticated and eventually were abandoned or attacked their owners. Zoos need to make changes just like circuses are. There are plenty of hurt animals who don't get second chances at life, let's stop breeding animals to be put behind bars.

I do appreciate all the programs that are available to the community. They...

First time coming over the 4th of July weekend. We did not enjoy it there. First, we were confused on how to enter. You have to park across the street at the water park or on the side of the road. They have no parking lot. The animals seemed miserable. Maybe it was just too hot for them? I really wanted to see the mountain lions and the bears. Whole reason why we came here. We didn't really enjoy seeing any of them. All of the animals were just laying there and not active at all. Like I said, maybe it was just too hot for them. The bathroom was nasty. The faucet you had to hit it down not just push it down. I didn't even want to change my one year old in there, so we laid her on the grass and changed her outside. The zoo isn't very well maintained at all. Over by the grizzly bear, there's a few benches to sit at, one of them had a huge weed growing through it so you couldn't even sit there. We got there at about 1:30 so 2.5 hours before closing. We only saw the one employee at the front where we paid at until almost 3pm when we saw another one feeding the animals before they closed. Then we finally saw another one almost 4pm. We thought maybe it was just the one guy at the front. It was all just a weird,...