Kliebert & Son’s Gator Tours — Attraction in Ponchatoula

As a proud Louisianian, this place is a disgrace to our native wildlife. The animals are kept in abysmal conditions. The mammals are kept in depressing dog runs like the kind they sell at tractor supply, with no bedding materials, just on wood flooring covered in their poop. The birds, which are native to grasslands, are wading through mud in an enclosure that has zero plants growing in it. We were told that they were rescues and that their feathers “are just starting to grow back.” BS- these animals are stressed and the bare skin on their necks are showing it. Gators are kept in water troughs not large enough for them to turn around in. The tour guide was explaining how often gators naturally loose teeth, and she said “it’s crazy, after a few months when I go to clean their tanks how many teeth will be at the bottom.” MONTHS?! They spend months sitting in stagnant water, unable to turn around?!

Our tour guide was the only person working there on a Saturday. She left us sitting outside alone in the heat for 30 minutes half way through the tour (that we had reservations for) to go check in another 15+ people and add them to our tour. She was the only person working in the entire establishment, which seems like an accident or lawsuit waiting to happen considering part of her job was feeding a 15 foot alligator. She said it was because the other employee had to work an event, so they couldn’t just schedule more people? I’ve seen the responses to other complaints about staffing that “nobody actually wants a job” which is BS. If you cannot retain staff, you cannot operate your business. Don’t call people lazy if they don’t want to work at your depressing backyard cesspit. We went here after Global Wildlife, which had full staff and healthy animals, somehow, in this world where nobody wants to work. If you can’t afford to fully staff your business and adequately house and care for your animals, then you should not be in business. We pay $18/person to feed your animals for you, and the best you can do with that is one employee, some tractor supply dog runs, water troughs, and fences made out of chicken wire and attached to fence poles by (I kid you not) an old dog collar? It brings great shame to the wildlife of this state to take our beautiful animals (one of which was “captured in Maurepaus” so literally removed from its native habitat for your own greed), shove them in the cheapest enclosures you can buy, and call it a cultural experience. I’m not some PETA quack job. I hunt, fish, and truly love the wildlife of our state. This is a dishonor...

This place was average to poor! We acknowledge the owners are in the process of moving the farm to its new location, and the vision for the future sounds significantly better than its current condition. That isn't what concerned us. The owners didn't even bother to show up, and we overheard people saying there was a game on so they wouldn't be at work - I'm not entirely sure the guy who showed us around is even employed by the Klieberts. The 'farm' is the size of a backyard and consists of 3 dirty pools with turtles and crocodiles in them - with no room for them to move around. There was a shed with the reptiles in it, which was warm, but also stacked with tools, junk and other paraphernalia that does not belong in an animal enclosure. Again, the animals were contained in small enclosures leaving little room for them to move. We were taken to the Kliebert's home to see baby alligators and turtles. When we showed up, the house was surrounded with junk and shabby buildings. There was a trailer with African turtles in it, which was warm and dry. We were offered to sit on the large turtles which I found abhorrent. I refused and was asked several more times, like they didn't understand that someone would find the idea of sitting on a turtle awful. There was a swimming pool with 33 alligators in it according to the guide, and was disgusting with brown water and large chunks of feces. What really concerned us was the state of their own dog. It was in an enclosure, and was so skinny is ribs, hips and shoulder blades were protruding. If this is how the Klieberts treat their own dog, it is a sad indictment of their attitude towards animals. We had read all the favorable reviews on Google which made this business out to be professional and with the best interests of the animals at heart. What we were confronted with was a business in turmoil and a private residence that looked shabby, poorly maintained (in spite of being surrounded by well maintained, tidy homes), and spoke volumes about the standards of the owners. The memory of their dog still...

There's a few issues I'd like to point out with this place before I give it it's praise. One is the fact that they encourage 5 star reviews by allowing you to go into the pen with the wallaby. The wallaby is very sweet and will nibble on your shoes, but is also the sole reason for the hundreds of 5 star reviews.

The second is the owner's idea of a joke. There is an ice chest in the storefront with a rubber snake tied to a string and a lid labeled such that you'll want to open it. For people afraid of snakes, this is a walking heart attack, anxiety attack, etc. This should be gotten rid of and has no place in a legitimate business.

The third is the tour guide's response to an upset customer to the second. The tour guide was defensive and did not try to ease the concerns of the woman affected or help to make it better, instead placing blame on the visibly distressed woman.

The fourth is the state of the tour area. More can be done to make it feel more professional. Instead, it feels somewhat as though you're in a some eccentric cajun's back yard.

The last issue is simply the wet dog smell. Not sure what the company can do about it, but it's there, largely due to the dogs in the storefront and the wallaby.

For the tour itself, it was somewhat like any other zoo, except you're able to get closer to the animals than a regular zoo and it's a lot smaller. I'm unsure how the tour guide is meant to keep up with a large crowd of customers, but overall the guide provided a good experience and spoke knowledgeably about the animals there, and allowed you to hold the animals she felt were comfortable enough to hold, including an alligator, snakes, a ferret, and a couple birds, one of which bit her and then laughed. Once we started the tour, it was pleasant, and is the only reason this gets 3 stars.

Ultimately this is an ok, but not very professional experience. I would not come...