ZWF Miami — Attraction in Princeton

I came here with a conference, so the group rate may make my experience a better value than others. I also often forget that many people haven't had the same hands on, face to face, tiger crawling over you experiences. For all the normies out there...

TL;DR- ZWF is a smaller, more intimate, zoological area (it's not really a "zoo" but I don't know what they DO) that offers tours of the animals in their care as well as hands on engagement with their animals.

Their team is very knowledgable about their animals, and they show a clear care for their well being. I advise getting an early morning tour, along with a one on one meeting with your preferred animal they have available. I do advise bringing bug spray, I found the shade to be plenty, but it is almost entirely outdoors.

My personal experience . . . (The long one) Our large group was supposed to be split into two, and we had one group go one way, the other group go the other. I couldn't say if this happened, rather I saw the zoo keepers moving, and started following. I enjoy taking photos, and I prefer not to record what people's heads look like- so I get in first and get out first.

We saw several animals, an anteater, monkeys, and some more usual guys as we made our way to the camels. Here, we got to really get up close, which includes feeding them, by hand or mouth. Yepp, smooching was encouraged when done properly! Follow their instructions, please!

Here we got to see a better glimpse of the zoo keepers. Number one, they are all knockouts. These girls are all gorgeous. But it's not just the ladies. Yes, they are clearly fit, dress well, and either have perfect skin or wear make up well- but even the dudes (none of them ZKs) were fit! I'm comfortable enough with myself to be able to say, they had some fit and handsome guys here. It was like a zoo version of Baywatch.

Number two, they fall on a tight rope, and balance there. Working with living creatures, there are two paths when hiccups occur. Being a push over, and being too easily influenced by emotions. The camels were giving our ZKs a bit of a hard time. It wasn't a big deal, but putting myself in their shoes, they have almost 80 people watching them. Expecting full control, and execution. The precision of carving a turkey with the action like riding an ostrich. It's high stress to perform well, and give a great experience. It was clear (to me) the individuals were frustrated that they weren't getting proper cooperation, but at no point did they break and show frustration or anger towards the animals, nor did they get pushed over and back down from the challenge. Without going into much further detail on their micro expressions, they were in the comfort zone of not being weak, and controlling themselves in a higher stress situation. That's the right place for someone who works with animals.

Moving forward, we saw the big cats, as well as some smaller, less "interesting" animals. Sorry sloths, but the lions have you beat. I personally wasn't interested in these spaces. It is very up close (safe), but I like to photograph. The fences made this a non starter. My normal habitat is 20-80 feet from my target, moving or stationary, and that's the way I shoot best. 8 feet from a cat with a 55-300mm lens isn't my cup of tea, and of course no way for a macro with the fencing.

This led us to the high point. High point like the plane I'm riding in, not like that the starbucks person pronounced your name right for an $8 coffee.

In the gazebo, we got to engage with an emu, lizard, owl, alligators, armadillo, boa, and others.

-The owl is my favorite order of animal. They are more solitary, have specialized hunting skills, and the actual physics that has honed from evolution (necks, eyes, face & ears, feathers, how they fly, I can ramble on and on). This little guy was perched and able for gentle petting as well as selfies and photos. He was very interested in getting to know some of the local birds. As in, what they taste like.

My review gets cut off here :( You'll...

We had a wonderful time at the zoo today! The animals were all very active and seemed to be well-cared for. The enclosures were clean and spacious, and the zoo itself was very clean and well-maintained.

We were particularly impressed with the variety of animals at the zoo. We saw everything from lions and tigers to monkeys . We also saw some more unusual animals, such as sloths and armadillos. It was great to see so many different animals from all over the world.

One of our favorite things about the zoo was the staff. Everyone we encountered was friendly and knowledgeable. They were happy to answer our questions and share information about the animals. We could tell that they were passionate about their jobs and the animals they cared for.

We also enjoyed the variety of educational exhibits at the zoo. We learned a lot about different animal species and their habitats. We also learned about the zoo's conservation efforts. It was great to see that the zoo is more than just a place to see animals - it's also a place to learn about them and how to protect them.

Overall, we had a fantastic time at the zoo. We would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and educational experience.

Here are some specific things that we liked about our zoo experience:

The animals were all very active and seemed to be well-cared for. The enclosures were spacious. The zoo itself was very clean and well-maintained. There was a wide variety of animals to see, from common animals to more unusual ones. The staff were friendly and knowledgeable. There were a variety of educational exhibits. We would definitely recommend this...

Sadly, the vast majority of us who make up those stats are completely unaware of the cruelty that takes place behind the scenes. There are estimated to be half a million animals that are beaten and abused and made to perform for entertainment. this type of places makes me sick, those animals shouldnt be interacting with people, i know that people that go there love animlas and want to be closer to them ,fewer would think so if they realised the cute cats are taken from their mothers soon after birth ,But even if the campaigns meet with success, this wild animals raised and “domesticated” by humans can never be released back into natural habitats. Be wary of weasel words such as “sanctu­ary”, “hand-reared” and “rescue centre” – most of the animals are kept in concrete cages when they’re not being forced to pose. At risk of stating the obvious, animals do not ordinarily behave the way they do when in a show. For example:

An orangutan spends almost its entire life in the canopy, it would be rare to see one on the ground or living in a cage. Tigers would never placidly lie next to a foreign tiger let alone a human. Crocodiles keep their mouths open to moderate their body temperature, not because their handler’s head happens to be in between their jaws. This curious animal behavior begs the question, why are they doing it? Why are they seemingly happy to comply?

The short answer is because they’re beaten.

They’re beaten and attacked until they’re too afraid to retaliate. There’s even a term for the ‘training’ of an elephant, it’s called “the crush” which is designed to break their spirits by continued...