st. augustine wild reserve

It's not what you expect at all. It's quite the surprise on a quiet residential street in the northwest side of St. Augustine. Beautiful, well kept animals. Lions, tigers, leopards, wolves, coyotes and more. Beautiful animals! Marty and staff were extremely experienced and so informative. The whole staff is walking with you for the full 2 hours. I would not recommend this for little children as I do believe the ones with us were totally bored. It is definitely an experience hidden in St. Augustine.

This tour makes you glad that these people are here to protect these beautiful animals. In the wild we would be the ones needing protection but removed from their native environments the animals now need us! This is a long tour and difficult for small children as they cannot "roam freely" There is a golf cart but it only carries a few people and all the others must "amble slowly" (much harder than walking) for the full two hours. If you are capable of that you will most definitely greatly enjoy the evidence of "loving care" given here. These are gorgeous animals, tenderly cared for!

My son and I just had a wonderful tour at the wildlife reserve. The Tigers and lions were quite impressive and a pleasure to view up close. The volunteers were extremely knowledgable, helpful and seemed happy to be on tour with us. Perhaps most importantly the animals were clearly well cared for and very happy. Highly reccomend this tour.

Let me start off by saying that this is not a zoo. The experience that you would have here will be very different from what you would have at a Zoo. This reserve was specifically created as a rescue center for unwanted exotic animals. Let's talk about the experience.They offer tours only 3 times a week, and only by appointments. So, you got to ensure that you book your tickets from their website (you pay 50% at the time of reservation). Read the instructions at their Tours page on the website. Once you are onsite (I would suggest ~30 minutes before the tour), you have to pay rest of the money. It's best to bring cash. If you decide to pay using credit card, you will be adding to the confusion that ensues there while checking-in people. Once everyone is checked-in, you will be given about 10 minutes of "orientation" with instructions/warnings, etc. I would highlight the "no pictures" policy.Depending on the size of your group, you might have problems seeing the animals when they would be fed, because there are only limited number of people who can surround the cage. The tour guide had a microphone and a speaker attached to her waist. I really liked that. Almost all of the animals were fed in front of us. Each of them had a story, which made the whole experience very real and moving. We even saw a while tiger (forgot his name) taking a bubble bath. It was a beautiful sight to watch. The kind of affection that these big cats show towards the volunteers at the zoo is unbelievable. That's something that would only see on TV.They also have a golf cart along with the group in case anyone gets tired and wants to sit for a while. They stock the cart with bottled water which is a nice thought, especially for summer season. After the tour started, we enjoyed every moment of it.Since there is "No photos" policy, which honestly, I believe is good, they do sell CDs with pictures of the same animals without cages, for 5$. There is no food available here, and there is a Port-O-Jon at the entrance as far as bathroom facility is concerned. If you are visiting the reserve during or after rain, have good shoes because the walking area is not paved.

We recently attended this attraction and found it very enjoyable. We had no idea how many different types of Alligators there are and it was interesting seeing them. I loved being able to watch them in their own habitats. The day we went was a bit cool and they weren't feeding them. We did see a few swimming around though. There is a nice mixture of other animals as well and while I don't care for snakes there were several of them as well all carefully placed behind thick glass. We saw a number of beautiful birds and enjoyed our walk through the grounds.The only negative thing I could even think of is that it does have a stench to it that over a period of time upset my stomach somewhat. We really enjoyed this attraction

This 2 hour tour is worth every penny of the $30 entrance fee and they probably could charge more and you wouldn't feel taken advantage of. They have a large array of animals for you to see and hear about. The amount of big beautiful cats they have was astounding. I wasn't expecting to see that many. They are clearly well cared for and happy. That was evident. Hyenas, porcupines, peacocks, wolves (and more) are just a bonus to the tour. Memories I will cherish forever. Ps. Do not bring small kids if you can't control them, it will ruin the tour for everyone and piss off the tour guides. Seeing and hearing the cats are why we are here, not to hear you constantly yelling at your kid, be considerate.

Marty gave a great tour. All the volunteers had an amazing love for the animals and commitment. The animals seemed very well cared for and happy. I am glad we use trip advisor.

Not only are you up close and personal (in a very safe environment) WITH THESE WONDERFUL ANIMALS, you become aware of the dilemma these beautiful creatures endured before coming to the Wild Reserve. This tour was educational, informative and full of fantastic survival stories. Kudos to the staff!

I have a great love of animals, and especially love to donate to charities who fend for those animals who have been abandoned or abused. This was an amazing experience. After reading poor reviews I find it necessary to defend this place from all negative comments. There are some who said they expected more interaction. I believe that coming within a few feet of a Siberian Tiger, or a Wolf, would be considered a once in a lifetime way to interact as close as possible to these animals! The habitat is more than safe, and it is ridiculous that anyone considers this a dangerous place!!!! The staff is interactive, fun, and clearly they love what they do...all volunteers I may add. As for the comments on the size of their habitat, how about you quit criticizing and DONATE towards this organization!!!!! I loved every second of this tour, and could have spent hours there just watching the behavior of the animals. I would actually not recommend small children, as they will get bored. This is an informative tour, not just looking into a cage and moving on. And there are numerous stories about how the animals landed at the reserve. Sad stories, and thank God there are people who can care enough to give of their time and money to turn the lives around for these beautiful creatures. Please please go to this lovely, and loving, place. There is a suggested list of items to donate, so please consider bringing some of these items when you visit. It is a rewarding experience, and this place has won my heart. I intend on continuing to contribute as much as I can. Oh yeah, my husband was not too keen on going......he ended up loving the place....

I have been to zoos before and find myself getting bored quickly, so when my wife wanted to go to this place I was not real excited. WOW...was I ever wrong. First of all, what a great staff of volunteers that take care of this place. This is nothing like a zoo, you are up close and personal with these animals but totally safe. (later I read some of the negative reviews by people, and I can personally say they are a bunch of wingnuts and kooks - this place is safe and well run). It is amazing to stand just a few feet from these magnificent animals and listen to them huffing and puffing - what a blast. I would highly recommend this as a must see. Prior to coming we stopped at the store and picked up a load of stuff that they can use to feed and care for the animals with and you should do the same. Our tour lasted two hours and went by at light speed.

The tour is just a tad too long, but the close up view of the big cats eating and protecting their lunch is worth the wait. I envy the volunteers who get to pet and scratch these magnificent creatures like they're ordinary house cats.

Based on Trip Advisor and friends' recommendations, we visited the animals at this remarkable reserve. The lions and tigers were especially beautiful and impressive. The tour guide was so knowledge and passionate about her "kids". Such dedication by all the volunteers...you left knowing that all these rescued animals are well taken care of and very lived.Make time to get there...you'll never forget it.

Well worth the money! Knowledgable and friendly tour guides who demonstrate their great love for these special animals. Strict safety guidelines so I would not recommend for active children. Only suggestion would be smaller tour groups to better view animals during the presentations.

The tour guide points out parents with children to tell stories about kids that did not behave while there. This is somewhat humiliating and intimidating to have the spotlight cast on an unsuspecting family by 50 strangers just because they have children. Most of the people there were extremely nice. Everyone except the tour guide. Do not bring your kids. Better off leaving them at home or not going at all.

Looking for a unique and totally satisfying two hours for all ages? Experience these beautiful animals up close, and hear the heart warming and sometimes heart breaking stories of how they were rescued. The caretakers are all volunteers and the energy and love they have for the animals is easily seen. The tours are scheduled to coincide with the feeding of some of the animals. Ever stand feet away from a lion in his cage while he dines on pork chops, or watch as a tiger takes a bubble bath? My wife and I did. Of all the attractions we took in during our 3 days in St Augustine this was the most interesting and rewarding for us.