Walk on the Wild Side: Interactive Zoos in the U.S.

I’m sure that most of you have dreamt of owning an exotic pet at some point in your life. I also assume that this dream didn’t last too far beyond your childhood, and although you may still revisit the fantasy from time to time, you have realized that it will remain no more than a fantasy. However, despite the sobering truth that owning a tiger or a polar bear is mostly impossible, there are alternate ways to live out these fantasies. Although it may only be a daytime excursion, a visit to an interactive zoo is probably the closest you will get to living out your childhood dream of owning a lion or a giraffe.

Here are some awesome interactive zoos worth checking out.

The Garold Wayne Interactive Zoological Park located in Wynnewood, Oklahoma offers a wide range of activities that allow patrons to interact with the many rescued animals they shelter which include camels, tigers, wolves, monkeys, and more. Regular admission into the park is ten dollars for children and fifteen for adults, and they are open every day of the year.

The park offers VIP tours that are considerably costly, and although I’m sure these guided behind-the-scene tours are worth the hefty price, there are cheaper options for those who don’t want to spend an arm and a leg. The park offers an endangered animals tour where attendants get to interact with baby tigers and be in the midst of camels who, according to the park’s website, love to give kisses. In addition, patrons have the option to purchase private play time with whichever baby animal is available for the day, which might be a tiger, a bear, a kangaroo, or a camel.

A zoo that definitely takes the cake for having the widest margin of interactive activities: Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Florida. This zoo provides park-goers with the opportunity to pet stingrays, feed lorikeets and giraffes, and hang out with wallabies and giant tortoises!

Admission ranges from twenty to thirty dollars depending on your age, and beyond that the fees are minimal for all the fun interactive attractions. Getting into the tortoise exhibit to experience an up-close encounter with a tortoise is only ten dollars per person, and purchasing a cup of nectar to feed lorikeets or a piece of lettuce for the giraffes costs only four to five dollars. As for petting a stingray or hanging out with a wallaby, there is no charge.

Several other zoos in the United States also offer the opportunity to feed giraffes, including the Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio, the Houston Zoo and the Dallas Zoo in Texas, the Miami Zoo in Florida, and the San Diego Zoo in California. At the San Diego Zoo, however, you will have the chance to feed more than just giraffes if you purchase a backstage pass. Priced at one hundred dollars, this pass will grant you access to a close and personal encounter (which does, in fact, involve petting) with cheetahs, rhinos, and multiple other species. The Atlanta Zoo in Georgia also offers similar experiences. Although their prices are a little higher, patrons have the choice of meeting giant pandas, lemurs, elephants, or tortoises. They have a wider selection of animal encounters to choose from than the San Diego Zoo, but each encounter is priced separately which results in a more costly bill.

So which zoo sounds most suitable for fulfilling your childhood dream?

Featured Image Credit: Ted (modified)