dade city's wild things

We went here on 1st march , myself , husband , 5 year old and elderly mum . Had a lovely time , we did a tour on the tram as mum couldn't do walking one as she had wheelchair , had encounter with tiger cub who is just beautiful and teething . Lol , monkey who was very funny and dive bombed some of us. Haha , gorgeous Bob cat and gator . My husband and 5 year old did some big cat feeds although I swear they thought my son was food Tiger man really shows his love for the animals and all staff were lovely / I have seen couple of bad reviews and it's unjustifiable , yes the big cats could do with more room but without enough funding how can that happen ? Let's get more visits to this place and help them make it happen in the near future :)

Animals in cages that are too small. Not very clean. Sort of in a backyard. They do plan to expand, so it might get better.

Good experience for families and children to learn more about wild animals. I would make a morning appointment then after you are done stroll in the quaint shops in downtown Dade City

We had an amazing time here. Swim with tiger was the coolest thing ever. Randy was great with my boys. James was also super engaging. Sam was just okay. I wish any of the other staff did the walking tour, but it was still great.

My husband and I visited recently and we were the only ones there. We took the trolley tour in the morning, followed by an animal session, and then a walking tour in the afternoon. Having private tours was amazing; we had the guides to ourselves! We really enjoyed seeing the animals up close and learning interesting facts. Feeding the buffalo was cool (even when it licked me). And then we had an informational session with their baby tiger. There wasn't much "information" but it was pretty neat as I've never touched a tiger before. He was so cute and playful. The only negative is that they don't let you take personal pictures. They took some on the trolley tour of us feeding the buffalo and with the tiger that you could purchase but they didn't really turn out too great. I would have liked to take pictures of the animals themselves. Overall, our tour guides were very knowledgeable and pleasant and we had a really nice time!

Such a perfect day at dades city wild things! Everything was so cheap, and you can tell this family really cares about the animals they have! They let you spend time with the animals instead of letting you hold it for 1 min and take a picture like most places! I got to spend 20 min playing with the baby tiger and the staff takes over 200 pictures of you through out the day to make sure you get pictures you love! I will deff be back!

We enjoyed seeing this zoo, practically a family's backyard. If you go, make sure that you know what you are booking, what you are paying for, and when to take the trolley from the office to the zoo. We arrived early, got on the early trolley, which was on a different tour than we booked, and we had to wait a long time for the encounter we chose, which is not what we ended up getting. While they accomodated us in a couple of ways, they did not seem to be coordinated, and admitted that it was a combination of errors on their part and our assumptions as to when to take the trolley. I was not comfortable with the trainer carrying a loaded gun. We had a veterinary student with us and she was not impressed with the zoo or some of the spaces that the animals were in. Would not return.

Dade City wild things is such an amazing place. Best Wild life zoo I've ever been too. I loved getting to learn everything about each animal and being so close up to the animals. Also my favorite part about this zoo is that you can have encounters with some of the wild animals, which is so amazing. I love the zoo and every time I visit Florida I will come back to the zoo. I also love how friendly and personal all the staff are. It's just a great place all around! Plus all the animals are loved and rescued. I don't understand why people would give this place a bad ratings. Yes, the animals cages could be bigger. But when a zoo is opened to the public the State has to inspect it to make sure regulations on the number of animals that can be kept in a certain-sized enclosure. If there was too many animals in a size cage they would not be able to be shown till it was fixed. Also I believe all the rules at the zoo are very appropriate. You are on private property, the owners live there. They allow the public to come in and enjoy being close up to the animals and getting to encounter with their animals. Most people are used to a public zoo instead of a more rehabilitation and rescue zoo. One of the main reasons I love this zoo is because they take in animals that need medical help or that are endangered. Also half of your zoo admission ticket goes to help Endangered Species Conservation Fund. Which is a plus because more animals then you know are being killed and sold for taxidermy, poaching and illegal wild life trade. Tigers have lost 93% of their historic range due to it. While this zoo is saving certain species and protecting them. So in my opinion Dade City Wild Things is a great place.

We enjoyed our visit and found the zoo to be clean and the staff to be very friendly. My daughters enjoyed the encounter with the baby tiger and I enjoyed petting the baby monkey. We paid for pics and got a few good ones. Hope you go and enjoy this place.

My family and I visited Dade City Wild Things over New Years and we were rendered speechless. We ranged in age from mid twenties to mid sixties and each and everyone of us had a memorable experience. The tour was a pleasure filled with so much information about the wild life. But then we got to have an encounter with a 9 week old Bengal Tiger. The trainer brought her out and we all helped with her bottle and then sat on the floor while she rolled around and played with toys. She was teething and chewed on everything, but had already been trained to keep her claws in. I have memories and glorious pictures (that they took for us) to help me remember this great experience. This place is a must!!!

This kitten was only 3 weeks old but in four years it will be a 600 pound Bengal Tiger. This place is so much more than a zoo. The interaction we had with the animals, the guides, and park transportation (A trolly, and a Tram) were "Beyond Disney" This is a family business. That makes it necessary to read and sign several documents for visitors to understand RISK involved. The wild things can bite, scratch, and scream, This place makes visitors THINK and appreciate humans must be friends to animals that may not have immediate and mutual trust. Sad but true the handler has a fire arm for human protection of the human even if the human has provoked the animal.

I loved hugging the baby tiger and my partner playing with the baby monkey in diapers. The zoo tour however made me sad, the big cats were in such small enclosures. Just wishing some of the money could go to enlarging these cat pens. The buffalo, and herd animals seem to have lots of room. I guess it is a lack of funds.

I really loved the experience and the place was immaculant as far as being kept clean but the trolley guy was very unprofessionaland the encounter was unbelievableI wish I could say I could do it again but not without a stroller

Don't miss this place when your in the area. They take very good care of these animals. And are so knowable of them. We learnt so much from the staff. We will be back with friends. Thx for the great time.

i feel so lucky after visiting wild things. i reached there with my 4 friends at 9 in morning . and i decided to go for tour and tiger cub encounter and also the best one swim with tiger.the staff was very good and knowledgeable. They take good care of there cats.The swim with tiger is of 200$ but it worth. They brings the tiger, clicks many pics and also heats the swimming fools water if there is cold And they give you enough time to spend with tiger.Must visit place from my side