Greater Vancouver Zoo

I was very excited to go to the zoo. So my dad suggested we go check it out. The tickets were pricey. The layout wasn’t that cool. The animals were just sleeping or were to far away to see. The giraffe and the lion were cool. Not a place I would recommend though. Waste of money.

The GVZoo only exploits animals for PROFIT. Captivity is CRUEL. I’ve been and the animal do not look happy.

What a horrible place. The animals enclosures are TINY and all looked utterly depressed as there is hardly any natural stimulus for them. It is literally a prison for animals who have done nothing wrong :(When I got home I googled them and saw all of the abuse cases against them and all of the animals that have died under their care through negligence. They say they rescue but they lie. I will NEVER visit again and would urge others not to spend their money there as it only enables them to keep abusing animals.

I have been going to this zoo since I was a child (back then it was a game farm). Yesterday I brought my grandkids and I was so disappointed. I had to pay for parkingand thent charge $ 80 for a family day pass. (this does not include the train ride which is another $ 5 per person. When I took my grandkids to the train station (where I use to purchase tickets in the past). I was greeted with a sign saying I have to purchase tickets at the entrance. I go back to the entrance only to be told all rides are sold out and the next one is available at 4. It was now only 11. The sad thing is I have 2 young grandkids wanting to ride the train to only to see a half empty train passing by us. Later another half empty train. We walked the entire park. Saw very few animals as they were either in hiding or non existent. Missing signs in front of exibits. The bear enclosure which I remember was so cool where you drive in a bus that takes you for a ride amongst the bears is not open. I asked why it wasn’t available they said they are being eco friendly and the bus was diesel only to see vans being driven around the park. When I asked for a map of the park they said we don’t have them as we are now eco friendly. I say this is all cost saving not eco friendly. I will never go back.

I was disappointed with what saw. Many of the animals were not visible or exhibits closed. It was overpriced in my opinion for what I saw, also paid parking and of course overpriced concession .I feel sorry for tourists who may have paid to see the exhibits… which I would define as bush league at best…

We like it here and got a season pass. We live close by so it is a good little outing with the kids when we don’t have anything else to do.
The raptor show is a highlight. The lion WILL try and pee on you. The train is nice if you have kids.
I love the grizzly but she is often hiding.
Food is overpriced and pretty poor.
Oh! The Hippo show is really cool!

It’s been over a year since we’ve visited the zoo and sadly things have gotten worse. Many paddocks were empty or under construction. The design of the zoo doesn’t favour easy sightings since there are only a few vistas that are where the animals hang out or feed.
I actually overheard one of the trainers say they had one of the newer birds of prey recently eaten by a lion because it panicked during one of the shows and flew to a log in the lion paddock!
It was a hot day when we went so most of the animals were hiding from the heat and not visible. The lion and tiger feeding was enjoyable for the kids as was the hippo feeding however.
If you do plan on coming, bring your own bikes as it’s probably the best way to cover the most ground effortlessly, especially if you have younger kids who don’t have as much experience riding in traffic this is a safe place to cycle.
Save a few bucks and pack a picnic, the food ain’t that great at the café and is overpriced.
Probably will be the last time we visit… The Seattle and Portland zoos are much better options if you have the chance.

Pleasantly surprised. We have been before and this visit was the best by far. Animals were out and could be observed. Lion feeding was a hit. Best way to get around — pedal cabs. Don’t need the train!

Animals here sleep more than entertain.
The GV Zoo has been facing controversy for years. people say they don’t properly treat the animals with care. From other zoos I’ve visited, GV Zoo lack some features. They mostly have cages for their animals and giant fields. For the cost and travel to Aldergrove, it’s not that worth it to visit more than once a year.

Great zoo I love how big it is and all the animals seemed to be healthy and happy great raptors show just love spending the day at this zoo totally worth the money if you spend the whole day there also my son loves the playground

This place sucked the big one! Didn’t specify that the lion and tiger feedings were only in the summer time (the only reason we went) and we went on a coupon still wasn’t worth it.

Terrible terrible place that needs to be shut down. These poor animals, living beside a highway, grounds are falling apart, paint crumbling, it actually looks abandoned. They have desert climate residing animals living in the cold rain of vancouver in outdoor pens, as a proud vancourite I am embarrassed this exists in our province. Shut it down and find these animals better homes.

This zoo is horrible. Dirty, old and run down. The reptile house has such a horrible smell you almost can’t even be in the building. The poor flamingos were shivering in their little dirty shack. I will never come here again

I tried to ignore the overwhelmingly negative reviews but after paying $ 77 for my family to enter I had a sense that it might go downhill from there. I admit, I know nothing about running a zoo or the costs involved but private or not, the entry fee just doesn’t seem to warrant the return, my kids even complained about the lack of animals. I am sure the GVZ has it’s place and does some good for those animals in its care but there is a feeling nowadays that the common zoo’s time may have come and I think this what it looks like. Three stars for effort.

This place makes me very sad. I was born and raised in Vancouver and today was the first and last time I’ll set foot in this place. I agree with another reviewer that something needs to be done to shut this place down. It is inhumane and the conditions these animals live in is like the human version of a rundown DTES rooming house. They nickel and dime visitors and charge them and arm and a leg for entry — family of 4 cost $ 77. Then when you decide to rent a bike, it’s $ 18/​hr. The train ride is another $ 5/​pp. Add parking $ 6. The money is definitely NOT going into the care of the animals. Something just doesn’t seem right ethically here. The owners are pocketing a huge profit and exploiting these poor animals and don’t give a crap about their well being. It just makes me sick to my stomach. I will be signing the petition to shut this place down.

Way way way too expensive for what it is. It looks run down. It’s less expensive to go to the Seattle zoo and they have way more animals. They don’t have a lot of the animals it says on the map. We were very disappointed. Don’t waste your money.

Please sign the petition to close the #Vancouver #zoo & save the few remaining animals! Another animal euthanized

Dilapidated, sure, it certainly shows that it’s completely privately funded from admittance, but I didn’t find the Greater Vancouver Zoo to be as problematic as other reviews suggest.
Visited on a sunny winters day which resulted in very few patrons and frequent private viewings of the animals. In comparison to other zoos worldwide, the exhibits might seem anachronistic in that the animals seem out of place in an almost Lower Mainland farmland environment, but the majority of enclosures are quite spacious and I don’t believe that they are ill-​cared for. At worst, the animals might seem a little bored. Also, my experience of other zoos is that they seem more education and preservation focused, whereas this is almost like a menagerie of animals that were available to collect — a handful of star attractions (giraffe, lions, etc) and a variety of herd and game animals from about the world — if I recall, a touch over eighty different species.
It’s certainly possible to walk the whole property and see everything in an afternoon — being winter, the more interactive aspects (Birds of Prey show, keeper talks and even concession stands, etc) were closed for the season.

We visited the zoo on Christmas day. An interesting day to visit– it was cold and snowy, and the zoo was absolutely empty. For Christmas, they decided to offer free admission. The gate was wide open, and the ticket window unstaffed. Indeed, during our stay, we did not see a single zoo employee. In total there must have been less than 10 people in the entire zoo, including ourselves. That made for a memorable and pretty unique experience, and I definitely think it was nice touch to offer free admission that day when they just as easily could have closed the zoo.
Sadly, the zoo is not in good condition. It struck me as the kind of zoo you might find in a much smaller city, or perhaps in other parts of the world. Memories of fairly horrid establishments in mid-​sized cities in Russia and China came to mind as we wandered about. Soon after arrival, I began to question whether we had come to right place. Could this really be the Greater Vancouver Zoo? It certainly suffers by comparison to other North American zoos. The modest Seattle zoo feels like a futuristic wonderland next to this place.
Given the weather, there were not many animals out and about. The animal enclosures were an odd mix of retro-​style chain linked cages and large open expanses where nothing could be seen. The siberian tigers were out and one of them snuck up on us and tried to attack through the fence. That was memorable too! A number of animals walked about «on the loose» (mostly birds, peacocks and such). Everything was closed so we didn’t try the food court, but options were severely limited, as was seating.
Overall it appears a relaxed place, very low key, and definitely in need of some upgrades. But a cool and unique experience nevertheless.

I had been to this Zoo around 3 years ago and had some good memories with my photography club there. My Girlfriend had been bugging me to take her out there so we finally bit the bullet and hit the road for the zoo.
My god things have changed there in the last three years. Most cages had one animal of any species in them (sad) there were too many species we can see in our own backyard as well. They have taken out a bunch of the animals enclosures such as the Grizzly Bears (what the hell I wanted to see them). Most animals looked in distress or just downright depressed (I know I would be if I was in a cage all by myself no matter how large it was!
There were almost no staff on hand at all to help us and the ones that were there did not help only annoyed the paying customer by skirting around questions that were asked. If we ask a question we want an answer or an honest try at one!
For what this Zoo charges for parking and for entrance it should be the best zoo on earth with lots of animals in amazing encloses. The animals should look happy and engaged. There needs to be a government body to step in and make this place hold up to a standard for these animals as they cannot stand up for themselves. Watching that we bought a zoo movie maybe that guy should buy this zoo build a house and live here! Maybe then it would be run in a healthy manor for the animals!
I could not recommend this place to anyone and would in fact warn people from wasting their money and supporting such a poorly run business that does not seem to treat their animals well.