Zoologico De Vallarta

Can’t even give it one star. The animals are not taken care of, the cages are dirty and smelly. The animals are standing in their own waste. Conditions are deplorable for the animals. The atmosphere is very depressing and it should be closed. Living in a state prison is more humane than this. It’s not worth the time or money

So let me start by expressing that I am not one that fully supports the idea of zoos in the first place but we were nearing the end of our trip to PV and all of the «adventures» and «tours» required advanced booking, so we decided to Unilocal activities to do in the area and the Zoo popped up.
I was curious about how zoos were in another country and we decided to make an adventure out of it.
Here is a breakdown of what to expect.
1. It’s in a little outskirt town of PV city limits and we had no idea how to even get there so we took a cab… cabs are cheap in PV BUT we found out afterwards that a bus takes you to a bust stop area that is just a short walk through a little neighborhood (that gives a really neat authentic vibe of mexico living) up to the zoo. TAKE A BUS TO A FROM THE ZOO.
2. The basic entry cost of the zoo is not too expensive — Standard Admission
Price per ticket: $ 10 Dollars (100 pesos) OR for $ 85.00 USD you get:
1. Admittance
2. 1 Bag of food for the animals
3. Interaction with the monkeys.
4. Interaction with the available cubs.
5. 2 Drinks (alcoholic or non)
6. 1 Zoo Souvenir or T-​Shirt
3. I was stoked about the «interactions» with the cubs — AND YES… IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT! You can chose to hold the cubs (jaguar, tiger, lion, and panther) and the monkeys BEFORE of AFTER going through the zoo. There is a pen that you go in and hold them for a few minutes each. THAT is a once in a lifetime opportunity!
4. I will say, one bag of food is not enough — and there is a «half-​way» point that allows you to stop and buy another bag — buy the extra bag, it’s worth it. The animals are very interactive and come right up to you when they see/​hear you coming!
5. NOW — I was suuuuuper disappointed that being in PV, in a setting such as a mountainous jungle, the environments of the animals was extremely poor. The lions and monkeys and tigers and jaguars all looked beyond depressed. Despite getting closer to these animals than you would in a US zoo, I felt awful and took time to sit at each animal spot and try to connect (eye contact and converse with loving tone). Also, WEAR PANTS — my boyfriend and I were bitten by mosquitoes or something while there, since you are in a jungly forest on a hill side.
6. The staff of the zoo is helpful and friendly and overall the experience (despite the fact that the environment for the animals was beyond tragic) was memorable and I do recommend experiencing it… and do hope that with more visitors and money, that the zoo will get more funding to update and provide better areas for the animals.

Older place but the animals look well taken care of. The Diamond experience was awesome to get to play with lions and tiger cubs was a chance of a lifetime. We fed the giraffe who was amazing. Hippos just feet away and many other animals that come right to you to eat from your hands. It’s not the San Diego Zoo but it’s a must see…

I visited this zoo during my vacation in Puerto Vallarta recently, and while I enjoyed my stay in the city for the most part, this is by far the low point of the week and a half spent there, including the day spent in the head after drinking some of the water. Keep in mind that I am by far no animal rights activist. I’ve attended a number of zoos, and while I generally expect small quarters, I could never have been prepared for this.
The first thing you’re likely to see is the zoo’s main draw, immediately to the left as you come through the entrance: the chance to hold young wildlife. It sounds cute, like a great photo opportunity to show your friends, family, and coworkers when you get home. Even if you didn’t pay to be in the room, you can still watch the other guests and their encounter with the cubs. To my shock, the handlers don’t explain anything to those handling the animals. They give each person a glob of hand sanitizer on the way in, have them sit down, and that’s pretty much it! Along the walls are about four or five distressed lemurs and monkeys. They’re each given a pole around 3 feet across on a painfully short leash that doesn’t even afford them enough space to span the entire length of the rod as they pace back and forth in a panic. One at a time, the zoo workers bring out a different little «big» cat for the guests to pet and cuddle in ways that humans were never intended to. As they drag one out for the guests, the previous one is brought back to its cage: an empty cell without so much as a single toy or even a private place for the creatures to hide away when they don’t want to be seen or just need a rest. When I say empty cell, I really do mean there is nothing in there. At one point they brought out what had to have been their youngest attraction: a cub so small and young it didn’t even open its eyes, likely because it couldn’t at that age. And keep in mind, as you read my scathing review so far, that I’ve only just walked out the gate.
Moving on, I see a monkey cage. A handful of them sitting inside a, once again, barren cage, clinging to what little shadow they could find to hide in. Nearby you can find several full sized lions and tigers. This is where the safety for guests becomes appalling. While the tiger cage is fully closed off, the lion cage is fenced and barred so loosely, and was in such cramped and tight quarters that I could easily have reached in and stroked a lion on the face. Indeed, a few of the guests were reaching in to stroke its paw. I couldn’t believe my eyes, thinking how just as easily as one could reach out and touch them (or hurt them, considering how security at the gate was nonexistent), the lions could likewise have easily turned on a dime and seriously injured one of the guests. Especially when you consider how similarly nonexistent security was INSIDE the gates as well. Further ahead, a hippo exhibit. Once again, the (deadly, territorial, aggressive) hippopotamus was right at the gate, allowing visitors to toss food into its mouth, and the bars were so loosely separated that I could have reached in up to my shoulder no problem and stuck my full arm in its gaping mouth. Again, there is no security whatsoever to make sure that such a thing does not happen, apart from a couple of signs, one in Spanish, the other in poorly translated English which read «Do Not Introduce the Hand» placed only after you’ve already passed the exhibit. Also available was a cage full of apes, sticking their paws outside the bars. A few of them wanted to hold hands with some of the female visitors. However, I watched one of them go from holding a girl’s hand, to gripping her wrist band and hurting her while yanking on her trying to pull her through the bars.
A number of the animals could be seen with thick saliva and foam around the mouth. They were clearly thirsty, and if you saw what water they were given, you’d understand why. It was murky, disgusting, and lord only knows how long it had been since its last changing. Many cages were unbearably foul, bringing water to my eyes and a gag to my throat, I nearly vomited on multiple occasions and at several different points on the premises. No enclosure was of appropriate size for the animals (the black bear cage, as another example, had two bears, with only enough space in between them to maybe fit one more). The giraffe would come to eat from your hand, but it had to crane its neck down to your in such a way that would clearly be uncomfortable (these are animals that pull food from high up in trees, not ones that eat carrots from a few feet off the ground).
Once again, I want to reiterate that I am not an animal rights person. I’m generally difficult to shock or disturb. However, this place really struck a chord with me. My experience was depressing and left me with a sense of hopelessness for the creatures I witnessed. Every night I’ve wish for these animals to find an escape from this nightmare.