Southern Nevada Zoological and Botanical Park

I absolutely LOVED this place! My brother and mom were visiting Vegas (and I had only been here a month). We went here and it was hands down one of the best days of their visit. We were able to get über close to the animals. Peacocks freely roamed the area. We fed the goats. The birds danced to music when we played it. The ostriches were absolutely amazing! We saw a mom duck (?) and her ducklings walking around… and unfortunately one of the ducklings walked into the cougar cage… and that was the last s/​he ever walked again :-(. But that’s wild life in action! My brother thoroughly enjoyed that part .
In closing I loved this place and couldn’t understand why native vegans give it such a hard time! I was so sad to hear that it closed and was soooo grateful to have had the opportunity to experience it.

This is a zoo that is run straight from the heart, and they do it pretty darned well. This is my favorite zoo in the world. If you love animals, and don’t care that this isn’t a rich, shiny, modern zoo, then you’ll adore this place.

okay we went here last year and to be honest were a little disappointed but not as much as we would have been since we had a heads up from a driver on the Duece bus. No this is not a big zoo and to be honest you really cannnot spend a full day here like we tried to do. That being said it was still fun. We enjoyed the talking birds and the other exotic animals they had. The place could have been cleaner and there is very little in the way of food options so eat before you come. We were sitting inside and learned by listening that they often hire kids doing community service to work around the place. I am sure in part because of lack of funding. Its not a bad place just that you would expect much better in a city the size of Las Vegas. I still enjoyed the time we spent there but to be honest not quite sure it is worth the cost of admission.

This is a good zoo for little kids but probably a little dull for older kids. Don’t expect the San Diego Zoo but it is fun for my toddler. She loves chasing the peacocks and watching the apes. We usually spend 1.5 to 2 hours and always have fun.

Don’t expect a lot. The animals all looked healthy and well taken care of. small place, only took me a few minutes to see the whole park.

go see this zoo. it’s not the best zoo around, ok maybe it’s the worst zoo around, BUT, it has some interesting animals and they clearly need your entrance fee to support their non-​profit-​ness. Use the coupon on their web page to get a few bucks off. (it’s not that much to get in to begin with) then Toss them $ 5 or $ 10 toward getting a new alligator pond. they need one bad. and a benefit. Bebe N. is so right. they need a benefit. I’ll come and invite friends who love animals and tell them to bring lots of cash.
you’ll like the fossas and the lioness, (though she could use a few lioness type toys) and the kangaroos are adorable.
don’t wear your best shoes though.

Another wonderful experience ! Need to throw a benefit for this place. Its wonderful that so many creatures have found a forever home.
It always makes me so happy to visit.
I visited my favorite raven ! Im delighted to see that he made it through the winter.
The lady buzzard is still there & sitting on an egg !! Her buzzard husband died this winter. He was in his mid 40’s (which is like Methusalah)
The ostrichs have laid eggs !
I love this place !
Thank you for providing a home for all these birds & animals that need it !

Giving this place a 1 star is like kicking a horse while it’s down, but I just can’t help it. In fact, I haven’t Unilocaled in months but this little place just reminded me why I should.
The lady at the front ~ short. And I don’t mean her height.
Exhibits ~ tiny. Good thing my son is 2 and isn’t yet asking how some of these animals have enough space to turn in their cages.
Rats ~ everywhere. Though the sign by the bathroom door explaining the rat problem was a nice touch.
The gift shop ~ disgusting! Everything was smoked through; who would buy a stuffed animal from there? Nasty.
$ 25 for two adults and a kid? It’s a joke. They don’t reciprocate memberships with other zoos so no savings here.
You’d get better glimpses of animals in their natural habitat on The Strip.

These animals are either going to die or depression or rebel and eat everyone. I am surprised PETA has not visited this place and staged a mass protest. Walking around is incredibly sad the animals either look like they are on thorzeine, or stare you down.
I do have to say, having lived in vegas for a few years, this place makes the must see list simply because it is such an epic fail.

This is not a zoo. This place had one or two interesting exhibits, but it was mostly goats and peacocks. There was a fish exhibit in the back where the number of dead fish significantly outweighed the number of living fish. I would definitely NOT recommend this «park» to anyone– and their website is very misleading.

Have you ever been at a cocktail party and really wanted to impress the folks around you by bragging, «You know, I’ve fed an ostrich»?! Well, with one trip to the Vegas Zoo, you can make your dreams come true!
Now, don’t get me wrong. The other reviewers are right; this zoo is pretty sad. When my mother-​in-​law moved to Vegas she told us that she felt like they were the animals ‘used up’ from various Strip acts, sent here to retire. And she’s probably right. But, still, the place has a few pretty cool features, like a pretty large petting zoo (mainly goats), monkeys (apes, chimps), preening peacocks, wallabies, and the aforementioned ostriches that you are allowed to feed.
Beware: their mouths move kind of like a puppet, and they pinch.
See, now you’re wishing you chatted with me at the last Unilocal party! I’d have told you all about it.

This place definitely ain’t The San Diego Zoo, but props for really trying to provide a place for the kids and family to go see the animals.
its not much, but at least its something… If only the state would assist this non-​profit organization with improvements.
I guess Vegas has to make do with this for now… ALOHA!!!

I am originally from a city which was fortunate to have one of the top 10 zoos in the country. That being said, I had extremely low expectations
when visiting the zoo today.
I was pleasantly surprised with the Vegas Zoo. While, no, it didn’t compare at all to the zoo back home, it did far surpass my expectations. They had a variety of species on exhibit and the exhibits were clean. You got an up-​close view of most of the animals which was a treat for my 4 year old daughter. We particularly loved the goat exhibit and were able to go in and pet and feed the goats.
I thought the admission price was fair, as was the pricing on the items in the gift shop.
This is a great local zoo. A fun place to take the kids to and check out some really cool animals. I will definitely go back and am contemplating purchasing a family membership.
I encourage you all to give this a try!

My heart just breaks for this place. It really seems they are in desperate need for money. I’m sure the state and city make enough in tax revenue from tourism and gambling that they could give some money to this place. What a shame.
They did have a nice collection of birds, a neat desert tortoise and Barbary apes. Loved the otters too.

Calling this establishment a zoo is equivalent to cutting a hole out of a garbage bag and putting in on, claiming it is a dress. You can pretend and protest all you want, but a garbage bag is not a suitable dress, and this place is NOT a suitable «zoo».
The website does a fantastic job of tricking you into thinking you will be seeing lots of happy exotic animals… but when my friend and I arrived we found the opposite. We seriously thought it was an elaborate prank! The entrance/​gift-​shop looked like a small single family home that had been converted to just that. We could have easily just walked in without paying because when we went up to the ticket window no one was there… but we pondered too long and a lady finally showed up to rob us of our money.
The zoo was full of pigeons and chickens just running around free and wild… which wouldn’t matter that much if they were not missing half their feathers and looked sad and diseased… it was gross and depressing. There were not that many animals here at all, and the lion was lying in his «den» and we were not even able to see him.
Definitely skip this place when you visit Las Vegas… unless you actually like seeing sad depressed animals in the dusty desert.

LOL@ the reviewer who says he will make sure to visit this place every time he comes to Vegas.
I did enjoy it as a really small child seeing I had nothing to compare it to and had no idea how zoos really work. I visited this ~zoo again when I was 9 and had a better idea of what a Zoo really is and this place made me sad.
The Lion Habitat at MGM and Secret Garden at The Mirage are all far better than this, and those are mini animal exhibits held within casinos, which is sad.
It’s shocking that this place is still here. The animals are clearly miserable, both the exhibits and the animals themselves are in terrible shape and there’s very little shading, which is irrational because we’re in a DESERT people. I don’t think ostriches, peacocks, lions and monkeys adapt to this type of climate very well.
Sarah Jane called it the Zoo of «Auschwitz». I can’t think of a more appropriate name, it’s just that depressing.

This should not be called a zoo. It can’t seriously meet zoo standards. Maybe it should be called Wildlife Preserve or something, but not a zoo. People might drive hundreds of miles to see the Las Vegas «Zoo» just to find our wanna be zoo. That zoo is false advertising and misleading.
This” zoo” is very nasty and it smell horrible. It is way too small.
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I changed my review from 1 star to 4 stars. I went back and they had cleaning crews everywhere. The cleanliness and smell was much improved. Can’t give five stars because it is a low budget zoo, but I really appreciate the improvements.

This zoo is DEFINITELY depressing — a pathetic, small collection of hot, dusty cyclone-​fenced cages containing miserable-​looking animals passed out in what little shade they can find from the unrelenting desert sun. Particularly grim was this poor old chimp who used to perform in various Strip shows back in his heyday… but now sits neglected and abandoned, forlornly jerking off in his grimy little enclosure. But what makes this place MOST depressing is the ironic fact that Siegfried & Roy’s estate is right down the street — less than a mile away, white lions, tigers and panthers are lounging in custom-​habitat luxury, while here at Auschwitz Zoo their poor unlucky cousins are languishing in sun-​baked exile. I love Siegfried & Roy, and they have done a LOT for the community… but come on! All it would take would be one gala fundraiser, and this zoo could be pimpin’. Instead what do they do? Open a private zoo on the grounds of a hotel-​casino. Boo!
I give the LV Zoo staff props for trying. The two stars here are for the people of Las Vegas… come on, guys! Let’s all pitch in and make this a world-​class zoo, as our 2-​million-​plus population deserves!

The zoo was one of the last stops for my wife and I, just about a 10 minute drive from the Strip. We try to go to every zoo whenver we visit a city. Yes, this isn’t much of a zoo when you compare it to the heavy weights such as SD and DC, but it has its own charm and character. The main goal of course is to teach the public about the animals and conservation in general, and I feel this zoo does just that.
There is free parking available both on the street or in a private lot. For adults, admission is $ 8. We were fortunate that the keeper was feeding the animals at the time. My favorite were the otters chowing down on the fish and the lynx, playfully toying with its dead rat before gobbling it up. The monkeys are very active and playful, especially when picking out raisins out of a box!
I felt bad for the lone lion there, since she recently lost her brother to cancer. She was just sitting in her cage, alone and sad.
We ended up purchasing a family membership and will make it a destination whenever we come to Vegas again!

This is the most depressing zoo I’ve ever been to. It must be the San Quentin of zoos, all the animals are in lockdown.
It is essentially a dusty lot crammed full of small concrete cages. All the animals look depressed and must be suffering from mental anguish. There are some cool animals in there, but they are all in pain. The only animals that were happy were the millions of chickens and roosters running amok in that place.
The place was just downright depressing, never been to a zoo this bad. It should be a crime.