McCarthy’s Wildlife Sanctuary

This place is amazing and the kind of work they do here is amazing. Our tour guide Manny was very knowledgable and had an great personality for the job! It was a 2 hour tour and I had a lot of fun learning new interesting facts about this awesome animals ! I prefer this place over a zoo any day ! The gift shop was very nice and I got some items and donated also ! Will go back here again for sure.

Had an amazing time! Everyone was so sweet and knowledgable on the animals… It was so much fun, I HIGHLY suggest it if you’re visiting!!!

I have visited this place 2x and both times were equally exciting and kept my interest. The first time we brought my daughter and 3 of her best friends for her birthday. They were in heaven and the tour guide kept them interested. The second time I brought my brother and his wife who were visiting from out of town and they loved it. It’s so interesting to hear about how they got each animal and the interesting and educational facts about each and how they live here and in the wild. We thoroughly enjoyed this place and my daughter hopes to work here when she gets olds as she loves animals. A must see if you are visiting south Florida and love animals… Especially the big Cats!

Our visit to McCarthy’s Wildlife Sanctuary was most worthwhile. We missed out on McCarthy’s last year because we didn’t book early enough. This year we booked in December for a February visit for 7 of us including 3 kids ages 6, 10 and 13, parents and grandparents. A great time was had by all. Highlights included many big cats, birds, venomous snakes, turtles, monkeys and a tarantula. All up close and personal.
Animals come from a wide range of sources including rescue, donation, abandoned and bred on site. Animals seem very well treated, happy and clean. Almost like family pets. In fact many were formerly inappropriate family pets.
Our tour guide was great and we will probably return in the future to see what’s new.

The visit to McCarthy Wildlife Sanctuary was really nice. Ran by a single family, they have a good number of lions, tigers and other cats as well as a variety of birds and turtles. They also have a reptile exhibit y hats pretty neat. Definitely, a place to visit and support.

Thank you Kara for an incredible tour. We were worried the tour would be rushed but it was very thorough, courteous, and inspiring. Beautiful sanctuary, and the animals are astounding. I can’t believe this was a few miles away from us for the past few years!

We had an amazing tour today! Cassie was our tour guide and we were so impressed. What an awesome place to visit!

This sanctuary was amazing!
It was $ 35 admission fee and definitely worth the cost! There were alligators swimming in a cute fountain area in front of the owners home!
Teddy was our guide that day and she was extremely knowledgable!
We got to see a tigers and the guide worked very hard so that we could view the animals as close as possible! It was nice to be near tigers and lions! But I completely understand why children under 5 shouldn’t be there! The big cats were reaaaallly big, you can feel it when the Tigers jumped down or when the lions paced near you!
All the animals in this facility seemed happy and well fed which is a definite plus because most animals look so miserable in cages! There was also very little odor, even in the reptile house!
This place was an experience of a life time and I hope to visit it again when they have Cubs around! I wouldn’t mind coming to experience this tour again even without babies!

Update: we have visiting multiple times (forgot to check in a few of them) on our annual Florida visits, gets better every time. We had Kara again on this years trip, she does a great job! We can tell that the animals really connect with her and that she enjoys her job. It’s always a great experience. Fellow Unilocalers, don’t miss this one!

Great experience, better than the zoo, tour guide is very informative. Recommend for all ages

What an amazing place!!! We had a very small group with Kara as our guide. Kara is very knowledgeable and she had a personal connection with all the animals she was great! You are so close to each of the animals it was truly an amazing experience. Some of the animals you even get to hold. I would recommended everyone I know to come here because it’s something everyone should get to see because it was the first time in my life that close to wildlife! Once my daughter is a little older we will be coming back with her!

I can’t believe I haven’t written a review for this place. McCarthy’s was such an amazing experience. From the moment we arrived we were greeted by our guide (Brie like the cheese lol!) and she was wonderful throughout. This is the closest I have ever been to a tiger or lion and it is an impressive sight. They actually have a larger selection of big cats and more exotic animals than I expected. You also get to touch and interact with a couple of the animals. The tour is about 2 hours long and Brie really took her time explaining and answering our questions. You can tell they take really good care of the animals. Everything is clean and the animals look healthy and happy. Every dollar spent gets matched and goes into keeping the sanctuary running. What a great place.

We visited with the kids today and had a great time. There were about 10 people in our group and our guide was knowledgeable.
This is the closest you can probably get to these beautiful animals; much better than a zoo. You can also tell that the animals are well cared for.

We had a amazing day here! The guides were very informative and it was extremely hands on for kids and adults. Highly recommend!

If you love animals, definitely check this place out. The family takes in exotic and local animals that need a home and takes care of them so well. A tour of the place gives you plenty of opportunities to interact with the animals — to hold a chinchilla, a snake, a parrot. Our tour guide Kara was fantastic, knew her facts, and the animals love her so they were very playful. Another great part: the money for your ticket and any purchases goes as a donation straight to taking care of the animals.

I loved visiting McCarthy’s! Our tour guide Kara was very knowledgeable and informative. She loves her job and that is reflected in her presentation.
I loved interacting with the animals they had available. I can’t wait to come back when they have baby big cats!

Returned again this year, and again — OUTSTANDING.
Got to see Giorgiana the Kinkajou again and hold «Snowball» the python/​boa?
Love it here and our (now) 10 year old can’t get enough!
She wants to work here — but we live in Philly.

Wow, wow, WOW!!! This place is a must see for everyone. The entire facility was immaculate! All the animals and reptiles are all clearly cared for by experts.
Our guide, Ana, was very knowledgeable and took her time to answer all our questions and we never felt rushed.
The best part is that all purchases, donations, and gift shop buys are matched dollar for dollar by an outside company.
5 stars all the way!

What a great place to support! McCarthy’s is a wildlife sanctuary that is non-​profit, and they will rehabilitate and release animals in the wild, or keep any animals that were domesticated and cannot ever be released, rather than euthanizing them. They have everything from a yellow sulfur cockatoo to a lynx, African serval, liger, a kinkajou and reptiles. I decided to come here for my birthday last weekend, and brought my daughter with me to celebrate.
Many of the animals here were donated by wildlife officers and were confiscated from others due to neglect or lack of permits, while others became nuisance pets that had to be surrendered. Here, all these animals are given a haven, and a second chance at life. Thanks to the money paid by tours, or purchases made at the gift shop, the sanctuary is able to function and provide veterinary attention and food for all the resident animals. Private one on one encounters also provide a good source of income for them. A private encounter with the baby tiger was $ 100 per person, while a tour for one adult costs $ 25.
Unlike other sanctuary tours that only let you see animals from a distance, you will touch and hold a few here, such as an African Grey parrot, a kinkajou, turtles, salamanders, and an albino burmese python. The demonstrations with the chunk of beef are pretty interesting, as they give you a glimpse as to how tall these cats can stand on two paws, During this demonstration, you will see the black leopard, Siberian tiger, lion, African serval and lynx standing for beef. Everyone was in awe of their majestic presence and beauty.
Kat was a great guide, she told us each animal’s story and provided educational facts about the animals. All the staff, who are volunteers, are extremely friendly. My daughter was in awe and loved holding all the animals. She was sad to leave, but was glad to have a new baby white leopard stuffed animal, and I was happy in knowing that my purchase is helping feed these remarkable, stunning animals. A week later, she is still telling people about her time there and won’t let that stuffed animal out of her sight! Our visit was a hit!

My family received this tour as a gift. I have been Living in palm beach gardens for some time, and we did not even hear about this place. It seems they do not advertise and it’s all non profit.
I am soo thankful and glad we were given the opportunity to enjoy this experience. It is reservation only, so no walk-​in.
The staff was amazing and helpful. We were running late, and ended up missing the first 35mins of the tour. My wife politely informed them of our tardiness, and asked if there was anything that can be done to make sure we experience the full tour. The staff was wonderful and gave us a tour on the additional animals that were missed.
So politely ask if there is a dilemma, and they will accommodate you and your family.
We recommend any family to visit and bring cash!!! Remember our donations make this facility strive!!!