Capital of Texas Zoo

I love this zoo! It’s not paved and fancy, but the animals seem well cared for and the employees are always so nice.

I was so weary to try this place out because of the horrible reviews.
The CTZOO claims that most negative reviews come from a competitor zoo *cough cough: Austin Zoo* and sadly, I believe they do. The zoo isn’t some glitz and glamour experience, it’s more of a nice safari hike. I loved it. You’re so close to the animals which are very friendly as many say. Both the Austin and Capital Texas Zoos have their pros and their cons, but overall, I would definitely recommend both to any true animal lover.
All in all, DON’T GET SCARED OFF BY BAD REVIEWS, THIS ZOO IS NOT THAT BAD! I MIGHT EVEN SAY ITS GOOD.
I have it a chance, and I DID NOT regret it one bit.
Note: Prices have gone up from what they advertise online to $ 11.99 for an adult. But hey, if it helps them grow in to an even nicer zoo, I don’t mind paying it.

Worst zoo I have ever been too. Very small. Badly needs an uplift. Only good thing is animals look healthy. Road leading to the zoo was poor. Some animals were stinking. Liked the hippopotamus and talking parrots.

Mr. Hicks was kind enough to allow myself and a coworker come out and learn about his facilities. I have examined some of the photographic «evidence» a few others have posted. Those cages are industry standard for reptiles, especially snakes. Most large scale herpetologists keep their reptiles in sterlite boxes on racks with only paper towels as medium. This is to prevent accidental ingestion of materials more «aesthetically pleasing» to the public. How horrible for the small animal and cockatoo to be kept behind the desk where Mr. Hicks logs many hours in. This gives them the close proximity they need for comfort. Do you know if the small monkey (not sure what it is due to pic being small) was being bottle fed, medicated, etc, or not? I don’t know what zoos you have been too, but $ 50 for 4 people isn’t bad, and you don’t get guided tours at those facilities either. Because I am unsure what day, time, and season you went I cannot make a statement regard water amounts or quality. I do know from working with various kennels, large animal barns/​farms/​ranches, and at a major resource for the Houston and outlying areas pet stores that tjose conditions matter. I hope you brought these concerns to Mr. Hicks before attempting to publically roast his facility. It is easy to turn up a nose at what is misunderstood. I will be returning to the facility, and hope my kiddo will become a junior volunteer!

I loved it!
Although it took a while to find it, was well worth it!
Not glitzy, but because the animals aren’t gawked at and taunted by millions of people, they were VERY inquisitive and I got great pictures!!!
A little slice of nirvana, this side of heaven…

I will admit when I drove up I was hesitant to walk in but now I am glad we did. We honked the car horn like the sign stated and went in, it took a few minutes for the lady to walk up because she was tending to the animals. If you are expecting the San Antonio zoo you need to change your mind set as this place is a low budget zoo. It is a very up close and personal experience, the lady (wish I would have asked her name) was taking animals out of their cages to let my 4 year old daughter pet them. She was able to pet a parrot, lizard, two Dingo’s (African wild dogs) and all the petting zoo animals. I do recommend Taking a water bottle and going in the morning or in the afternoon as most of the animals were napping in the shade trying to stay out of this texas heat.

This is a neat little zoo. I’m not sure if all these people who wrote negative reviews actually went there or they are just the type of people who like to complain because thats what folks on the internet seem to do. This is not a theme park type place, so don’t expect pavement and cotton candy vendors all over. This is fine by me. This place was quite a bit bigger than I expected it to be. They have a good selection of animals. I read all the complaints here about bad animal treatment and its simply not true. The animals all looked well cared for. We had one of the employees walk us around and show us a number of animals, let us feed them and touch them. Pay the few bucks and go into the lemur cage to feed them, its worth it. They are neat little creatures. The paths are a little rough but nothing outrageous, gets a little worse if a big Texas storm blows through and messes things up. They are pretty much all shaded by trees. We got there at feeding time and got to watch. The guy took us around as he fed the animals and talked to us about them. A lot of the animals are rescues.
I’ve been to the big zoos in San Diego and all that. Sure they a big but half the time the exhibits are closed or theres a pile of 50 screaming kids in front of you and a lot of the animals are hiding behind rocks or whatever. This zoo is not like that. Its more intimate and the animals seemed to be happy and amused by us (not like the desperate looking animals at the bigger zoos). You you are one of those preppy city folks this may not be the zoo for you. We live out in this middle of nowhere around the corner from the zoo so its home for us.
I like this place and we will go back. You can get through it in about 3 hours, longer if you stop for a picnic in their picnic area. I recommend going just after they open before the Texas heat bears down on you.

We live a few miles from the zoo! At first glance it a little shady. But so was the Austin zoo when we first went there back in the early 90’s. This zoo is 100% private funding! They are constantly doing upgrades to make life better for the animals. Is it perfect no. But it gives our kiddo a chance to see animals up close personally it is better than my last visit to San Antonio. When ¾ of the animal habitats were closed. We bought a family member ship for the year and have gone to the zoo over 20 times. It was the perfect potty training incentive. We went once a week for three months and really got to know the owners and staff. We met the baby zebra shortly after it was born we have sang to tank the hippo and he seems to respond to it! It’s not perfect but it’s a nice little place to get away and spend some family time with out having to go clear across town and spend the entire day.

I went with my brother, nephew, and some friends on a spur of the moment lark and I don’t think we were disappointed. I’ve been to the zoo in Austin and in my opinion, this one is better. The animals look well cared for, the grounds are nice, the price is right, and the diversity in terms of the kinds of animals is good. The kids were all in awe and ran from one exhibit to the next! We had a great day!

not a big city zoo but still pretty cool. They have a lemur adventure, you get to go into the cage and feed the lemurs out of your hand. It’s pretty neat, they have a little bit of everything. Reminds me a little of We bought a Zoo, the layout, feel, etc. It’s a little out of the way and hidden but a must stop if you are in town.

This is not a zoo. It’s an animal hoarder charging admission. The cages are too small, and some don’t even hold the animals in (There were guinea pigs wandering around the woods behind their pen). I saw animals pacing and masturbating out of boredom. I left feeling very sad for the animals there.

Don’t hate something just because of a smaller budget. This place is great! Animals are friendly and the petting zoo donkey was loving an ear rub. The peacocks are free roaming and the talking bird is great. Compare it to Sharkarosa, not the huge zoos. Friendly staff and I can tell they care and appreciate the animals.

Ignore the tree hugging extremists. This little known secret is well worth the trip. All of the residents are well treated. New renovations are upcoming. Can’t wait to come back and see the upgrades.

Wanted to update my review from last year. We were aware from our prior visit and from the info page for the zoo that they did private tours which includes getting to feed the lemurs. I LOVE LEMURS!!! Ever since I found that out I have wanted to go. My boyfriend got us set up to do the private tour on valentine’s day. We arrived a few minutes before our one pm time slot and found out we were the only ones who had signed up for the tour. So YAY for us as we got our own private tour! The private tour is also only 39 $ a person and here’s what we got.
LEMURS!!! Oh my gosh they are beyond cute. We got to go inside the cage with the four ring tailed lemurs. We sat down on a log and the staff would put grapes in our hand which the lemurs would take and eat. They were so sweet and cute and the staff took lots of pictures with my cell for me. We also got to feed the zebras (mommy, daddy and baby zebra), I fed the camel, and we also got to fed the brown lemurs through the cage. We also got to see the lion, tiger and alligator be fed. The staff were so nice and knowledgeable and I learned so much during the tour. Even after the tour ended we were still able to walk around and see some of the other animals and feed the lamas and goats and donkey in the petting zoo. The tour for me totally made my Valentine’s day special and all my pictures came out great. I would totally recommend doing this tour if you want to do something special.

I have some serious safety concerns for both the animals and the paying visitors.
We arrived during the morning on a weekday, and the ‘zoo’ was completely empty. Besides the employees vehicles, we were the only ones in the lot. Our family of 4, (2 adults, 7 year old and 2 year old) were charged about $ 50 for admission. Tip: if you use a debit or credit card, expect a $ 2.50 service charge. This seemed expensive, as we pay less for the Austin and San Antonio zoos, but the kids were excited to go, so we went for it.
The entry building is dim, filthy, and fragrant, and contains several snakes and lizards crammed into tiny tanks. Not one snake had room to extend it’s self. I hate snakes, and even I felt bad for them.
Stepping into the zoo, the first thing you notice is the lack of upkeep on the grounds. Paths were overgrown and at times extremely narrow. Remember how I hated snakes? Over grown vegetation is their habitat. The vegetation was so over grown it made viewing many animals impossible, and we had to lift our 2 year old up to see anything.
And let’s talk about these poor animals. The other reviewers are not wrong. The enclosures are depressingly and alarmingly small. Not one animal had enrichment items. Social animals, who naturally live in large groups are isolated in tiny cages, alone. We spotted several animals whom had escaped enclosures, including Prarie dogs. The hippo water was shallow and brackish, the peacocks looked mangy, every single animal was sluggish and depressed.
I have so much more I could add, but this is getting long.
More safety concerns, glass on signs in front of a number of enclosures were broken, with large shards protruding. I uploaded a photo so you can see this. The signs are at child height. It was obvious the signs had been this way for a while, as dirt had accumulated under the broken glass. How is this okay? Its an accident waiting to happen. Bathrooms were dirty and questionably constructed. Bridges and pathways swayed and bowed. Paths were made of large stone that made walking for small feet difficult.
This Is not a zoo. This is barely cleared acreage with poorly kept animals and no amenities. I hope they invest in taking care of the animals they have before expanding.

I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into going to the Capital of Texas Zoo. I’m from Dallas, and was expecting something similar to the DFW zoo. I was not only pleasantly surprised, I was freaking AMAZED!
So this zoo is way out in the middle of nowhere. It seemed REAL sketchy turning down all the dirt roads, but after driving my 1 year old all the way down there, I was determined to give it a chance.
I was really concerned when I pulled up and saw like 3 cars in a grass lot in front of a shack… Surely, this wasn’t the zoo. A little shack?!
After surveying the area, I did notice a corral with a camel… So I convinced myself that I would just walk in the shack and see what’s going on.
A lovely woman with a daughter somewhere around 6 – 8 years old were in the «shack.» They were volunteers and were so sweet and friendly, despite my complete skepticism.
So I paid the small fee and decided to trek out into the wild. The zoo doesn’t have any paved roads, so strollers are a little difficult to push around, but the little girl was pretty adamant she was going to push my stroller for me. She ended up being the cutest tour guide on the entire planet.
Anyways, the zoo is incredible. There are beautiful peacocks that just run around the entire zoo and space invade all the other animals.
This zoo is so intimate, and has a pretty large variety of animals. It’s not the typical depressing zoo. It’s sweet, and the animals are so well taken care of. A must see!

If you’re expecting a giant grandiose type of zoo this isn’t it. BUT that being said it’s an awesome collection of animals for the kids to see. There’s an option to buy petting zoo food which is a little more hands on than most places.
One of the people that worked there talked to us for a while about the story of the 2 turkey’s they have and a lot of info about them. A personal touch that you might not get at a bigger zoo.
I’m not sure if they still do this but we got to go into the lemur cage and feed the lemurs by hand, for only $ 5 more (per person) very worth it!!!
The paths are shaded which was nice. A very fun experience.

We loved the place. There are many animals, the setting is wonderful, the keeper was friendly.
The place is quite unique, doesn’t feel like your standard commercial and hyped-​up zoo. We really loved the animals — from bears, lions and crocodiles to cute ponies, lemurs and zebras.
It’s a rather long drive out to the country (we drove for 40 minutes from Far West), but the scenery is lovely and we enjoyed it as part of the trip.
We came with another family, two double strollers overall. Going over the dirt trails was definitely possible, although not terribly convenient at 2 or 3 points along the way.
I’ve read some of the negative reviews here, and they really left me scratching my head in wonder. Some people seem to have either very high expectations (no, this is not San Diego Zoo) or highly prejudiced (friendly animals = miserable ones? etc). Maybe, it’s a matter of personal tastes. Again, we had a wonderful time in this zoo.

Capital of Texas Zoo is a grim collection of destitute, desperate animals that seek only to be set free from the dark reality of their existence.
Your visit to this waking nightmare begins with a dark shack filled with depressed poisonous snakes. The snakes have every reason to be depressed — nearly a dozen significantly big Texas rattlesnakes are kept in bread box sized containers that are not nearly large enough to make a habitable space. Most are folded atop themselves several times over. They spend their day glaring at more child-​friendly repitles in the same room — a bearded lizard, two blue-​tongued skinks — that have considerably larger habitats. There is an inexplicable monkey in a cockatiel cage behind the counter.
As you wait for an employee to arrive — likely a child, as other reviewers have noted — you may notice a bold message printed on the counter that tells you that any photographs that you take are your own to use for personal means only, and that you are prohibited from sending them to a newspaper or a television station under threat of legal action. What has this zoo to fear, I wonder?
If an employee does show up, congratulations! This is the only time at which you’ll see an employee during your visit. They are here to cater to the groups of children that arrive for parties and school visits. So far as I can tell, the animals are responsible for taking care of themselves.
Most are resigned to their fate. Most of the animals that you find along the initial spokes of the paths are weak, underfed, and surprisingly friendly — desperate for any morsel of food that you might offer. Most animals are enclosed in wood-​and-​wire pens that resemble chicken coops. Some animals have adequately sized pens — the pigs and goats have large stables, and the exotic beasts near the end of the zoo like the camel, the hippo, and the zebras have a fair bit of room. But the spread of space available is wildly uneven — there’s an enormous pit shared by a dozen guinea pigs. Why do guinea pigs have a luxurious home, and other animals get to live in a 5 by 5 box?
Understand, I’m sympathetic to low-​budget zoos, and I really do not mind at all that the trails are dirt-​and-​stone, that the layout is haphazard, that the signage is sparse. I like that this zoo has an impressive variety of animals, that the animals seem friendly, and that you can get pretty close to almost all of them.
But many of the animals seem under-​cared for in some way, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s because the zoo’s staff and/​or funding is spread too thin across so many different beasts. It certainly seems that way, given the incredible age of the structures on the property, and the fact that I didn’t see a single employee that was anywhere on site except in the snake shack that serves as the park entrance.
I would really like this zoo to be a fun destination to recommend. But many things about it set off alarms in my head. I’m curious to know if I’m overreacting, or if whatever state or federal oversight exists for zoos would agree with me.

This is such an awkward, hard-​to-​find location! But if you have GPS and a spare Saturday, go for a visit! Boyfriend knows I love animals and zoos, and he found this place as a surprise because I’d never been here.
Staff were mostly young and not necessarily knowledgeable about the animals, and informative plaques weren’t really present and those that were didn’t seem current or taken care of. But the animals seemed to be happy and they had more natural enclosures than most zoo animals, but animals seemed more comfortable, though they may have had less room than at other zoos/​sanctuaries.
Highlights of our trip include the guinea pigs (SO MANY GUINEAS!), the camels, and the albino raccoon, who was easily our favorite– he was half asleep, sunning himself and almost seemed hung over the way he stumbled around when he was given food. The teenager who stopped by to feed him said he was a favorite resident, and his behavior is comparable to that of an older dog.
Heads up to families that the walkways are not paved here, and there didn’t seem to be much of a snack bar when we went (though there was a booth, so maybe it just wasn’t open?), so plan ahead and bring your four-​wheel-​drive stroller, sneakers, and snacks!