Let's talk about what Zooamerica is. Zooamerica was founded to bring wild animals to the Hershey/Derry area for both the people of the area and the boys at the Milton S. Hershey school. When Zooamerica was founded it exceed the standards of care and feeding of the animals and gave people who would not have the chance to see such exotic animals an opportunity to. By today's standards some of the enclosures appear to be cramped. Also with the increase in Hersheypark noise it can be a bit more stressful for the animals. That said, I didn't notice much of the park noise while in Zooamerica and I'm a pretty sensitive person. There is a good array of types of animals to see. The recommended trail will get you to all the major exhibits, but it does miss some of the smaller ones. Not a whole lot of interactivity at the individual exhibits, but at least one group was on a scavenger hunt. read more

The zoo is very nice to walk around. I found it to be clean. The only upsetting thing I found was most animals didn't seem happy. Nothing to play with in the cages. The cats just went in a circle and seemed very stressed. read more

This is really a sad excuse of a zoo. You can barely see most of the animals with how the zoo is structured. The white wolves looked terribly sick with diarrhea and worms coming out their rear ends and sores on their ears. It's a tiny zoo and even with getting half price admission as we have a reciprocal zoo membership is still don't think it's worth the price. The staff didn't interact at all and there was no one around to ask about the animals to. I really hope we just went on an off day. This is definitely not somewhere I'll be returning to. read more

Recently I took my boyfriend to the " After Hours Tour" for his 30th birthday. Let me tell you that this was the best idea! Not only was our tour guide Kate very knowledgeable and friendly she also told us about amazing the staff at the zoo care for the animals, and also all of their stories. You can't beat the experience and it's for a great price and also a great cause. read more

ZooAmerica - The otters were my favorite to feed! So glad I had an up close experience with them. - Zoos Near Me - Hershey, Pennsylvania

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I visited on January 20, 2010. It was less than 40 degrees outside, but we were surprised to see how many animals were there! MANY animals, such as the bear and mountain lions, would not stop pacing in their enclosures. I do not know if they were supposed to be fed soon or not, but it was unsettling. I am also terrified of birds, and in the little West Desert house they had different kinds of birds such as roadrunners and owls. That's fine, but there is not a full-length glass barrier between you and the animals. I think their wings are clipped, but the birds would get to the top of a cactus or tree and try to fly at you--it was quite terrifying. Admission was $9.50 per person and parking was free on their own lot. You could only walk around the zoo-- all the little food stands were closed until the summer months, and if you wanted to purchase a bottle of water or soda you needed to cross the entire zoo and they were about $3.50. My only big complaint, though, was the ice. We had a good snow a couple weeks ago, and since then the temperatures rose to about 50 degrees before dropping again. There were still ice patches throughout the walkways, and to see a nice totem pole up close you need to try hard not to slip on the wide ice area around it! Regardless, I wouldn't mind coming back. read more

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It cost me $50 for two adults and two kids and there was barely anything to see. Not worth the trip or money.

Loved it kids had a wonderful time will be back definitely worth it not expensive either

Zoo America is free with your park tickets and the entrance is inside the park. So if you want to take a break from the rides and see some North American animals you should stop bye. Lots of well kept animals with ok enclosures. Just used too the Bronx zoo which gives there animals way more room to roam and better enclosures. That's the only downfall i see to this place is that the animals could use bigger cages. read more

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I was right about to head back to NY and saw this zoo connected to Hershey...I decided to turn in and Im so glad we did! So many animals to see, and learn about. Spent a good 2 hours here and left with a big smile and great memories. read more

We visited the park for an after dark event a few weekends before Halloween. The place was well staffed and here were many nocturnal animals being highlighted. The armadillos, wolves and albino skunk were cool. The zoo itself is fairly small. read more

I'm not a fan of zoos, but when I learned that this isn't technically a zoo and basically a wildlife rescue, I decided to go with my husband. It was cold that day, so the animals were either hiding or sleeping, but I still thought it was pretty good! read more

We were fortunate enough that the December weather was warm enough, albeit still cold, that we were able to visit this sweet little zoo during our stay in Hershey last week. I really enjoyed myself. I'm a sucker for a zoo. I absolutely love seeing all of the animals. What makes this zoo special is that all of the animals are from North America and most if not all are rescues. The zoo was very affordable. I'd go so far as to call it cheap. 4 adults and 3 children and it was less than $60. So, I wasn't expecting much. But, I was pleasantly surprised. If I lived local, I would visit this zoo often. It's very tranquil. There are indoor and outdoor exhibits. My fiancé was fascinated by the vampire bats featured in the zoo's dark exhibit. He went so far as to ask if he could get some as pets. I really enjoyed the cats; the ocelots, the bobcats, and the mountain lions. They were very active and we were able to get very close. Other notables include the owls, the porcupine, a massive snapping turtle, and the wolves. If you are in the area, this is a stop worth making, expect to spend an hour or two. We went on a Monday afternoon in December. There weren't many other visitors. That added to the experience. It was almost like we rented out the zoo. I'm curious how the animals behave when Hershey Park is open. There is a roller coaster very close to the zoo. I'd imagine it gets loud. I wonder if the animals are used to it? I don't think I'd enjoy it. I liked the quiet visit we had:) read more

For a free zoo, it was pretty good. I wouldnt want to pay $12.00 to enter it by itself. I thought the zoo was nicely set up, with directions for the best way to go. It was pretty hot but it didnt seem to bother the animals on this particular day and other than the wolf we saw everything. The animal areas were well tended, and for the most part good sized. You cant compare this to the Bronx Zoo because they arent even in the same category. Considering why this zoo was added, and the fact that it is a great learning experience makes it worthwhile for me. read more

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My family was denied access to Zoo America today because we cannot wear masks. We kindly explained that we have medical conditions and cannot wear masks and they still did not allow us in. Even brought over security when we were kind and compliant the whole time. They didn't care that we drove an hour to get there and our 2 year old was crying that he couldn't see the animals. Terrible customer service! read more

Zooamerica is a hidden gem in hersheypark. It is free with your hersheypark admission and you can't go to Hersheypark without seeing it! The place is clean and well kept and there animals look happy as ever. The animals have so much space to walk around and since the animals are only native to U.S.A so they don't have animals suffering like polar bears being outside. Also if animals can't survive outside in Pennsylvania they keep him inside in a controlled environment. Also I'm surprised people said stuff like this",PATHETIC!! This zoo sucks!",( that was actually real) when this zoo was not crowded at all and have lots of wildlife. I loved this zoo! read more

ZooAmerica - Owl in the exibt - Zoos Near Me - Hershey, Pennsylvania

This could be the worst zoo in the United States. It is very small. Additionally there are barely any animals. The staff was very rude. Perhaps most importantly, showing what Hershey and ZooAmerica think of families, A bottle of cold waters four dollars, save your money and your time not worth it read more

This zoo was very depressing. The girl at the box did not tell me that 2 attractions were closed. I would of never paid to get in knowing that. read more

Nice zoo nestled in Hershey PA. Animal exhibits are clean and staff is very friendly! The animal exhibits are set up nicely for their environment / needs. read more

We enjoyed our visit. We are members at a reciprocal zoo so we did not have to pay. With a two year old, we were in and out in about an hour. read more

We love Zoo America! My son has had his birthday party there several years. He has also attended Zoo Camp this past summer. There aren't any "big" Zoos in the area, but this is an excellent little zoo! It only takes and hour or 2 to get through, but they also have cool feeding experiences and keeper talks. We also love going to Creatures of the Night during October where you can see the animals at night with a flashlight. All in all, my kids and I love it there!! read more

Even though I live in the area I have only visited Zoo America twice - once 15 years ago as a school field trip chaperone and this past weekend at their free weekend event which occurs annually every January. Honestly if it wasn't free I wouldn't have went. I have no idea how much admission is but I personally would not pay more than $6 person and here's why: This is not a zoo, it's merely an animal attraction with only a handful of animals, most of which you won't even see. Many were local that you could see elsewhere in the county; either by accident or intention. Several of the exhibits the animals were not out or were very lethargic. They didn't look like they were happy and didn't display normal behaviors due to captivity. There is two building housing retiles, birds, and other smaller animals and that made the trip worthwhile, however it was a free weekend so the crowds were as one can imagine. It was push and shove to see anything. Even with the heavy crowds we were in/out in a little over an hour. It's smallish, and doesn't have a lot to see so if you plan on going, don't revolve your entire day around your visit. Due to the crowds their parking lot was full. While many folks were paying to park in the parking garage across the street we found free street parking a block away. It's a steep walk with a stroller over the bridge that leads from the street parking/parking garage to the attraction so be prepared. However you will not need to cross the busy street as there is a tunnel under the "bridge" that leads to the parking lot/zoo entrance. Several years ago there was severe flooding in the area. I will never get the images out of my head of the poor defenseless animals they profit off of being sweep away in the fast moving current. NO attempts were made to save them. The story made the national news, a quick Google search is all it takes to validate my statement. On the day of our visit animal activists were protesting outside. I don't see myself coming here again in the future. For a more authentic animal attraction Lake Tobias (an hour or so away from Hershey) is recommended. read more

Terrible time, 14$ for a ticket to only see 1/3 of the zoo. All the other animals were gone. Zoo itself was about an hour to walk, we saw vultures and a mountain lion nothing else. Don't waste your time read more

A nice zoo that accomplishes its mission well - they show off the iconic animals of North America - and they do it without being pretentious or shoving "save the planet" down your throat every five seconds. Now, I'm all for saving the planet (and the humans along with it) but I'm here to see critters and varmints. Here, they kind of let the exhibits speak for themselves, and don't take attention away from the animals. And, in about an hour of leisurely walking, you can see: snakes, lizards, roadrunners, six kinds of owl, bats, alligators, crocodiles, bears, wolves, bobcats, prairie dogs, mountain lions, deer, turkeys, porcupines, otters, buffalo, elk, and the occasional tortoise and chipmunk. I'd sort them in order of potential tastiness but then PETA would throw blood on me. We were there when they opened and all the animals were out and active. The two kids (6 and 3) had a blast - they especially liked the prairie dog town and the desert exhibit. What's particularly nice about this place is that it's easy to get close to the animals, and it's not crowded. I think most people inside of the amusement park never quite make it there, and I don't think there are many folks in Hershey who go to things besides HersheyPark. They have their own (free) parking lot, and admission is very cheap (under $10 for adults). read more

It did have maze when I was I kid. The zoo have many cute animals. We can get in thought Hershey park because it part of the Hershey park admission. read more

Otters. YAY! Margay. Yay! Wolves. yay! Bear. yay. Stupid birds. God daaaaaammmmiiiiittt I hate birds. Boo. Definitely a great place to walk around and see North American wildlife at it's finest. Reasonably priced - gorgeous surroundings and you get to see otters swimming about (my favorite). Something different to do in Harrisburg/Hershey. At Halloween they have Creatures of the Night which is pretty awesome. Yeah. I like the Zoo. read more

This "zoo" is in serious need of change. The environments are not large or modern enough to accomodate the animals, and it is clear several of them are severely stressed and/or have psychological problems. With the money and resources Hershey has, there is no excuse for this. Simply donate the animals you can obviously not care for, and/or spend the money to modernize the environments. It should be obvious to anyone even somewhat familiar with animal behavior that several animals there are extremely unhappy. read more

This is a great little Zoo, its not compared to Philly Zoo, D.C. Zoo or Inner Harbor. It is more along the lines of Trexler Game Preserve, Lake Tobias, Niagara Falls Aquarium, AnimaLand, etc. Zoo sponsors a free family day every winter, usually very cold, but you can see a wealth of animals. Turtles, snakes, alligators, elk, deer, bear, barn owls, parrots, etc. it has ramps for handicap accessibility, but lanes are narrow. Small gift shop, parking is reccomended in the downtown parkjng garage. read more

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This is the saddest zoo in America. I read down to see someone responding about the living conditions of the animals. I can't explain away the fact that the deer have less room than cranes and two mountain lions seemed to have a pretty cramped cage. ROY THE PORCUPINE, THOUGH. Roy just got his fat ass up a tree, clearly hungover as fuck, and took a snooze for most of our visit. All stars just for Roy. read more

When you mention a zoo, you usually expect acres and acres of exhibits with exotic animals that you would never see around where you live or a short trip away from your house. When you visit Zoo America, that is exactly what you WON'T see. But the good thing is, it is cheap and there are a couple of animals worth going to see since we don't live in the wild wild west. The Zoo is a walkthrough, kind of a super-mini National Zoo feel, if you have ever been there. They have a bunch of the usual suspects like a variety of birds, prarie dogs, wolves, etc. They also have cool ones too like huge Bison, a big black bear, cute little bobcats, and a mountain lion. Some of the usually boring animals happened to be doing cool things when we went, for instance the hawk had swooped down and devoured a mouse which was neat to see up close. Also, the elk was bucking his horns and showing off for the crowd right in front of the fence. That was a sight. Overall this zoo won't compete for any worldwide recognition, but it is a nice, quick outing you can visit to keep the kids amazed and occupied and cheap alternative to blowing a paycheck on Hershey Park itself. You could really spend anywhere from 1 hour to the whole day here. Adult tickets are only $8.50 if you go to it without going to Hershey Park (there is free parking in their own lot!) which I thought was a great value. You can't expect the world when you are going to a zoo in Hershey, PA. Go in with that mindset and you will be pleasantly surprised. read more

Well it's a beautiful place, didn't really see many animals or birds not even the owl. We saw the Bear! Perhaps it was just too hot and they were all in the shade. I will not be back read more

If it were not for "free" admission as part of the price of the Hershey Park ticket, I would say that Zoo America was not worth the visit. While we did sort of rush through the zoo, we found the zoo to be sort of small and did not offer a lot to see. They had bears, and reptiles, elk and even a buffalo. But not what I have come to expect from a zoo -- I expect to see elephants, and perhaps giraffes and that sort of thing, which I did not here. Although we did see prairie dogs which you don't see every day. They also had at least one interesting exhibit / Q&A presentation on turtles and reptiles that my little boy enjoyed. Worthwhile if you are in the park for a visit or in the area and need something to do with the kids -- even if you are not also going to Hershey Park, but not a zoo to go out of your way for. read more

My personal view on zoos set aside, ZooAmerica is generally a good zoo with a variety of animals. They teach you about the different kinds of species and their habitats and the animals seem to be well taken care of. It's a pretty place and fun for kids as well as educational read more

Very small and just OK. Not nearly as good as major urban zoos (like Philadelphia, Bronx, Central Park, San Diego, San Francisco). They do have a new (2012) Albino Alligator named "Sugar" and bobcats, prairie dogs and one lonely looking black bear. We got free admission with our Hershey Park pass - so we went (spent about 2-3 hours there which was quite enough.) Not a great zoo, I am sorry to say. read more

When I was up in Hershey last year on vacation, my fiancee and I went to the zoo there. It's a small, well funded zoo that was clean, and very well kept. Ive read some of the other reviews saying that the zoo wasn't as good as the others that they've been to, but compared to the one that we have here in Hawaii, it's a stark contrast of what good planning, funding, and maintenance can do for a zoo. I recommend this zoo because of those reasons. While, I can't say that I'll be going back unless I'm up in that area of Pennsylvania again when I do go back to the state, but if I am, I will definitely go. read more

This zoo is sad and will make you sad. The animals appear to be extremely depressed. The animals do not move around, they merely sit or lay down while either staring at the floor or at the wall. The only animals that do move are the birds which are given the most spacious enclosure out of all the animals, including bears, mountain lions and Bobcats. In the nocturnal exhibit, certain animals are given crumpled paper bags (probably filled with treats) as "stimulation". But while visiting, the fox and the animals in the enclosure next to seemed immobile as one stared at the floor and the other stared at the wall. In one single enclosure that is smaller than my hotel room at the Red Roof Inn (which is an extremely well kept place) were two bobcats and what appeared to be a hybrid of some sort. The cats were very nervous and were unable to properly release their energy. Another enclosure contained a single black bear tearing at the grass whose enclosure appeared to be mostly water. The bear seemed to have about 1/8 of an acre when the minimum amount of space given should have a one mile radius from were they sleep. This bear did not appear to have any where close to that. Another extremely depressing enclosure belonged to the mountain lions. The enclosure contained two of the cats. One cat was lying in the far corner crying while the other merely paced back and forth. Both cats appeared to have pent up energy and anxiousness that could not be properly released. read more

After writing my initial review, I heard from someone at the zoo. It was explained that the birds where in bad shape either because of seasonal molting, or (more likely) because most of their birds are rescue birds, with different medical conditions, like broken wings and whatnot. It was also explained that the dark room is set on a reverse lighting situation where the animals receive 'daylight' during the night time, and are kept in the dark (blue) during the daytime for better exhibition. I don't know, maybe that'll work; though I'm not sure that there's any substitute for real sunshine. Anyway, the response was well written and seemed quite sincere (read below), so I'm adding an additional star. They've also got the biggest black bear I've ever seen, so I guess that's worth something too. _________________________ I apologize that you did not enjoy your visit to ZooAmerica. I hope I will answer all of your concerns. First, you mentioned that many birds appeared to be in bad shape. Many of our birds were molting from the end of August to mid September, which gives them a very disheveled appearance. One roadrunner in particular had multiple tail feathers sticking out in all directions for at least 1 week. We do not handle any of our exhibit birds on a regular basis. The last time they were handled was in early spring for their West Nile vaccinations. Also, most of our birds of prey are rehabilitated birds from the wild. For example, our red-tailed hawks both have broken wings and therefore, their wings stick out in different directions. Our eagles have parts of one wing amputated and some of our owls have eye or wing injuries. They are unable to return to the wild because of these injuries and that is why ZooAmerica houses them. In reference to the ocelot exhibit- that exhibit exceeds the required space that two ocelots need. They also have access at all times to a back holding area where they can get away if they feel stressed by the public. Their exhibit was designed in 2010 specifically for ocelots- we installed rock ledges and a waterfall because they like to be in the water. We see excellent natural behaviors from both cats and no stereotypical behaviors which would indicate an inadequate exhibit. All of the exhibits in the dark wing are on a reversed light cycle. They have daylight from 10pm-10am and blue lights to simulate darkness from 10am-10pm. We are aware that coatis can come out in the daytime and in the evening, but have chosen to keep them in our nocturnal wing because we see most activity from them in the dark. At our zoo, they are always sleeping when the lights are on in their exhibit. We do not take the responsibility of keeping captive animals lightly. We understand they have needs beyond feeding and shelter. We have enrichment programs designed for each animal to suit their natural behaviors. Each day, we provide at least 1 activity for each mammal to keep them from becoming bored. Activities include scents from other animals, puzzle feeders, toys, various sounds, and much more. ZooAmerica strives to meet the highest standards of animal care. We are an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which means we are inspected every 5 years to be sure we are constantly meeting and exceeding high standards of animal care. USDA also inspects our facility on a regular basis and we meet or exceed all of their standards, as well. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me. read more

It's a small zoo, for $65+, my husband & I and our 3 teenagers, I was expecting more. Perhaps I'm spoiled by my local zoo, Cape May County Zoo in NJ which asks for donations. We walked through this zoo at a very slow pace and were done in an hour. read more

This zoo is FREE to visit with your admission to Hershey Park. I will say that I would be a tad bit perturbed if I had to pay admission for this zoo. It was ok. Yes there were animals, however I was not feeling some of the combinations of animals. The day I visited the zoo they had a deer and a turkey in the same enclosure. I stood there for a minute trying to figure out the correlation. I could not figure it out and kept it moving. The enclosures for the animals looked liked something that would be in someone's backyard. I've been to many zoos in my lifetime and have never walked through a zoo so fast. This zoo get three stars on the strength of free admission and having animals. read more

Great visit with my friend and our kids. It's a small zoo that displays only North American animals, but our kids are little and they loved it. Just enough animals to walk the park in an hour or so. The kids enjoyed it and for the parents, it wasn't so big that I was sick of being there. The people are friendly and will answer any questions you have about the animals. Most of the animals were out, but the bears were not. We caught the animal meet and greet prior to walking in the park, an up close and personal encounter with a baby snake. Also got to see a hawk up close and personal at the tail end of a show. Would definitely return. read more

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This is a fun, small to medium sized zoo to take your kids. The only major downfall: food. SO unbelievably disorganized. I spent 30 mins waiting on a hot dog. I organization. read more