Reviews of Hovatter's Wildlife Zoo (Zoo)

Roberta R Baker

The this zoo. There animals are well taken care of and every time I come back they've added new stuff. It's great for a family outing.

Appalachia Jennifer

Wonderful zoo. The paved pathways was a great improvement. Makes using strollers much easier.

Jonathon Casey Griffith

I love this place. Amazing small local zoo.

Don Fortney

Great place great time

Shirley Collins

Not much to see of animals moving around and need more hands on like before and some of cages was empty need more feed with the

Shirley White Blue

Such a good time for the family

Whitney Morgan

We have been twice and loved it. We have two boys, two and three years old, and they love this place. Feeding the animals is great! We especially love feeding the giraffes, goats, and birds. It's clean and well kept! We accidentally went on kids weekend and were pleasantly surprised with free popcorn, cotton candy, face painting, bounce houses, and more! Fantastic place!

Brucey Gastation

This is a magical place and great experience. Whether it's to bring the kids or a date night I would 100% recommend it.

Dick Chambers

Awesome place lots of animals to feed and see great people clean facility animal

Laurey Kushmanick

It is hands on. You can touch some of the animals and feed them too. We had a fabulous time.

Beverly Leake

Awesome place for a day out with children, grandchildren, children's groups etc. Very reasonable price. Interesting selection of animals. Well maintained. Especially great if you don't like the crowds at larger, pricier zoo's!

Haley Eagle

I been there 2 or 3 times. It is such a good zoo.

Jesse George

My Daughter had a blast. Get carrots if you have little ones so they can feed the giraffes.

Vicki Gesford

It was so adorable

Lindsay Soberl

This is su h a fantastic place!! The experience was great! Went with my friends and their 3 year old and we all had the best time! Extremely fun that you get to feed the animals and feeding the giraffes was the best!!

Scott Braham

Friendly and informative staff. So close to the animals and the animals are very well taken care of. Not my first time there and it won't be my last

Chris Catlett

Great place to spend a afternoon with granddaughter ,the giraffe was her favorite, make sure to buy food for the animals.

Miranda Evans

Had a blast today.... Can't wait to go back

Emily Simmons

It was nice, not very clean, could be more maintained.

Kerri Grandstaff

I loved it. I've wanted to go since it started. Finally made it. Well cared for animals.

Karrie Brainard

Love this little zoo. You get to see the animals every time you visit and it's all close and easy for littles to walk to each animal without getting too tired

Deyna Archer

Best experience. Welcoming staff. And their animals look healthy. They added in an aviary and it is the perfect way to interact.

Gina Roth

I love how close you can get to the animals! My kids were amazed.

Terri Taylor

Be careful on the drive in, narrow back roads. Once you're there you'll love this quaint, simple, well-maintained little zoo. I suggest purchasing the variety feeding package if you want the total experience. Feeding the animals is our families favorite part of visiting this zoo.

lola logan

It was wonderful my grandkids loved it!!

Harry White III

Love the fact that you can let the children feed the animals or you can

Emily Staggs

Excellent! Can't wait for the new exhibits

Mama Y

Love the different types of animals ❤️ but it's way out in the middle of nowhere.. But it's a good place for kids

Melissa Alexander

I have visited a lot of zoos and this one is the best!! Get the food packs and feed almost every animal in the zoo. Including the giraffes and the bear. Also the parakeet house is amazing!!!

Jennifer Penner

Daughter loves feeding the animals. Wish you could get closer to the lion

Tim Snyder

Fun outing for the kids

Millie Farnsworth

Nice place in WV. Kids get to feed most of the animals and about awesome bird area, where they land on your arm.

Goldie Masciarelli

All the animals look extremely depressed, the cages are incredibly small for a wild animal, they have very few toys or attractions in there inclosure. The bear was pacing back and forth all day in a cage the size of a dog kennel. Very disappointed animals are allowed to be treated this way

Linda Marsh

The grandbabies really loved this quaint little zoo.

David Strait

Great place to take kids. Clean, plenty of animals to see and feed. Easy stroller/handicapped access. Not too big, wont wear you out.

Karla Harman

Hovatters is a great place not just for kids but for everyone. They keep their cages clean and their animals comfortable. I thought their prices was very reasonable, from the fee to get in to the prices in the gift shop.

Lyndsay Buckingham

Fun for kids. Buy food at the entrance to feed animals. Perfect size to visit in a couple hours and see everything.

Frank Audia

very kid friendly they also allow there customers to feed the animals

Karen Fluharty

Very nice close to home

Ludivine Laperrière

Super experience! This zoo has a large variety of animals, I did not expect to see so many in that remote location: white tiger, girafes, black leopards, friendly llamas and my favorite, the camels! The animals are visibly well cared for, in good condition, socialized and look in great shape. The owner was super generous with his time, providing plenty of information about the animals as we came to learn. We really had a good time.

Jhamari Hogan

Awesome zoo at an awesome price. My son loves it here, it's not your conventional zoo and my family enjoys that aspect. I reccomend this place to other families especially for a weekend outing, I think your family will enjoy it.

Chip Warner

Great fun! Super nice zoo where you can feed many of the animals.

Bryan Phillips

Terrible customer service. Waited for 20 minutes and couldn't get any feeding info. Had to guess on our own.

theofficial brandi

Always loved taking the kids here!

Lila Vernikoff

Loved the small zoo with each animal close to another. I actually prefer this type of setup over having to walk a quarter mile to go from one exhibit to the next. Kids can feed most of the animals. Worth paying the extra money for the animal food bag, our three kids shared one and it was enough.

Sharon Jordan

I think it's the best zoo around i try to go as many times i can a year for the whole family it is a amazing i rate it number one !!

jonta nash

Very Nice Zoo, the interaction with the animals amazing experience for adults and children! Every year they seem to add a new exhibit so that's nice. Only thing I could complain about is the bathrooms are horrible, my children would not even use them they smell terrible and look terrible! Also some of the workers could be a little more energetic and a bit more friendly! Overall best zoo experience I've ever had!

Brenna Mckinney

It was so fun and my little boy, husband, and I really enjoyed it! So much to see and do! The feeding the animals part was our favorite. Will definitely be going back for sure!!

merrill frazier

I first came across this zoo about 7 years ago when i found this zoo! I highly recommend going and seeing the animals! My kids enjoyed it and it was so nice to see all the animals active.

vscogirl hydroflaskl

It was great I really loved it

angella detrick

nice clean zoo

Heather Kiblinger

Feeding the parakeets and the giraffes are a lot of fun. The whole zoo is very nice

Alyssa Balaban

There was an injured coyote that was left with a bloody leg and paw. We told the keeper and his response was "well he's feeling better than yesterday". The bears liviing area looked and smelled like it hasn't been cleaned for weeks. The smell was horrible. There was a momma baboon and her baby in with the rest of the babboons that was getting no rest and being tortured by the rest of the babboons in the cage. She was literally in a corner screaming over her baby. This was our 2nd trip and probably last.

Cassie Smelko

Many types of animals. They have giraffes that you can feed carrots, goats, sheep, llama, camel that you can feed and pet. Other animals you can feed.

Cafe Diem

Love the new Aviary!!

Misty Taylor

This zoo was awesome! Perfect for kids. The animals are very sweet! Definitely worth going!!

John Strider

Great for kids of all ages. Well maintained!!!

Christy Malott Javosky

It has gotten huge compared to around 10 years ago, it looks like a few acres of animals now. Feeders are in designated areas filled with cheerios or you can purchase specific treats for certain animals. I enjoyed being there but its heartbreaking to see a lot of animals alone or with others that are very aggressive when treats are given ☹

Michael Lilly

Was very nice and clean but wasn't totally what i expected for the price you pay and little time it takes to walk through it. To use a picnic table you had to pay a rental fee or you couldn't eat on site. Didn't think that was fair especially when you have small children to feed. The animals we're well maintained and in safe distance from people. A one time visit for me and family.

Ruth Belrose

Wonderful zoo! Wide variety of wildlife. I recommend buying the animal feeding package to enhance your experience.

Sue Skidmore

Very nice and clean, I am a Great Grandma and I enjoyed it as well as the kids

Jennifer Tucker

great local place to visit.

Jodi Devores

What a gem! Admission prices are reasonable and there is a paved walkway around the park. There are many animals that you wouldn't expect to see there, and I understand that they are expanding to include even more. All the animals appear to be well cared for. The thing that makes this nice is that you get a reasonably close look at the animals and can even purchase food for some at the gift shop/entrance. There are covered picnic tables, so pack a picnic. I have attended with school groups and with family. If you're thinking about visiting the zoo, I urge you to go visit. It's a WV must see.

Dan Langdon

Great time with grandchildren, well maintained, will be back

Mariah Goldsmith

Love going here. All 3 of my kids enjoy themselves and so do I. Great pricing for a family day out. It's a little hard to find the 1st time but after you've been there you don't forget. My kids enjoy feeding the animals especially the giraffes. Just all around a fun experience when you go will probably visit every summer.

Mary Sprout

Very nice place to go for a fun family outing. It was fun to feed the animals and see the exotic animals.

Jeff Tyson

Going in I had low expectations of a zoo in the mountains. I was pleasantly surprised. What it lacked in quantity it made up for in quality. The big cats looked well fed and sleek. The male lion was the most vocal I've ever heard. The goats and al pacas were super friendly as was the large male giraffe. Looking forward to coming back and see what additions they make.

John Hardesty

It was clean and very interesting, the zoo was very will kept with many different kinds of animals to enjoy .

Nathan Cogar

Fantastic zoo. Up close encounters, large variety of animals, very nice facilities!

Stephanie Hardman

Nice day out for the family. Affordable

Tim Gibson

We took our 2 year old here recently and had a great time. Well worth the visit. We'll definitely go again.

Autumn Sweeney

Great time with our kids

Elizabeth Swanson

This is an awesome zoo where you can get up close to the animals and you are able to feed most if them!

Teea Sechrist

Went to this little zoo for a birthday party. Each child got a bag of different foods to give the animals! Got to feed a giraffe, send food through a tube to a bear, and feed parakeets seeds from sticks! My daughter loved petting and feeding the animals! Even got to see some playful baby animals! Animals appear well cared for and had water and shade. There's a small gift shop for souvenirs and snacks with decent prices! There are a couple little rides available too, a kid coaster and a ferris wheel! The reason I am only giving 4 stars is for the playground. Some equipment was broken, and there was poo in the sand, so didnt let the kids play there. Other than that the zoo was great!

WILLIAM KNOTTS

Love it there and the new improvements are great. Very nice people. Will be back again and again.

Dominick Gerard

Great place to get close up to some amazing animals. Lots of fun and the kids loved it.

Kenneth Reckart Jr

Great for where it is alot of animals fun for the kids. They are always adding more.

Danielle Stoner

The enclosures are ridiculously small for the animals!

Emily Beasley

I’ve went here since I was a kid and I’m still not disappointed. Love that they added so many new features like the parakeet cage and that they’re expanding a lot! Locals say he purchased more land to expand the zoo. Makes my heart happy someone does this just to see people smile.

Robin Marcus

I love visiting this zoo! It is very clean and easy to get around. There is shade so sunny days aren't so hot. The animals look well cared for... and there are just enough fabulous interactive spots. Love❤

Garett Selestow

Love this zoo! The people are so friendly and you really get close to the animals. Buy a bag of food and feed the giraffes. My kids love feeding the birds.

Amber Bush

It is a small zoo and that was perfect with toddlers that wanted to walk. We really loved how close you could get to the animal and you could feed most of them. The animal seemed well taken care of.

Jeri Galand

Enjoyed feeding the animals.. What I didn't like was the animals are in small spaces. Also why would you place the Chimpanzee that throw poop right next to children's play area . There was poop everywhere. Then they sell food right next to that . Maybe should move the Chimpanzee somewhere so people dont get it thrown on them.

Jimmie Reed

The goats can be a little pushy but the place is a great time for kids and adults alike!

Justin Waugh

Great little zoo

Lindsay Varga

Right when we were walked in we were greeted by the people behind the counter. Then we were fortunate enough to notice the two baby cubs wrestling behind the counter! It was the cutest and most unique experience we could have ever hoped for!! They weren't in a cage or anything. The family acted as if they were nothing more than a family pet, like baby puppies! You can tell all the animals there were treated marvelously with great love and compassion. Amazing experience with the family. Took the long drive there and we were so glad we did!!!

Rose McCluskey

Shockingly great. My expectations were really low. The reality was so very much better than I thought it would be. This was a good stop, feeding the animals was fun, my daughter loved it.

Dakota Sabo

They have an incredible array of animals for the location. I was honestly shocked to see so many exotic animals. Unfortunately, the enclosures seem a little cramped. When I went for one of the night openings, I was really saddened to see the bear waiting by a PVC time just waiting to have food delivered. Even worse were the coyotes, which were absolutely packed into this maybe 10'x30' area.

Angelatd th d stonebraker

Love this place. Hand feeding animals and getting up close is next to heaven for me

Aileen Murphy

beyond impressed by this gem!! do no hesitate to bring everyone you love here. from infants to seniors you cant go wrong.

elston perry

Great place to take younger kids the price keeps going up though.

Brandon Sergent

Was a really great experience. The little one loved feeding all the animals. Staff was friendly and place was clean. A must visit

Connie Smith

We went with our church group and it was a blast. All the kids had a great time. It was clean, the animals seemed healthy and happy.

Jennifer Manahan

Had a blast at the zoo with family and friends!

Tim Barefoot

Its a decent little place, the staff are always friendly and the shop is always clean, however I think it's a little over priced for how little it is. I seen a dead bird today inside the bird cage. Feeding the animals is always fun. I do think the exhibits are a little far away for some creatures. Like you can't really see them

E B

.It's a nice little zoo. Currently undergoing some construction for new exhibits. My only concern is the size of some of the exhibits, they looked a little small and some were just on concrete pads. So hopefully that's something that's in the process of bring remedied. I wish the information plaques had info on the specific animals though. Something like names and ages, etc. Overall really fun experience and I would definitely recommend, definitely going back

R White

This is a great place definitely would recommend

Joe Button

Sounds interesting but have only driven by it, never visited

rui rebelo

Really good place to visit don't forget to buy the food kit to have fun feeding the animals, it would be good they also include a flyer with what animals eat the different type of food you have

Chris Nicholson

Fun place to take the family

Michael Phillips

Great zoo for kids you can feed almost every animals but some of the best exhibits lion and panthers you couldn't get close enough to get good pics. The parakeet attraction was incredible.

Mona Henry

Great zoo, kids have alot of fun...however, we were over charged so watch that, do the math.

Jim W

Very nice indeed!!

Monique Audriana haddix

It was amazing. There's different exotic animals there. Great for kids and you can feed the animals and pet them too. It was a great trip.

Brittany Evanovich

It's a really fun day, a great place to take a group or family. Affordable and a nice leisurely stroll in the hills.

Bobbi Dockery

Awesome place. Love the animals...prices are great. Staff tries to make sure u get to see all the animals...even talked to the tigers so they would come out of the building for everyone to see.

Danielle Pennington

The kids had a blast feeding and petting all the animals. My niece loved the birds

Candy PMSutton

Love it!! It is small and tucked away great for a day away with the kids and a packed picnic lunch

Mike White

It's cool getting to see the animals but most of their enclosures are so small

tammy bruck

Great 1 one trip. My grandson loved it. And we did to

Dan Barker

I wanted to let the tigers

Miles Payne

I got Chimpanzee poop thrown at me before even entering the zoo. But the kids liked it.

Danny Bunner

Really neat zoo. Not too big but a good number and mix of animals. The best part is how close you can get to the animals here. There is food available upon entry and around the zoo that you can purchase to feed the animals.

Beverly Hennessey

1000 times better than Pittsburgh zoo!

Shawn Varga

Wonderful array of wildlife. Hand feeding the animals was great! Kids loved it!

Shila Shay

This place was awesome.. it I about an hour drive from Uniontown.. admission was $10 when we went. U can purchase food cups to feed the animals.. it's an interactive zoo, so alot of the animals can be fed.. we fed carrots to the giraffes, which was cool.. They have a walk in aviary and the birds get very close and u can feed them as well. My kids took an elephant ride for $5 each. Their wide variety of animals makes it alot of fun.. I preferred going here compared to the Pittsburgh zoo because of the cost difference and how we were able to get so close to the animals

Kelsey Redick

Great place for a family. Had a blast feeding the animals. However I think they should be more specified on which animals get what for treats. Animals pens were clean and animals were fed regularly. However, I think the coyote exhibit was too small and the bear and chimps seemed bored.

Jon Knight

Great zoo for kids!

Shalonda Logan

We loved the ability to interact with the animals. My sixteen year old daughter was very excited she is very introverted and being with the animals really opened her up. "It waa better than the regular Zoo where you just look at the animals...." She said with her eyes glowing.

Renee Mcdonnell

Love the Zoo, had so much fun with the grandkids.

Seth Cottrill

Very fun for all ages. Very clean and animals well taken care of. You can get up close and feed the giraffes, goats, birds, camels, and more. Highly recommend getting the food package because that’s the best part of the experience. Had a blast there today!

Tiffany S

So great for our two year old! It's a very interactive zoo. You can buy food to feed most of the animals by hand and some through sending down a tube. And the size of the park is perfect, it's not too large to make you exhausted in the end. The giraffes are so friendly and can be fed carrots by hand as well! That was a highlight for sure as well as the parakeets. You can go inside the aviary and feed them by hand with popsicle sticks. (A new feature as of this year, 2018) One of the little birdies even perched on my husband's shoulder for a good 10/15 minutes. They are so friendly! It was so much fun! Be prepared for your child to REALLY want a 26$ stuffed giraffe while exiting the gift shop! We came home with a hot pink one

Nate Nickerson

Not bad. For a smaller animal park it is very clean and maintained. The animals seem happy and have a decent amount of room. Overall good experience.

Kevin Harris

A very nice, well run zoo! I'm so glad that we have something like this available to us in West Virginia. The girls had a lot of fun, and the staff was nice. All of the animals were very well taken care of.

NancyB455

Adorable, small zoo

Renee Truly

Great experience, we'll be back!

J D

Lots of animals and you get to be very close to them!

Mary Brown

Very nice Zoo, clean, paved walkways throughout. The animals are well cared for and their environments are large and suitable to each type of animal.

Matt Queen

Like nothing else you will find in WV, loved it

Alisha Rosier

Definitely worth the trip!! Loved it. And really great Hospitality.

angie long

Great time for family.

Chris Parrotta

Had a great time. We really like the

Rachel Kiblinger

Loved it alot to look at and you get to feed a bunch of animals and it's not very spread out so not a lot if walking staff are not breathing down your neck

Rich C

very relaxing...not too big easy to navigate...would def go back again

Joe Spiker

Well maintained. You're able to get close to many of the animals. The kids loved being able to feed most of the animals. We loved the parakeet enclosure.

Rebecca Wells

A nice little zoo. Kids loved it. Mission accomplished.

Heather Winter

Son's first trip to zoo. He had a blast! Friendly staff and lots of animals to see and feed. Will definitely visit again.

Jaime Goldsmith

Yes, you get to see a good number of animals close up, but I have a hard time enjoying myself as I look at these poor wild animals in enclosures that are way too small. I've been to quite a few zoos, but not one that has big cats in an enclosure as small as my modest 3br home. Today, the lion looked very malnourished to me. Maybe he's old or sick, but he sure didn't look healthy. I saw them building some kind of new kiddie ride today and wished they'd spent their money on the animals. On a positive note, the animals are close together so the walk is perfect for little ones.

robin raleigh

Inexpensive. No lines. Enclosures could be improved. Eating area. No hot food

Daniel Bowser

Amazing experience. Friendly staff. Cheap admission. Bathrooms need some work. Other than that I highly recommend this zoo.

Emily Curran

Great place, and just keeps getting better! The kids LOVED the new interactive parakeet exhibit!

John Shemenski

Literally follow the legal bare minimum it takes to keep these animals. It was horrible, animals obviously stressed with inappropriate sized enclosures and lack of proper enrichment, hides, shade cover, and just about every other aspect thinkable. Before I come off as a "free the animals" looney I want to say I love animals so much I studied zoo science and collection management. This facility offers deplorable enrichment to animals that offers them no benefit. Have you ever seen a tiger play with a Little Tykes toy? Me neither but I've seen one get about 20 feet from it. Also, plenty of species of social animals were housed alone, while solitary APEX PREDATORS were housed in groups with obvious aggression. The enclosure size seemed to be based on how many members of a species can we fit in x cubic feet, while others are how many acres can we give this gibbon. Gator alley was just as bad. Sure they had a fair amount of space and ample water, but no filtration system. They were so covered in algae it was disgusting. Now, algae in a psuedoswamp setting is fine, but there was an inch thick layer that by no means was helping the animals. Saw a capuchin eating literal garbage and a patas monkey eating sticks from the substrate, which could be avoided by having and appropriate substrate. One of their top gimmicks is that you can feed every animal, and tell you only give aninals the appropriate food because the wrong one could literally kill them, but dont enforce this even a little. You can give any animal any food and no one will stop you. Even saw a little girl climb in the enclosure with ease, also wondered how the animals never got out because I know most of them can jump higher than a four foot fence. Know that I will never be back, pay another cent, or reccomend this place to anyone except someone who can shut it down. DO MORE THAN THE BARE MINIMUM TO ANIMALS! Get a accrediadation from the aza, zaa, or similar institutions. Never heard of them? No surprise. It's the association of zoos and aquariums and they help maintain animal collections worldwide to better wildlife populations and not just make a quick buck.

Renee' Mathews

Our visit was fun. We all loved feeding giraffes!

Tyraik0

Super fun little zoo where you can feed most of the animals. Relatively cheap, they gave a mixed food bag for sale so you can feed everyone. There's a nice variety of animals too. It's a fun side trip if you're in the area.

Robert Yeager

Great family zoo with a wide variety of animals and birds. Good place to spend a couple of hours with the kids without spending alot of cash.

Trice S

We enjoyed visiting, but Please, the animals need much more space in their enclosures. The giraffes are beautiful but why are they on gravel?

You're History

I didn't even know this place existed until around a year ago, but I enjoyed it! It definitely deserves more attention. It seemed to me like all the animals were given attention and care and plenty of space. I'm not really an advocate for zoos, though, except for purposes of protecting endangered species and animals in need of healing or care - hence the 4/5 stars. Though, as I said, it is a nice little place and deserves attention because I think it could be a great research and wildlife care location.

Kimberly Martin

We had a blast today! The boys loved it! Definitely alot of upgrades this year! The parakeet cage was awesome! My youngest loved it! We Will definitely be back! We come a few times every summer!

Carrie Andrews

Lots of fun. Affordable day trip without traveling for hours and hours.

mike kennedy

We had a great time South bears lions leopards and the kids had a great time feeding the animals

Scott Sheys

Great family fun.

Badger Bear

It was really nice, one of the best zoos I've been too. You get to feed almost all the animals, interacting with them a bit. It's cool how it started out as a rescue sanctuary, and turned into zoo. I do feel a little bad for the animals, at least the chimpanzees.

Delilah Clyburn

Nice. Too far a drive for the small area though.

Julia Christian McCloud

Lots of fun, friendly staff, and adorable animals

Brian Satterfield

Great family place

Rochelle Lindsey

Was very family oriented and excellent for kids!

Kevin George

Not bad, I thought the price was a little high for what ya got, however I'm sure a business like this is far from cheap to operate, and my kid enjoyed it so that's what really matters.

Joyce Hill

This was a very enjoyable, clean, relaxing, walk through zoo. You have close contact with the animals. Recommend for young supervised children. A few benches to sit on would be nice addition for seniors along the paved path.