Samut Prakarn Crocodile Farm and Zoo, Samut Prakan

Coming from Australia where zoo animals appear to be treated well in the name of conservation, I was initially shocked at the conditions of this attraction. It is hot (remember this is Bangkok!) and the enclosures are small. In a bus crash kind of way, I couldn’t tear my eyes from the crocodile and elephant shows. I also thought the tiger was drugged until I met an English bird-keeper who works there, who told me he wasn’t. So I had my photo taken, hoping that some of my 100 baht ($4) might go towards looking after him. So the debate is, is it better to have animals here, given the basic needs of shelter, water and food or to not have them alive at all? Of course, it would be nice in a perfect world if all animals were free and happy – but then, humans run this world and it’s not perfect. I would advise a trip to this attraction, being realistic and knowing that it’s not Australia Zoo, but in the hope that some of your tourist dollars might help the animals’ welfare.

This was my first time coming here. I have to say that I am glad to be Thai, cause I only paid 60 thb compared to 300 thb for tourist, and that is where the line is drawn. First of 300 thb is way overpiced, the most I would pay is 100 thb, the place is old and very dirty. Most of the animals seems to be starving, and have no room to move. It seems like they only time they ate was when some one paid money to feed them. The lions all seem to be underfed and have no energy to move around. In the tiger display, there is a dog in the cage and tiger it self seemed way to skinny like it was not being fed. The elephants are tied up with a chain not longer than 2 feet. When I saw the elepahant show I felt so das for them, the things they make them do are so awful. They only thing worth looking at are the crocodiles, they seem to be the only animals there that are taken care of. There are thousands of them there, from small ones to huge ones.

First off, after reading all of the reviews I feel that there are many misunderstandings. I personally have been there several times and also to Gator and Croc Farms in the USA and I go to Thailand every year. So please let me clarify some stuff up. For example the "poor dog" from the most recent review was not just put in that cage with the lonely dying tiger, the dog and the tiger are friends with spent most of their lives together just like Coco the gorilla and the kitten and I didn't see anyone say "oh my god they put that poor little kitten with that big gorilla". I'm not saying that they treat their animals to our standards here in the USA but just like in Florida they breed and harvest the crocodiles and alligators for their skin to prevent over killing by poachers which eventually leads to extinction. It is unfortunate that you had to hear the crocodiles being shot while you were watching the elephant show but are you sure that was what was really going on? If it was sorry to hear that, because that would really be disturbing. I do think that they should spend more money on reconstruction of the animal habitat, I mean it would be nice to see the crocs go and sun bath on land with sand or dirt rather than hot concrete however, think about how hard it would be to remove 100s (and boy do I mean hundreds) of wild crocodiles that are at least 10 feet to almost 20 feet in length, not so easy huh? In regards to the tigers being drugged I can't really say they kind of seem like the tigers here in the States except for the fact that the climate is much hotter in Thailand than it is here and if you were there all day all you'll probably want to do is sleep too. As for the monkeys I do agree that they should not be put in such an embarrassing predicament. Unfortunately the monkeys aren't just treated like that there it's everywhere. In regards to the money and fees paid is very little and think about how many people work there and how many animals need to be feed, I'm quite sure that the fees paid goes to maintaining the place as much as they can even though it might not be what we expect. I wish the animals receive more respect and a better home to live in and that us humans would find a better means of not exploiting animals for money but I do understand that life is though and they only do what they need to do to survive wouldn't you? If there was a way to help out both animals and the humans that rely on them what would it be?

I visited in May and was completely saddened by the inhumane conditions. Elephants are tied up with no room to walk until their shows, where handlers use bullhooks and punch them. Tigers and panthers are drugged up. Sick dogs were put into a cage with a tiger that seemed to be dying itself. Monkeys were also abused. To think that those animals face the heat and the beatings and neglect for their entire lives was just unbearable. I hope PETA gets involved. It really is a terrible and sad place where you can hear the crocodiles being shot while you watch the sad elephant show.

I visited this park not out of choice, but because our boat driver dropped us off at this awful tourist trap. A tiger in the tiniest of enclosures, which from its behaviour has clearly long given up; bears and a multitude of other animals all trapped behind bars, with no protection from the unforgiving sun and their cages in a state of filth. Giant fish in tanks where the festering water covered less than half of their bodies. And worst of all, camera-snapping tourists largely oblivious to the dreadful conditions that these animals have to live through day by day, at the cost of our amusement. I'm writing this now (several months after my trip) after having just read a poem by rilke ( in english, 'the black panther') which beautifully describes the suffering of an animal behind bars. rather than advising people to avoid visiting this park, i would encourage them to go so that they may be alerted by the inhumane cruelty these animals are being subjected to. it is by the awareness and sensitivity of individuals that something can be done. i cant turn a blind eye on this any more and writing this is a start

It is clear from the start this is a tourist set up. The animals don't look too happy, and tourists are being coached into buying food for the hungry animals. Leaves me with a nasty after taste, sorry. Initially my kids, 12 and 8, did not see it, and they were impressed. Till I explained a bit, then they understood this is not the way how animals should be treated. The attitude of the staff seems in line with the treatment of the animals; disdain is the word. Tourists are just seen as a way to get money from. No polite smile or whatever is to be found. I felt really stupid when I finally succumbed to buying some food for animals, and it should not be like that. This place urgently needs respect: respect to other human beings, and respect to animals as well.

i like this place so much, there's a lot of variaties of animal. Not only crocodiles, but also elephants, tigers, snakes, camel, hipopotamus, monkeys, bears, deer, pig, birds, turtles.. and more lots. Go there !!!

Best was buying (20 baht) a dead chicken and feeding the crocs with it. Fascinating to see with what speed and force they accept the little snack..

Going to this place will make you realize how we, humans, can awfully treat natural life and animals in order to make money. We went there with some friends, believing we would spend a nice time watching interesting shows and cute and healthy animals. Instead of this, we �enjoyed� terrible shows: the guys hit the crocodile which are completely drugged, the elephant shows is more about getting money from the assistance then making show with elephant, but the worst was the monkey show. Poor little monkeys wearing awful ridiculous clothes look at you with a face expressing feelings such as sadness, shame, despair� Looked like these little animals fully understand their situation and sad life. We couldn�t stand it and left the show before it started. About the animals, it seems most of them are starving. Many of them are really skinny, in bad condition and stressed, living in small concrete place, only waiting for food. Of course, you can buy some rotten bananas or bread, but it won�t help the tigers� Last but not the least, there is the possibility to take expensive pictures with animals such as drugged tigers with chains, skinny pony and sad urang utan wearing a red shirt with a stupid text� No comment� Finally, we left this place, sad and ashamed� I would not recommend this place except if you are crazy about crocodiles and unless we could be sure the ticket fees are used to feed the animals.