Sierra Safari Zoo, Reno

We ended up leaving and asking for a refund which was granted! This Zoo is honestly not the worst I have seen but it is not good either. It is very dirty and the animals are kept in very small and un-kept cages. There is no room to run for the animals. It does seem that most of the staff has a good relationship with the animals.HOWEVER, on our particular visit there was a very angry lion in a tiny cage who was aggressively attacking the gate and digging to get out. One of the teenage - early twenty's Zoo managers was screaming at people to get away from the cage. We all moved on to another animal. My famiily and I were discussing the issue and our feelings that the lion should be moved to a better place for her since we noticed several broken teeth in her mouth, realizing this was not the first time she had acted in this manner. Mid discussion the same individual who screamed at us earlier decided to come down and yell that if we did not like it we should just leave and did not have to be here. I reminded her that we PAID to be here to see the animals and they had an animal that did not like the surroundings and should be moved or at least a sign put up. She and I continued to argue until I finally realized the situation and asked for her name. She gave me her name and told me the only person above her was the owner since she was a manager. So we left to the front store and I reported to the owner, who did refund our money but was in his late 70-80's and really appeared to be too busy to care. WE WILL NEVER GO BACK. IF YOU WANT TO SEE ANIMALS IN THIS AREA GO TO THE ANIMAL ARC IN RED ROCK. It is a bit further to drive but way worth it. Better people, better places, happier animals.

This is not a zoo. This is a prison for sad, tired animals in horribly unsuitable habitats, sadly pacing out their last sad days until they fall over. Oh. Wait. Unless you're a deer, or any animal in the petting zoo. You get a TON of room, and all the crappy petting zoo feed and ice cream cones you can choke down. In exchange, you will endure endless stroking, slapping and prodding from unsupervised children. NOBODY supervises the petting zoo. You stroll in the gates, and that's it. You could probably walk off with a fawn, though I would not encourage that, because they all look so unhealthy. I totally understand that this is a 100 percent volunteer facility. I totally understand that this is not a city funded operation. The best course of action would be for this operation to close its doors immediately, and get these animals somewhere where they can enjoy a better quality of life. This place gives the impression of a "crazy cat lady" situation gone berserk. I make no judgment of the people actually working here...but the whole place smacks of filth and simply being "in over one's head." There are small operations that make this sort of thing work. This is a failed attempt. I would have asked for my seven dollars back, but I know they need it more than I do. Just...so sad. I can recommend this place to no one. I would only encourage those in the animal welfare field to seriously review this place's logbooks and practices, as it seems, to the outside observer, to be a total disaster. Do not reply to this post with any comments about good intentions, or "trying hard." Even the best intended plans from time to time fail.

I visited this zoo for the first time and it was TERRIBLE! Not only do they charge a ridiculous amount, they have the nerve to call this place a zoo! There is no cemented walk ways, no clean anything! This place is not safe for children or adults! As for the animals, it breaks my heart knowing that they live this way, no trees, no grass, no water, and tiny cages! This is not a zoo, it's a freak show! If you're reading this review, do yourself a favor don't waste your time or money! They truly should be ashamed of themselves. It's a sorry excuse for a zoo! Never again!

This is the first time to visit Reno's zoo. Yea, it is not a big city zoo, but a great place to see exotic animals. Yes, it is dirt , and kind of dusty, but come on people , we live in a desert !! When I was there, all of the cages were being cleaned and animals fed. The staff (volunteers) are very helpful. One of the gals in the office even let us pet a 3 week old mountain goat. It was a lot of fun, and worth a couple of hours out of the day. Do not go in expecting a big city zoo, but do expect to see some great animals and volunteers that truly enjoy what they do.

We enjoyed the animals as well as the staff. Two members of the staff gave us a personal tour and explained to us each animals natural habitat, diet and characteristics. The animals are well taken care of and loved by all those who volunteer their time working there. As far as dislikes, our only complaint was the dust, but what the heck, a little dirt doesn't hurt anyone.

I finally visited the Sierra Safari Zoo in Reno and I was a little taken aback by the low standard of the facility. This is the best Reno can do? I realize it is a private operation so the city has nothing to do with it. The animals deserve better and even is one is not an environmentalist of animal lover at least have a better facility to promote visitors and give people an escape from losing teir money at the casinos. I feel very bad for the animals they deserve better and so does Reno. Maybe it should be closed and the animals sent to better environments. Very, very dissapointed. Olivia

If you are looking for a mega city zoo with a multi-million dollar budget then this is the wrong zoo for you. On the other hand if you like the atmosphere of a small privately funded zoo with clean and well cared for animals then this is the zoo for you to stop at on your vacation in the Reno area. We were a bit skeptical about this zoo after reading the harsh reviews on here and we almost didn't go. However, my son's persistence paid off and we had a very enjoyable time. There is a very nice petting zoo for the kids (and adults) to interact with several times of deer, goats, and other animals. Nearly all of the animals in the zoo can be seen up close which is hard to do in some of the larger zoos. Grant it most of the enclosures aren't exactly the animal's "natural environment" but all of the animals, especially the bigger ones have plenty of room to roam around during active times. We spent roughly 90 minutes at this zoo and had a great time on this stop! Again, I love the big city zoos but if you leave those "big zoo" expectations in the car you will have a great time at this zoo!

I don't like to be mean but this was the worst zoo I've been. I guess the zoo keepers are trying to be fair tothe animals by letting the animals free but I have seen animals getting almost ranned over! Runaway animals would get bumped by a piece of wood on the front of a zoo truck. A big dissapointment.

Yikes is all I can say...... this place is like someones dirty backyard. The animals are clean, however, they are in small spaces. I didn't see anyone caring for them at all during our trip and the only person I saw at all was the person at the register, who barely acknowledged we were there. Not a stroller friendly place at all for families with young children. The paths are med sized stones/rock, which do not allow for a stroller to be pushed through. I felt bad for the parents that were there with strollers having to drag and yank their strollers from cage to cage.

From the picture posted on this site the place look decent enough, but when my family arrive there it was another story. The place looked like it was someone back yard. It was old and dirty, kindof beat down and just looked a mess. But we figure we would give it a try, since we have been to the aligator farm in Florida that looked worst, but was extra fun and exciting. Well any way, when we got in this place. we pay the fee and was told to go on back, so we proceed in to the "zoo" believe me whe I say, it was pathetic. There was bird poop everywhere. peacock just wondering around. One thing that I do have to admitt is that they do have a good variety of animals, however they are all extrem,ely depress looking. All the cages looked lie they we home made, there were piece of old wooden post wrapped with chain linked fences used as cages. My daughter was so distrunted at see the condition of the animals that she wouldn't stop crying. This place is on the brinks of animal cruelty. I can't believe that it has not been shut down or fine yet. They had over 75 piegon locked up in a small cage, as a exhbit. They had a alligator that was in a small liuttle confined ,fence area. They had a small house turtle as one of there exhbit and even use minture house as wild safari animals. We were just appaud at what we saw. This is the worst zoo ever and I hope mit gets close soon, because these animals deserves better.