Branson West, Missouri: Branson Interactive Zoo aka Predator World (Closed)

An animal attraction devoted to animals that kill.

After seeing the listing on Roadside America and visiting the Predator World website, we thought this looked like an interesting attraction. The sharks and other animals are definitely interesting and some were cool to see, but the place has fallen into a much poorer state than the pictures that were previously posted. Tanks seem to be leaking and there are some wolves that are very sad looking. Many animals appear to have been removed. Signs posted throughout indicate they are in the process of being taken over by a non-profit. I don't think they are intentionally cruel to the animals, but the whole place felt sad and a little wrong.

The Branson Zoo and Aquarium is indeed a small zoo. However, all of the bad reviews that say it is "horrible" and the animals are treated bad, I think, are inaccurate. Me and my family have been going to this attraction for several years ever since it was in the last building, and we loved it then and still do. Every time we go to Branson we go here. The prices are incredibly low, and the animals are very cool to look at. They have all kinds of animals; snakes, lizards, turtles, alligators, crocodiles, different species of fish, tigers, wolves, lions, goats, as well as getting to feed the stingrays and sharks. I highly recommend it.

I came here years ago and loved it. For all of the people who say they feel sorry for the animals and how "horrible" the conditions are, if you spoke to any of the employees there, you would have found out that the majority of those animals are rescued from circuses and people who are illegally trying to raise them as pets.

The cause behind the zoo is fantastic, and very moving. The animal curators are very knowledgeable, and clearly care about and love all of the pets.

It is a very small zoo, but for how small they are, they have many different species, some species that a normal zoo do not have, at least not the St. Louis zoo.

Yes, it is a small zoo and it does smell in certain areas. But what zoo doesn't? Walk through the Monkey house at any zoo (smelly), go through the aquarium area and it will smell fishy. But for such a small zoo I think they do a great job. They have areas outside where some of the animals can roam in fenced areas. You can watch the lion splash around in the water. A zoo [employee] was taking a walk with a wolf and introduced us, let me pet him and get my picture taken. Thought that was great. The staff was very informative about the animals and would sometimes bring one out for patrons to pet.

In some areas the animals are very close, separated by fences or glass but much closer up looks than you get at a regular zoo. Some are in smaller areas, others are outside with more room to roam, but the staff seem to love and care well for the animals, and they interact and play with a lot of the animals.

I didn't care for the snakes, although they have a good collection, also spiders but they just creep me out. Lots of lizards and other unique animals you often don't see in a zoo. Really enjoyed the wild cats, and the tank with sharks and sting rays which you could feed for a small fee.

My parents, myself, my sister and her 3 girls went to the old facility and loved it. My brother, his wife, myself and a friend went back for our 2nd trip in 2007 at the new facility. I can see improvements and know they are continuing to improve the zoo. We all loved it and the price is very reasonable compared to a regular large zoo.

Is something I will do again the next time I return to Branson!