HANSON FAMILY ZOO: A Genuine Roadside Zoo Experience

By Carl Boxford

Hanson Family Zoo Main Gate

If you're like me, you'll find most commercialized attractions to be dull, repetitive and utterly pointless. Zoos are no exception. What I remember being an exhilarating, formative experience as a kid, filled with wonder and danger has now become something so diluted and saccharin that it's difficult to even correlate the two in my mind. When I visit a zoo now, I'm plagued by endless safety rules, barriers that inhibit visibility, and the sense that I'm still walking through a slice of urban development with the tiniest porthole views into the wild.

You're never alone here

The Hanson Family Zoo is nothing like that. Finally, it seems, someone has had the good sense to truly recreate the experience of walking through an untamed wilderness. From the moment I crossed the ticket booth, I felt unnerved, like I was being watched from all sides. And not only watched, hunted. I discovered later that this was absolutely the case, as the zoo is home to a wide range of predatory animals.

Agnes the Lioness

If you turn to the right, you'll proceed down a long sidewalk lined with chain link fence. This is home to the hyenas, lions and something that was not able to identify. What struck me about this section was the closeness. The only thing standing between you and several apex predators was some 9-gage wire. In some places, holes had been chewed through the links large enough for something to reach its paw through and grab you. This is undoubtedly brilliant exhibit design. I felt like a primitive human, crouched in the grass praying that I was fast enough to hurl my spear at the saber-tooth tiger lunging at me before it ripped me to shreds.

Gus the Orangutan

Beyond this corridor, the paths split into three directions- more outdoor animals, the reptile house and the ape house. I decided to check out the ape house next and I'm glad I did. This may have been the most unnerving experience of my entire life. The apes seem trained to respond to human activity. They do not go about their business like normal apes in the wild or captivity. They simply watch you. The entire time, ublinking. And they appear to have a sort of influence over you. The person ahead of me made the mistake of staring back too long at Gus, the orangutan. I watched as a massive orange, furry arm shot out from between the bars, grabbed the man around the throat and yanked him into the shadows. The screams were still going by the time I exited the ape house several minutes later.

Rufio the Elephant

I could go on for hours about the experience, but I feel that would do the place an injustice. You simply have to experience it for yourself. A few things that I will highlight: you will likely see Rufio the elephant stomping around behind the reptile house. A zoo employee explained that they've tried to enclose him several times, but he always manages to escape, even if that meant scaling a near-vertical 15' concrete wall. No one is sure how he does it, but he seems content to observe the patrons up close and I couldn't be more thrilled. It feels like a true safari experience.

The employees here are friendly and know their stuff

Other highlights include the reptile house and arachnophobia basement.

Overall, The Hanson Family Zoo represents the way zoo experiences should be and has gone a long way to restore my faith in wildlife attractions.