Arkansas Alligator Farm & Petting Zoo

I had to give it two stars because I got to hold an alligator. Other than that, the place was really disappointing. I’m no zoologist, but keeping Arctic wolves in small cages in the HOT South and a mountain lion in a small cage with no companion was really sad to see. None of the animals looked happy, most were miserable in the heat, and there was no grass anywhere to be found. I’d be miserable, too, if I had to lie on hot gravel all day and stare at people. I think they could do a much better job of giving these animals a more «realistic» habitat that doesn’t seem so incredibly depressing.

We had a great time at the farm and petting zoo! The goats in the petting zoo were cute. We LOVED getting to hold a baby gator to take pics with! Our teens thought feeding them was cool too! The gator feeding was fun to watch and informative. I also liked that we were able to get really good close up pictures through the chain link fence. We would definitely go back!

Overpriced and depressing. Code violations all over the place. This is heartbreaking and nothing can be done because this is protected under some Arkansas Zoo law. Ridiculous. Do not spend your money here, it is clear the funds don’t go to fix this place up or improve conditions.

Enjoyed the outside areas, especially the petting zoo with the pigmy goats. I kind of felt bad for the alligators in the building because there were so many in there and not a lot of space for them. It also smelled of cleaning supplies in there. Kids enjoyed it though.

This one gets five stars from me for the novelty, and for the three wildly different and completely new experiences I had while there!
So, it’s a petting zoo. A petting zoo chock full of Aligators (!?) Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head! Most of them much bigger than your head!
My then-​fiancé and her parents brought me here on my first trip to Arkansas, because they knew that I (being being a Californian used to small, timid reptiles) am… let’s say nervous around ‘Gators. Anything that out-​lived the dinosaurs and hasn’t changed a bit through all the eons since deserves some healthy respect!
But, they took me here, and. It. Was. Awesome!
Experience 1:
The ‘Gators! There are tons of them, babies, cranky teens, mommas, and big ol’ adults — if you have any interest in ‘Gators, want to freak out a guest (or are an out of town guest who wants to freak yourself out) or impress teenage boys, there’s just nothing better than a room full of ‘Gators!
Experience 2:
The petting zoo. This bunch was actually a lot more intense than the ‘Gators. They give you a handful of bread, and take you into a large pen chock full of goats and small deer. These are spunky, enthusiastic animals, and their favorite thing in the world is *bread.* They’ll jump all over you for it! Which is good and bad, but if you know what you’re in for, good I hope!
I saw on a previous review that there were only a few goats when someone went there, when my family and I went there, there were dozens, at least twenty, and they made for quite the experience
Experience 3:
This zoo also has (or had) Timber Wolves. This was my first time seeing wild (more or less) Wolves in person, and they let me get nice and close to the bars before the big male rushed the fence and gave me a stern, sudden, talking to. I’d keep the kids clear of these ones, they’re actually scary.
But, the Mountain Lion was simply majestic!
All in all, a super-​cool experience, and well worth the trip I thought!

I would no all is a win zoo at all. For $ 9 per adult and $ 7 for kiddos. The only animal you can pet and truly interact with are three goats. The billly goat was not Petable.
I will update this with more info but later

Visiting the alligator farm as an adult was depressing. They have a near little petting zoo area, which my 2 yr old loved, but I wasn’t thrilled with the other animal displays.
They had a ton of gators, and you could even feed/​pet a baby (for $ 1) and that was awesome. However, they had 3 mountain lions locked up in big chain link cages with nothing in there but a table and a cave for them to lie in.
Their lemur family was also in cages like that.
It was just sad.
To be fair, my kid did love seeing all the animals and the alligators, so it was worth the money. But if you are an animal rights activist, steer clear.

Amazing place. Very friendly and just a great experience. It’s not that big but it is packed with animals. I feed the adorable deer and goats. And held/​feed a baby alligator it was awesome. It’s something anyone can have fun going too. The people are extremely friendly as well. It’s right on downtown so if you plan a trip here you can walk down the strip afterwards. I honestly preferred this place over the littlerock zoo hands down.

This place was great, when you walk in the give you a little run down of what to see and where to go, and hand you bread to feed the animals. It was a lot of fun and kind of cool being that close to mountain lions, peacocks, alligators, crocs, and you get to go inside with the goats to pet them, that fun, except when muddy, because they do jump on you. We also got to hold a baby alligator which is a new experience for me.