Suncoast Primate Sanctuary Foundation, Inc.

Had a blast. We all did. It’s a nice place to spend a few hours on a Saturday. You get a good amount of time with all the staff and learn how to interact with all the primates. I highly recommend this place to anyone who is looking for a few hours of good fun.

This place does not deserve a star. First of all please visit this website
This site lists official animal sanctuaries. Please understand that official chimp sanctuaries do not also keep reptiles and birds. Real chimp sanctuaries make the animals their number one priority, some don’t even allow visitation unless through special invitation or events.
I urge the «suncoast primate sanctuary» to surrender their primates to live in actual sanctuaries where they can live out their lives in peace and tranquility instead if being stuck in dirty cages at this deplorable «roadside show».

We went with a group of girls to see the rescue center and was impressed that this little place does so much with so little. The girls learned a lot, had fun and saw some very well cared for primates and other animals! The tour guide and caretakers have knowledge and obviously care deeply for their «residents». We endeavor to gather the items they need to help support them in their quest to care for these animals!!! Had a great time and we plan to come back often.

Nothing fancy but we had a good time seeing the monkeys pretty close. It’s interactive as you can feed the animals and talk to the volunteer staff about them. We got to hold a small alligator too. Volunteer Rob was a great source of info and really enjoyed his work.

Very sad place. The primates are all in tiny cages with old run down toys. Very jail like. I’m sure this is an upgrade for the animals, but it’s not much of one (if one at all).
Freddie, the goat, rocks though. Still doesn’t deserve to be locked up.

This place was an interesting visit. From the moment you walk in the place seems a bit cluttered. It honestly feels like someone repurposed their backyard.
They have a ton of different animals, orangutan, diff kinds of monkeys, ducks, goats, alligators, macaws and others. The cages they are in just seem small. Pongo, the orangutan seems to fill ¼th of his living space which is just sad. There were 2 ducks in the same area with the goats and the ducks were definitely not happy the goats were eating food. We saw the ducks attack the goats a good amount of times.
All in all, I believe they are trying to do a good thing, I just believe it may be a bit poorly executed. I hope this is at least an upgrade from wherever these animals came from.

The staff was very friendly and interacted with the guests. The animals were easy to see. The atmosphere is very informal and nice to go at your own pace. Be careful the sign is hard to see so you may miss it!

Visited the sactuary today and it was what i expected but hoping not. The volunteers were amazing and loved what they were doing. The cages were very clean but small and no grass so they could get out of their cages to run, jump and enjoy life. Of course this is better then where they came from but was hoping areas to run around like Save The Chimps sactuary. Would be great if a grant came there way to make changes. They are doing the best they can and all comes from their hearts. Pongo was amazing but looked so bored. When ever a animal is alone you wish they had a friend to bond with if possible. I hope the future changes for this santuary and i will donate.

Horrible disgusting place don’t go there.
Not only do they not take care of their animals there’s no access to nature for any of them are kept in solitude and chain-​link and concrete cages. They’ve been fined and closed down on numerous times under other names.
Additionally:

This was an interesting experience. It was great to see the primates and the other animals they have on the property. Just be ready for the smell

This is a disgraceful ‘rescue’. And I use the word ‘rescue’ loosly. It looks like a Primate Hoarding situation at best. The cages are just that. Small cages with cement floors. No room for exercise. No bedding. These are NOT habitats. The facility is dirty. Animals play with broken children’s toys. The primates are fed slop and guests are given dog food mixed with Cheerios to ‘feed’ the monkeys. And by feed, I mean THROW at the monkeys.
No husbandry/​socialization. Volunteers are children and teenagers, who should not be working with dangerous animals what so ever.
When given a back stage tour, an older volunteer named ‘Debbie’ told us more about her personal life than about the facility itself. Debbie also forced her religious beliefs on the guests who were attending. We were told ‘If you don’t want to hear what I have to say, then you can get out!’.
Debbie went on to say that she steals monkeys. STEALS MONKEYS! And stated she carries a gun with her when she steals the Monkeys. This woman is horrible and the Primate Sanctuary should be embarrassed to have such an unprofessional person representing them.
Finally. The owners daughter or running around the facility in her bare feet. She is rough with the animals and rude to the guests.
Florida Fish & Wildlife should be urgently inspecting this disgusting ‘Animal rescue’.
DO NOT give these people your money. DO NOT take your children here. This is nothing but a run down Monkey Jail.

You really do have to check this place out. What they do is amazing.
Note: Check Groupon and LivingSocial for deals.

Visiting the sanctuary really opened my eyes to see how animals are treated by the hands of humans. These poor primates have been given a life of captivity just so some humans can live more comfortably. I’m just thankful there’s a place that is helping these animals as best they can. Go and donate! Volunteer! Or at least get educated. The animals seem to like the attention anyways.

This place is very depressing. I get that they’re a non profit organization and in need of funding but there are so many cheap or free improvements they could make. For one WATER! Maybe even some foliage. The volunteer told me the primates were hot yet there was no water in their enclosures and minimal shade. The cages were small, they were covered in flies many of them looked lethargic and sad. We were told it is a retirement home for them yet there were babies… They had an alligator in a super small enclosure with very little water. They give you peanuts to feed to the animals. A few of the cages have a pipe you can use to drop the food in but a lot of them don’t so you have to throw the food at the animals hoping to get it in the enclosure.
I left there feeling very sad. There are some awesome rescues in the area, Big Cat being one of them. This one not so much.

Sad. I know these people are trying to do a good thing but this was not a natural habitat for these animals… I saw concrete, plastic and tiny cages. I was not impressed, the animals at Busch Gardens live the life of luxury compared to these poor animals. I don’t think this would even be better if I had kids to take because you are so far away from the Monkeys I’m not sure if they’d even be able to see anything. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I was disappointed and so were the other 3 people who I went with.
The coolest part was the turtles because you could actually see them up close.

I’m not sure whether to be happy or sad for the animals at this sanctuary. The concept is a good one, and all the volunteers seemed passionate about the animals and about providing good care for them. On the other hand the animals are kept in cages which seem small and restrictive. I am NOT an expert on primates but it seems to me the animals are simply existing, and nothing more.
There are quite a few primates, there are also turtles and alligators. The facility is not large and you can probably see everything in less than an hour. When we were there, volunteers were carrying around a small alligator letting the guests look and touch it.
They sell food that you can give to the animals and I believe they sell drinks for the customers but if you are going to be hungry you should bring your own food. There are several picnic benches inside where you can sit and eat.
The facility is in need of updating, the volunteers are good people passionate about the cause, and the intent is certainly honorable. If I am honest I have to say that I felt sad for the animals when I left.
I probably won’t go back but if you are in the area it is probably worth stopping in and checking it out.

This is a hard one to review. I will give their mission 5 stars. Taking care of these animals is a noble cause. The animals living conditions here are not the best. I believe this place used to be a roadside primate attraction and the way they keep the animals is not the best. They are very limited in the spaces they occupy, and lack any visible recreational opportunities. Of course to improve that takes money through donations, so please do donate so the animals can live better lives.

We spent 3 hours there, every caretaker that we saw was super friendly and explained us what he was doing and told
Us more about the animals there. We learned a lot, loved to see Pongo and got to hold a alligator baby… Amazing! Worth every dollar and a donation! Great place, great education for your kids and self and great staff!!! Thumbs up!

The only highlight was Pongo, the orangutan. He’s huge and so beautiful, but he looks so bored and unenthused about everything going on around him. The lady who works at the place was so happy, running around telling everyone that somebody donated Twizzlers for him. Really? Twizzlers?! Oh, that’s a healthy treat! Ugh! She said it was his favorite treat, but when she threw a couple strips at him he just sat there and watched them fly right past his head with his eyes and didn’t even move his head, hands locked on the cage bars. A hahahahahaha ha! Awesome! I don’t blame u Pongo, I wouldn’t eat those corn syrup sticks either !
They sell $ 1.00 bags of food for them at the door which looks like cat or dog food with a few peanuts inside. Of course, they didn’t like the dog kibble so I threw it out. I felt like I was insulting them by trying to feed them that garbage. They did like the peanuts though. I threw one in for Pongo and he finally got a little pep In His step, passed the Twizzlers, cracked open the nut and ate it. He then stuck his hand out through the cage and opened and closed it to ask for another. Aha! A snack they like! Is that why they only give u 4 in this 1.00 bag, and fill the rest with junky kibble?! Figures.
I was really disappointed that they have the chimps all the way in the back. There is a huge fence that blocks u from even getting anywhere near them. Why so far away? I didn’t know I had to bring binoculars. I don’t know… At $ 10.00 a pop I was expecting more than that.

I am torn to rate this place. If I follow Unilocal’s criteria, it is 3 star or less. If I follow my heart, this place deserve 5 stars because it saves life. As a human that share 97% DNA with chimpanzees, I feel uneasy to give less.
Sadness, as most previous reviews brought up, is unmistakably presented. It is a primate sanctuary. It is a sanctuary because some human acted inhumanly and irresponsibly that brought suffering upon the primates. One of the monkey gave us middle finger every time we called his name. The caretaker told us he was mistreated by his owner. The finger gestured speaks volume.
What I like about this sanctuary is the education purpose for young students. Mine are 6^th to 8^th grade so they understand more than their younger peers. We have a caretaker gave us presentation to each species and everyone listened tentatively. Cages are very closer to each other. Surprise, all primates live in harmonies.
The sanctuary is so compacted that you can finish within 30 minutes. But you also learn a lot about primates without get distracted like you are in the zoo. Most of my students are ADHD. I was pleased they found calmness among visiting animals. We get chance to see great apes and monkeys from all over the world. Some are endangered. Students love great apes. Pagon, the Orangutan is their favorite. He is a magnificent gentle giant. Chimpanzees are on the naughty side. If they start throwing things to you, stay away, because the next subject fly towards you could be something from their bottom part… You are forewarned.
The sanctuary is a nonprofit foundation. The operation relied solely on donation and volunteer contributions. There are about 20+ monkeys retired from lab after 20+ years of being the experiment subject for human disease treatment such as diabetes. They settled at the back side of the sanctuary. They are living in good life now. SPC has partnered with sanctuary and it is in process to set an education program for veteran training. Another good thing happened to these animals.
Our students donated bunch of items that were listed on the sanctuary website. For return, they gain something mighty. It is their compassion to these less fortunate primates. That worth the 5 stars.