Reviews of Urban Safari Rescue Society (Zoo)

Damon Hawkey

This was awesome for our 7 year old son's birthday party!! We had about 15 kids for a party in our small apartment, and Urban Safari staff did an outstanding job! They are amazing with the kids, but as importantly they are amazing with the animals. Similar services may allow more holding and photo ops, but these animals are treated properly and with incredible respect, and that lesson and attitude is evident to the kids as well. The kids were engaged for the entire hour, and all seemed to appreciate the uniqueness of the party (vs 'play zones', for example). Spectacular job, Urban Safari team!

Ron Ostafichuk

It is like a mini zoo. Lots of interesting animals to look at.

Jen Somerville

Great place o take the kids, not busy

Michelle Coates Shardlow

This place is awesome! A fun way to spend and afternoon. Staff is knowledgeable and friendly and the animals are amazing.

Michelle Coates Shardlow

This place is awesome! A fun way to spend and afternoon. Staff is knowledgeable and friendly and the animals are amazing.

KAZ

Animal safari is an amazing place especially to take your family to see some adopted animals. Great cause

Rachele MacAdams (MizzDiabolica)

My daughter loved seeing all the animals

Anythingispossible

Great place

Pej Namshirin

Fun place for kids to see exotic critters.

Bailey Moslinger

This place is great! Everyone working there was so friendly.

Tasha Tyl

Amazing people who do such a wonderful job helping very friendly and knowledgeable staff great place to learn about many different types of reptiles and animals great for a family outing

Ryan Murray

Great experience, especially for kids. My 4 and 6 year old love it here.

Mitzi Newland

We did a tour for my son's 9th birthday. Amazing! So much great info about the animals along with a lot of education about why exotic animals shouldn't be pets unless you're fully equipped to handle them. Bibiana is the BEST tour guide.

julie van westen

We had Urban Safari attend our son’s 5th Birthday Party in January and they did an amazing job with the kids. They managed to keep the attention of a room of 4 and 5 year olds and were great at explaining the details of each animal. The kids and adults both enjoyed it! Highly recommend for any event.

Sana Wiqar

Exotic animals

Sarah M

Pretty disappointed with the care and husbandry. Lots of red lights that are horrible for them, bugs in the enclosures biting on the lizards, small enclosures. Do better!

Brett Martel

Had some questions about our bearded dragon and this was a great resource for information.

Jorge Obregon

A great presentation at my sons birthday party! The children (and the adults) were intrigued and loved every minute! Highly recommended.

Naomi Kragh

I can't say enough great things about this place! We just had my daughters Birthday here. The guide was great and the kids loved every moment. Especially the animals they could pet. They took care of everything for us, including goodie bags. All I had to bring was the food. We even got an explanation of which animal our donation was helping. My child's name will go on the habitat while she is sponsoring it. We hope to come visit again soon! Thanks for such a memorable experience!!

Kaori Lau

The animals came to us for my children’s birthday party! The 2 hosts arrived early to setup and were ready to go at the scheduled time. We saw a variety of bugs, reptiles, and furry creatures! Most creatures went around the room and children were able to touch gently if they wanted to. Such a unique experience! Highly recommended!

myk black

It was so awesome

Bryan Legay

Lots of amazing animals to look at!

Neill M

What a great place for kids and adults! Over 300 different animals to see! The price makes sense as they are taking care of all the exotic animals donated by pet owners, it’s about being sustainable and supporting these abandoned animals, not profits. We had our 6 year old’s birthday here and the kids had a great time! It also feels great that the money paid sponsors the care of the animals. They also take the animals to you on road shows and class presentations!

Leland Siemens

The people working here do great work rescueing animals that need help for a number of reasons. They set it up really well for visitors to come and see all the current tennants. Go check it out - you won't be disappointed and you'll be helping a noble cause.

Michelle Whalen

Great rainy day spot to take your little ones. Very nice staff

Harrison Daem

Been volunteering and helping out for over a decade. Theres a reason I always come back. Keep up the hard work!

Tim Woodland

We enjoy taking our kids here. The volunteers are great and have a great knowledge of the animals. I haven't heard a "I'm not sure" from any of the staff regarding any of the kids questions.

JACE A

The people here are excellent, they could sure deserve some more funding for what they are. Great wealth of knowledge from staff, the organization seems like a sole place to accept these creatures and use them for education, how great WOULD it be to expand this facility...

circles mag-tv

Great place for kid's learning, little smelly and humid but hey it's snakes and iguana we are talking about

Aaron Innes

What a great organization! So sad to see so many animals that have been abandoned but US does a great job in caring for them and making sure they are healthy. It was wonderful doing the tour- the staff knew so much and were very engaging, even for a group of school aged children. So many people are there volunteering also!

KAZ animals

Animal Safari is an amazing orginiazation that deals with reptiles of all kinds. It is a great cause, with many attractions and nice employees

L R

Looking the place up on line does this sanctuary no justice. Going in person is a must for anyone. Went today with my boyfriend and we were blown away and the speer size of some of the animals. The first area you view by your self and the second area is like a guided tour. All the enclosures also had infomation sheets on each species that were verry helpful . Not sure what to do on a day off you should go here!!!

K B

Fantastic place! Loved all the animals, especially the black pig in the back . He was so sweet and friendly. I must frequent this place as they are doing an amazing job at saving all the animals. I shall donate as well.!!! Great place for kids to learn. FANTASTIC

Brett Martel

Had some questions about our bearded dragon and this was a great resource for information.

Captain Teemo

The staff was friendly and knowledgeable. A bit expensive, spent 26 bucks for 2 adults 1 child, however, I know most of it goes toward the animals. Place is a bit small - felt a bit like pet land. The smell in the place wasn't appealing. I am glad I went but won't be returning.

Natalie McIntosh

Great place to visit

Shawn Macdonald

Lots to see

Katie Lee McConnell

Really cool little place filled with so many interesting creatures you don't typically see. This is a rescue organization, so it's by no means fancy and is mostly volunteer run. Not for anyone who has a phobia of reptiles, amphibians and insects. But they also have furry creatures like rabbits, ferrets, pigs etc. I'm not a huge fan of the snakes but my kids LOVE this place.

Eugenia S

Very pleased with this place and surprised I’ve never heard about it from anyone. Thought it would be a room full of only rescued snakes and birds, but it’s so much more. They have many rooms and areas and they did a cool tour for the kids to see the ferrets and the giant bunnies. Even the kids said that they didn’t expect it to be so much fun!

Crystal Walk

My husband loved this place. I'm staying with him anyway ????

Anthony Smith

Totally cool for kids and anyone curious about creatures of all sizes, furry, friendly and frightening :-)

Krystina Hetherington

Great knowledgable staff

Living on Vancouver Isand

If you are looking for something to do with the kids and not set you back a lot money. Surprisingly we spent way more time then I thought as the kids explored and searched for the different lizards, arachnids, amphibians, and other things I've never seen before. Then they was few more animals in the back. I really appreciate the staff and people that support this shelter for unwanted or unexpected responsibility of the care for the animals.

Elaine Cheung

Great place to learn about reptiles and other furry creatures

Avery WA

Book appt in advance. $10 for adult, $6 for kids. It’s indoor urban safari. Looks not big but maybe fun.

Avery WA

Book appt in advance. $10 for adult, $6 for kids. It’s indoor urban safari. Looks not big but maybe fun.

WR norm

serves a good purpose I guess... quite pricey though... one grandson thought it was great - the other was too young and disinterested...many interesting creatures

Dianne Wone

They're doing important work helping surrendered animals and educating the public. Kids loved it but the smell of the reptiles was overwhelming for one of my kids. Very educational and so much to see.

Jon Smith

Took the family here. So much awesome. Great bag for buck! Would do again.

Frostie Hughes

I live this place they take great care of their animals and are knowledgeable

James Catterall

Just wow - came with my girlfriend and we were blown away by the care and helpfulness of the staff for whom this is clearly a labour of love. Could not recommend more as a date idea or really if you just want to nerd out. Tons of variety and very interesting and exotic animals.

David Ng

An amazing place to visit with the family and it won't set your wallet back. Besides, the funds do go to a good cause as the critters here are well cared for. It is also a great educational process to learn about the needs and requirements of these non-native species that are often victims of the exotic pet trade.

Lauren Munro

Such an amazing place to visit! I had an amazing experience while volunteering there and definitely would advise anyone with an interest in learning more about animals to check it out.

Jennifer Domansky

I can't say enough good things about this place. We had 10 girls for my daughters 8th birthday party and they had the time of their lives. So did the adults. Bibiana was a wonderful hostess, had us laughing the whole time and taught us a lot about the animals, they have over 300 there. Great experience, I highly recommend.

Maxine Adam

An amazing group of people dedicated to the care and comfort of rescued reptiles

Dal dak

Cool place to see rescue animals

Chitra Sharma

Lots of species for a small place....very nice

Eric McElrevy

The first thing you notice is the smell, which you get used to in less than a minute. This is the only thing negative I have to say. The place is fascinating, the staff are friendly and informative and the animals are plenty. Going again

Bobo Bao

We understand accidents happen all the time. But what we could not accept was the way they handled and treated their customers when those accidents happened. A Zoom birthday party planned for a 6 year old boy with all his school friends and family friends waiting anxiously to celebrate with him got cancelled at the time the party should be started. - Why not test the equipments beforehand? Obviously there was no professional check up at all. - Why didn't they reach out to the family when they noticed there was a "technique issue" at first place? They didn't take the initiative to contact the customer when there was a problem. They waited and let the customer to contact them asking what happened when all the kids had been waiting behind the screen for 15 mins. - When the mom phoned them, the response over the phone was very impatient. No compassion towards the poor boy and his family that had to say sorry to all the kids who were all expecting for a fun Zoom Party. Also, after all this, the only answer and explanation was "Sorry it didn't work out today. We will give you a refund". It's very unfortunate that because of the unprofessional business behaviour, I will never recommend this organization to anybody. And please be careful when you book anything with them as it might just being easily canceled from their end.

Scrubbed

Get to go up close and personal with large reptiles and such, seeing a roaming tortoise was the hilight. Needs a bigger and more organized location, definitely. Very knowledgeable staff, great for kids.

Katie

This place is awesome , they are very busy looking after the animals , you are allowed to wonder and take your time ... Who does a zoom meeting for a six year old birthday party. Your just asking for disappointment. Maybe blame yourself for exspecting too much from VOLUNTEERS , People who donated their time to ensure the safety and happiness of Animals... Why would they have professional check up ... You think they have an IT department ... No juts good people looking after rescued animals . ***repost*** The 4 people who left a 1 star review should have their accounts deleted. I understand 1 review explaining their side, but 4.... childish Vengeance to say the least. These kind and professional men and woman SAVE ANIMALS. while yes they have other streams of revenue like hosting birthday parties. Their goal is to help these defenceless creatures. Its called a Technical issue which this company tried everything they could to fix. They even refunded these angry customers and they're still bashing a RESCUE SOCIETY. Their goal was not to ruin a childs birthday but to increase funding to HELP MORE ANIMALS!!!!

chevyslick

kids love this place and I love teaching my kids about reptiles and birds. always have a good time coming here and my daughter often requests to xome here.

Dan Watson

Lot's to see and learn

Jordo

Urban safari came for my sons 9th birthday. On time. Very professional. Animals were great. They even tried to answer all the kids questions in the allotted hour. I really liked the fact my sons name goes up next to an animal we sponsor for 3 months. Pretty cool would highly recommend.

Shannon Di Iorio

Had two wonderful humans being cool creatures to my child's 6th birthday today. Huge hit for kids and adults, highly recommend!

Daroyl Dent53t

Real great past to take the kids an for very body an it Helps with the place to keep food in the place for all animals to eat an they classes on for kids an Helps them really see what it is all about Lol GO see IT ????????❤

Randy Derewenko

This is a great place to spend some spare time. There's a huge variety of tortoises, turtles, exotic snakes, birds, rabbits and many more. The donation fee to get in is more than worth it.

Devon Tims

I love reptiles and animals so going there was amazing!

Alex Hannig

Great place to learn about animals. Come and volunteer

norman scott

Pretty cool little spot, was great to take the kids and have a poke around. We got a big kick out of the turtles crawling around in the yard, and getting to see all the different types of turtles they had was neat too. We watched the peacock for about ten minutes, my baby was mesmerized by the feathers.

Farah Mawani

Great for kids birthday parties!

Suzi Q

I LOVE animals and I LOVE Urban Safari Rescue!!! ???? I took my parents there yesterday for their 45th Anniversary and we all had a blast!!!! The owner Gary is such an awesome guy, he very clearly loves his animals and is VERY passionate about his place. He’s so knowledgable and every time I go there, he takes so much time to share his stories about how the animals got there, why it’s so important for people to be educated about animals, and tons of info about every species that he has. AMAAAAZING! Our planet needs more “Garys” ????

chevyslick

kids love this place and I love teaching my kids about reptiles and birds. always have a good time coming here and my daughter often requests to xome here.

Andrea C

Great cause and so many amazing animals!

John 'n Jane Reach

Mom of 5, visited a few times over the past 10 years. Good place to take the kids on a rainy day. Best for kids aged 4+ who understand why we don't knock/tap/bang on cages/aquariums or run in a place like this. But open to kids of alleges. Moderately priced which is nice if you have a larger group/family. Quite a variety of species. LOTS of reptiles/amphibians. Which also means a little warm/humid to accommodate these types of creatures. So wear layers as you heat up quickly especially if there's alot of traffic. However will mention, during covid, bookings are required to establish and maintain social distancing guidelines. Each exhibit is labeled so you know what you are looking at and some info about each creature like lifespan, native geographic location, habitat, food sources, endangered rankings etc. Very informative if you have the patience to read each one. Also gives kids a outside perspective on why these creatures should not necessarily be pets or why they have been surrendered/rescued. As to not add to the growing population of exotic/hard to care for pets. In the back they have a large rabbitat refuge village. With lots of cute bunnies. They even have an absolutely adorable Flemish giant (which is a massive rabbit for those of you who didn't know). Included in this area are some exotic/colorful pheasants and a peacock. Also an array of guinea pigs (including a few hairless ones that look like mini piglets) and some pot belly pigs that are very oinky. Lots to learn/see. Great for kids and families. A bit out if the way if coming from Vancouver etc but easy to find. Plan to spend about an hour or so. Longer if your doing a guided tour. Wheelchair accessible and safety protocols in place for covid. I'd definitely visit again. Worth the drive for the price and diversity ????.

Lenny Reyes

Great experience, nice staff very knowledgeable. Interesting animals.

G Gill

Great place. Love the turtles

Joshua Thompson

Fun spot for a rainy day

Scott Dornian

Great fun for the kids, very friendly, and happy to answer questions.

ET Smashington

Our bearded dragon died and we wanted to donate all his stuff to this society but the woman who answered the phone was so rude. No care about our dead pet or verbalized a thank you for being willing to donate. I wish she had shown any care or manners. It would have cost her nothing and gained her free items that would help the critters she claims to care about. I had a bad experience with this place years ago and hoped they'd changed but obviously not.

Susanna Murray

Great place that rescues exotic animals that find themselves needing a home. Currently requires an appointment to visit but so great for the kids! There are snakes, turtles, tortoises, lizards of various kinds, rabbits, Guinea pigs, regular pigs, and pheasants, just to name a few of the animals!

Kenny BRYSON

The kids loved it!! I loved it!!!

M. Meldridge

Wonderful Volunteers!! Great viewing selection of reptiles, amphibians, mammals and birds. Family fun had by all. Knowledgeable staff , very welcoming and helpful. Lots to see and smiles had by all!! Will be returning again and again with friends ! Thank you for having us

NTM

Fantastic place to take the kids. Must love snakes and critters. Very friendly staff too

emily williams

Cute critters

duaneology

We had these guys come to my daugters b-day party and it was great! We also visited their sanctuary and were blown away! So many cool bugs, lizards and animals of every kind.

julie bergen

Cool animals. The building is a little small though. Friendly people, awesome place.

ryan valiquette

Amazing and friendly staff

Dimitri Rosner

I had a bearded dragon in need of rescuing, they had no interest in helping so I guess I'd say they aren't a very competent "rescue" society and they don't care much for animals.

Cindy Pau

Worst service!! We were waiting to get into the birthday party along with 20+ kids for almost 20 mins and they just canceled it because they had “technical issue”. They were not even apologetic about the cancellation last minute and ruin the birthday experience! For sure will never hire them in the future and will share our horrible experience with friends and families n on social media. Thank you for the big disappointment!

Tierra

Very small. Nice little place to visit or volunteer.

Tierra

Very small. Nice little place to visit or volunteer.

CaitieBC

Garry runs a great facility for kids to learn. Wonderful staff.

Jan Fung

Great school field trip destination. Informative, friendly and helpful staff. They have an obvious love for their animals. Very affordable and interesting!!

Stephanie Pappas

Great experience! All the animals seemed happy and cared for and the staff were welcoming. We got a personalized tour around the back area, held terantulas, played with bunnies and pet the pigs!

Nicole Stratton

My kids are loving their day camp program for the week. Lots of critters to see and so much to learn.

Al Freisen

So happy to know this place is so passionate about rescuing reptiles! My son had a blast visiting here. We will be back for SURE!

Katie Cromarty

My kids enjoyed the visit. My daughter is in a 'loves reptiles' phase so it was really enjoyable for her. And a worthy charitable cause. Thanks!!

Kayla Johnson

I loved the atmosphere there, the founder truly cared and had great intentions. They are a wonderful organization and glad to see such passion and love for all the vareties of animals!

Laura Culbertson

Its smelly in here but that's because of all the reptiles. We got really sick after being here so please make sure children and adults wash hands thoroughly. Good experience for the kids seeing all the animals. We met a 120 year old turtle. That was cool.

Chris Kopp-Barry

Such a cool place! Lots of cool animals of all kinds! The staff was amazing and knowledgeable too.

Mom of 2

I would 100% recommend this Rescue for any birthday party. Very knowledgeable, and these ladies kept kids attention for an hour! If you do your research, these guys are by far the best.

Silver Black

Needs more exotic animals.

Adam Balkwill

Bring the family they will love it.

Sonni One

What fun, our daughter took us on a wonderful adventure to Urban Safari Rescue Society!! Thank you very much, Gary, for taking the time to give us a tour and introducing us to your very interesting creatures! You are a wealth of knowledge! We enjoyed your stories and were impressed with the cleanliness of your facility. You have put much effort into the care and well being of your "residents" and clearly love what you do!

Geneva Rosin

Very loving and caring for animals, and very understanding towards the former owner. I feel my sugar glider is in really good hands

Sarah Castillo

I can't believe you had to pay to. Enter the building. . It's in the middle of nowhere. There's webs inside. The containers poorly kept this is how you treat rescue animals? Half of the container cages animals inside fish tanks where empty. Overall cool experience But not something I would put on my to do list.

Marko Radinkovic

I wish they had more space. Other than that this is a cool place to visit and expose children to some interesting information.

Scott Billman

Cool

Sam Nugent

The animals seem very well cared for and the workers are very knowledgeable. Always fun to visit and see all the wonderful animals

Lauren Dornian

All the most interesting bugs and reptiles and exotic animals up close. Great place to bring kids. Also just a great place to explore if you happen to like bugs and/or reptiles. The staff here are really nice.

Dave Dolby

Great place for small kids to learn about rare animal and insects

Debbie Watson

Urban Safari is a great place to go to learn about different animals and insects. Also we learn different reasons why many animals are no longer pets and why we must study all aspects before bringing an animal home as a pet.

Angela Schroeder

Love this place the staff and owner are super great with the animals and know lots of animal info .There are so many amazing and interesting animals and things to see .The clubs are very fun for kids with lots of learning i would recomend the urban safari to anyone

Abeer Al Riyami

Staff are friendly . They have some interesting reptiles and a beautiful peacock and other rescued animals. However.. we felt sad after the visit because the place was not very clean and a bit cramped and the animals in the back looked bored and depressed .. . I wish they have enough funds to renew the center so that the animals have more space to wonder around freely .

Karim Larbes

Got two buggies adorable. By donation of course

Elaine Manky

Very informative about the different species

행복날개

(Translated) The primeval forest is well preserved, and it is a good program to breathe while feeling the most natural state that you can feel while experiencing nature .... (Original) 원시림이 잘 보존되어 있고 아울러 자연을 체험하면서 느낄 수 있는 가장 자연상태를 느끼며 호흡 할 수 있는 좋은 프로그램.... 하루라도 즐길 수 있는 곳,,,

Gary S

Cancelled a birthday party for 6 year olds at the time of the birthday. There is no excuse for this. Test your equipment and have a back up. Absolutely unprofessional.

Sarah Lengwenat-Cordsen

This rescue has an array of interesting animals, and some neat taxidermy as well. It’s not a huge building, but with the variety of creatures on display, I spent about an hour looking around. The animals are well cared for, so this place is definitely worth checking out, and supporting with your donations!

Yan Song

I booked a party a couple days ago for my son’s birthday today at 12:30 through zoom meeting. But when 12:30, there is no one there. I called the Staff name Sharon she said she had to cancel my booking because they had a technical issue going on. This is horrible for my family today with 20 + guests are waiting. My son is very upset about his birthday now. And the lady said she got nothing can help. This is the worst birthday that I have booked for my kids ever. Terrible experience!

William Thomas

Cool local place to see all kinds of reptiles and insects. Small but neat.

Miamiyami

Great place to take your kids! Watch out-the large turtles wobble fast!:(

Kaisa Bennet

This is a unique and awesome place! The people were so friendly and knowledgable about the animals they take in and care for. My kids had a great time and were amazed at all the different lizards and loved the pigs.

John Bristowe

Awesome place to take the kids. Lots to see and learn interesting fact about all kinds of bugs, reptiles and animals. Informative staff to talk with as you walk around.

Debbie Steines

Lots of information friendly staff and volunteer

Tatiana Park

I went here with my girlfriend and her kids and it was the cutest thing. I believe the lady said that the reptiles and animals that they had there were all rescued. It was really nice to see them getting taken care of and nice to see the kids really enjoy seeing them. They have the cutest turtles!

HAILEY L

My boyfriend and I visited the USRS and had a blast! We spent all afternoon looking at each and every display. We loved it so much, we had to call and cancel our plans after this so that we could spend more time in here. As a whole, the place itself is not very big, but it is packed with different species and if you take time to look at every one of them, you can spend at least 1.5 hours in here. The staff were super friendly, easy going, and ready to answer any questions we had. We are in our late 20's and this place isn't just for children. It's a great place for a date too.

will westen

I was adopting an animal when the BIRTHDAY PARTY ORDEAL was going on. The 4 people who left a 1 star review should have their accounts deleted. I understand 1 review explaining their side, but 4.... childish Vengeance to say the least. These kind and professional men and woman SAVE ANIMALS. while yes they have other streams of revenue like hosting birthday parties. Their goal is to help these defenceless creatures. Its called a Technical issue which this company tried everything they could to fix. They even refunded these angry customers and they're still bashing a RESCUE SOCIETY. Their goal was not to ruin a childs birthday but to increase funding to HELP MORE ANIMALS!!!!

Barry Cotton

I have passed by this place too many times. Finally stopped in today and I was not disappointed. There were snakes, turtles, piranhas, birds, pigs, you name it. Massive turtles!! I will go back again. Great for families.

jeromy krasniski

Disgusting. Just terrible

S H

Great place. Everyone there really cared and was passionate about the animals and sharing information. There was also a very wide range of animals and insects.

Tony C

Good for kids to visit learn about the wild animals

Chris Durec

Cool place to take your kids, lots of awesome turtles, lizards and spiders

Dani George

My python is not eating i wonder could this place help me? I dont want to watch him die my heart is breaking

Mercoal Summit

Small animal rescue, many different animals

Lesley Sharples

Great tour. Very friendly.

Christy Benson

This place rescues reptiles and rabbits and house them and care for them. It is run by volunteers and relies on admission and donations to care for the animals. It's a great educational place to visit.

Felicia Dakin

Got stuck in a huge line for U.S border so I thought I'd check out this place for something to do. Super cool place with all the reptiles.