It’s a Zoo Life

I came across It’s a Zoo Life by watching TV, believe it or not. I stumbled upon the TLC television show “Our Wild Life” about the Abrams family who owns and runs a zoo and fell in love with it! The fact that they had a wolf, baby kangaroos, a sloth, and more exotic animals living at their farm (and inside their house) was so interesting to me. The family was so fun and real and I really enjoyed the show. I thought how cool it would be to visit but never thought I actually would.

One day, I happened to look up the farm and saw it was a short drive away from where I lived in North Carolina. I couldn’t believe it. So when my daughter was about 1 1/2 and my son was 6 months old we made a tour reservation and went to visit the zoo in person. It was my son’s first experience with a zoo and it was so much fun! Because it is a small family zoo it is very hands-on. We got to get up close with all of the animals and even got to hold/feed some of them. My daughter was in heaven – she even wanted to hug the porcupine. But don’t worry, that didn’t happen.

It’s a Zoo Life is located in Macclesfield, North Carolina. A small town about 30 minutes northwest of Greenville, NC, and about 1 hour east of Raleigh, NC.

You have to make a tour reservation ahead of time. They only do tours at specific times and they keep the groups small, so you’ll want to make sure to do it ahead of time if you are looking to go on a certain day/time. You’ll want to make sure to arrive a little early to check-in, use the restroom (if needed), get strollers set up, etc.

They have a cute check-in area that has photo op areas including an animal cutout you can put your faces in, a big chair, and of course the It’s a Zoo Life sign. The check-in is a little cabin/shed and they also have some little concessions/snacks and gift shop items to purchase. They currently have 100+ animals, many are exotic ones. The lemurs were some of my favorites and my daughter loved the zebra.

Bobby Jo Abrams gave us our tour. If you have seen the show, she is the matriarch/mom who runs the zoo. Our group was small so we had plenty of time to see all the animals and ask any questions. We got to go inside the cage and pet the wolf, feed the farm animals, hold a baby hedgehog, feed kangaroos and wallabies, hold a little fox, get up close to a sloth, and my personal favorite: hold and bottle feed a baby kangaroo (just like I had seen on the show)!

In fact, at the time of our visit, I was still nursing my son. When I held the baby kangaroo, she tried to suck on my arm which felt very funny. Bobby Jo said she probably could smell my breast milk and was hungry (so cool!). The whole team at It’s a Zoo Life was phenomenal and stayed after the tour to talk and answer any questions. It is so much fun and I definitely recommend that if you are ever in the area you plan a visit!

If you want to support a small family-owned business, enjoy zoos, like getting up close with animals, or are simply curious to learn more – make sure you check out It’s a Zoo Life in Macclesfield, NC. You won’t regret it!