A great place to take the kids when on vacation around Gulf Shores is the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. This zoo distinguishes itself from others by offering various animal encounters. You can actually play with baby tigers, though at $50 per person it is a little more than most would likely spend.

Tiger Encounter

The zoo itself is fairly inexpensive, $11 for adults and $8 for kids 3-12. And while it isn’t as large as other zoos I’ve been through, there is enough to easily spend a few hours exploring. There are plenty of big cats, bears, and lots of little critters too.

Baby Macaws

You can definitely get a little closer to many of the animals here at this zoo. We saw some animal shows taking place at various times, and keepers out talking with visitors often.

Caged Family

The lemur encounter was only $10 per person, plus it was free for our two-year-old daughter. My mom was happy to take her inside the cage to pet these primates and get some pictures. There enjoyed playing the lemurs for a good fifteen minutes before moving on to the next exhibit.

Lemur Encounters

The zoo has been open since 1989 and is open year round and has survived many hurricanes, several of which have forced evacuations for most of the animals. During Hurricane Ivan a twelve-foot alligator was lost for a week before being found and relocated back to his caged in pond.

12 Foot Gator

I’m told they are trying to build a new location farther inland and less likely to flood. This facility was announced in 2009 and was supposed to open in 2013 but it has yet to do so. They are now targeting the summer of 2017.