Roer's Zoofari

While the the safari tram isn’t quite as thrilling as the old drive-through option, the sum total of up-close experiences at this unusual suburban zoo extends well beyond an ordinary petting zoo!

Visitors can get up close and personal with beautiful budgies in the aviary using sesame seed sticks that attract the very brightly colored birds to fly down, land on one’s arm, and peck themselves a tasty snack.

The denizens also run to the more exotic side than other smaller zoos. Being just a thick pane of plexiglass away from the cheetahs is breathtaking, and one can actually pet the giraffes as they lower their heads down to pick romaine lettuce and carrots right out of your hand.

There are several enclosures where goats, sheep, llamas, and other various and sundry ruminants that will amass at the fence for a shot at getting fed and/or petted. Other animals are in enclosures where petting is not permitted, including kangaroos, tortoises, warthogs, sloths, and spider monkeys, to name a few.

The old safari was a wild adventure, with the option to drive your own car through the gauntlet of hungry beasts, with many of them wasting no time in sticking their heads right into the window to munch on lettuce and carrots. Now it’s a tram driven by one of the employees, and while it’s not the in-your-face encounter it used to be, it’s still a trip to be that close to llamas, longhorn steers, emus, bison, and camels.

There is also a small food stand just outside the gift shop that serves burgers and dogs, and picnics are also allowed in that designated area, which features several tables.