Unearth The Voyage
Somewhere along a quiet stretch of highway in eastern North Carolina, a family-owned sanctuary is quietly blowing the minds of every visitor who pulls up to its gate. We are talking about kangaroos on your porch, capybaras at your fingertips, and a sloth hanging out on a swingset like it owns the place.
It’s A Zoo Life in Macclesfield, NC has become one of the most talked-about animal experiences in the state, and for very good reason. With over 150 exotic animals, guided tours, hands-on encounters, and even an overnight stay option, this place is unlike anything else you will find in North Carolina.
Where It All Begins: Address and Location
The first thing you notice about It’s A Zoo Life is that it does not announce itself with flashy billboards or a towering entrance. Tucked along 4313 NC 42 in Macclesfield, NC 27852, this sanctuary sits in Edgecombe County, about an hour from most of the surrounding cities in eastern North Carolina.
From the road, it does not look like much. That modest exterior is part of what makes the first impression inside so surprising and memorable.
The location is easy enough to reach by car, and the drive through rural Nash and Edgecombe County farmland is peaceful in its own right. Once you turn in, the sounds and sights change immediately.
You can reach the sanctuary by phone at +1 252-266-7974 or visit their website at www.itsazoolife.com to book tickets in advance. Booking ahead is strongly recommended because tours run at specific times and group sizes are limited, which keeps every visit personal and unhurried.
The Story Behind the Sanctuary
Behind every great place is a person with a story, and at It’s A Zoo Life, that person is Bobbi Jo. By all accounts from those who have met her, she is a warm, passionate, and deeply knowledgeable animal lover who turned a personal dream into a thriving community destination.
The sanctuary was built with what visitors consistently describe as love in every corner. From the cleanliness of the animal enclosures to the carefully chosen diet of each resident, every detail reflects years of dedication and hard work.
Bobbi Jo did not just open a zoo. She created a space where animals are treated as individuals with names, personalities, and histories.
Murphy, Claire, and Henry are just a few of the named residents that repeat visitors come back specifically to see.
The fact that this is a family-owned operation shows in the way the staff interacts with both the animals and the guests. There is no corporate distance here, just genuine enthusiasm from people who clearly chose this life because they love it, not because it was the easiest path forward.
Over 150 Animals and the Variety That Comes With It
The animal roster at this sanctuary reads like a list someone made up just to see how many exotic species they could fit onto one property. Kangaroos and wallabies share space with zebras, camels, emus, alpacas, capybaras, porcupines, monkeys, sloths, mini horses, and a rotating cast of birds, reptiles, and barnyard favorites.
One of the more quietly impressive residents is the sloth, who apparently spends most of his time hanging on a swingset with the kind of relaxed confidence that most of us can only dream about.
The capybara has developed a bit of a fan following, particularly among younger visitors who arrive having only ever seen one on a screen. Seeing one up close for the first time tends to produce a reaction that is somewhere between disbelief and pure joy.
What makes the variety here so meaningful is that the animals are not just present but accessible. Visitors are not kept behind thick glass barriers staring at distant shapes.
The whole point of It’s A Zoo Life is that you actually get close, and in many cases, you get to touch, feed, and interact with the animals in a genuinely memorable way.
Guided Tours That Actually Teach You Something
The guided tour format at It’s A Zoo Life is one of the things that sets it apart from a standard walk-through zoo experience. Tours run Tuesday through Friday from 10 to 11:30 AM, and on Saturdays from 10 AM onward, with Sunday and Monday being closed days, so planning your visit around the schedule matters.
Guides like Caethe, Garren, Randa, and others have earned consistent praise for being knowledgeable, energetic, and genuinely good at keeping both kids and adults engaged throughout the entire tour.
The guides take time with each animal, explaining behavior, diet, and personality quirks in a way that feels educational without feeling like a lecture. Kids who are too shy to approach an animal on their own often end up holding a snake or scratching a kangaroo behind the ears because a skilled guide made it feel safe and exciting at the same time.
Tours typically run about one and a half to two and a half hours depending on the group. Smaller groups tend to get a more personalized experience, which is another reason to book early and avoid the busiest weekend time slots when possible.
The Kangaroo Cottage Overnight Experience
There is staying near animals, and then there is waking up to find kangaroos on your porch at sunrise. The Kangaroo Cottage at It’s A Zoo Life is an on-site Airbnb located directly inside the kangaroo habitat, and it is exactly as extraordinary as it sounds.
Guests who book the overnight stay check in after the last public tour of the day has ended. The owner gives a personal walkthrough, covers the essentials, and then hands over the keys to what can only be described as a very unusual kind of freedom.
Aside from the enclosures housing the more dangerous animals, overnight guests can wander the property at their leisure, spending as much time as they want with the animals.
The stay includes dinner and breakfast, and the whole experience comes with a level of personal attention that no standard hotel or resort can replicate. Kangaroos roam freely around the cottage, and while some are shy at first, most warm up quickly to a good neck scratch.
Past overnight guests consistently describe it as one of the most unforgettable experiences of their lives, and several have already booked return trips before they even checked out the next morning.
Hands-On Animal Encounters You Will Not Find at Most Zoos
Most zoos ask you to observe from a respectful distance. It’s A Zoo Life takes a very different approach.
Here, the encounter is the whole point, and the staff works hard to make sure every visitor gets a real, tactile, face-to-face moment with at least several animals during their visit.
Kids have held baby kangaroo joeys, draped large snakes over their shoulders, fed llamas and goats by hand, and carried fancy chickens around the property. Adults who arrived skeptical have left with photos they will be showing people for years.
Add-on experiences like the Capybara meet-up are available for an extra fee and are widely considered worth every penny. The capybara is a calm, curious animal that tends to win over even the most hesitant visitors within about thirty seconds of contact.
The animals are described across many visits as happy, well-fed, and clearly comfortable around people. Enclosures are clean, enriched with stimulating features, and stocked with fresh produce.
The fact that the animals are so relaxed and approachable is a direct reflection of how consistently well they are treated every single day.
A Family-Friendly Atmosphere That Works for All Ages
One of the more quietly impressive things about It’s A Zoo Life is how well it works for groups of completely different ages. A grandmother visiting with four grandchildren under twelve, a couple celebrating an anniversary, and a solo parent with a five-year-old can all show up on the same day and each walk away with a personal highlight.
The property is compact enough that it does not involve exhausting amounts of walking, which makes it ideal for toddlers and older visitors alike. There is even a small playground at the end of the tour route, giving younger kids a chance to burn off some of the excitement before heading back to the car.
The atmosphere is casual and welcoming without feeling chaotic. Groups are kept small, which means the experience never turns into a crowded shuffle.
Every visitor gets real time with the animals and real attention from the guides.
Families who have visited for birthdays, spring break, school holidays, and anniversaries all report a similar feeling at the end: they did not want to leave. That kind of universal appeal across age groups and occasions is something genuinely hard to manufacture, and at this sanctuary, it feels completely organic.
Animal Welfare and the Care Behind the Scenes
A zoo is only as good as the care it provides to its animals behind the scenes, and at It’s A Zoo Life, the evidence of that care is visible the moment you start walking the property. Enclosures are clean, spacious relative to the animals they house, and filled with enrichment features that keep residents mentally and physically active.
Feeding bowls spotted during tours have been stocked with fresh greens, carrots, sweet potatoes, and species-appropriate nutrition pellets. The animals themselves are described consistently as energetic, clean, and clearly at ease with human presence.
The guides speak about each animal by name and with obvious affection, which tells you something important about the culture of the place. This is not a facility where animals are treated as attractions to be managed.
They are treated as individuals with specific preferences, histories, and needs.
Bobbi Jo and her team have clearly built their operation around the animals first and the visitor experience second, and paradoxically, that priority is exactly what makes the visitor experience so exceptional. When the animals are genuinely healthy and content, every interaction becomes more natural, more rewarding, and more memorable for everyone involved.
Booking Your Visit: What You Need to Know Before You Go
Getting the most out of a visit to It’s A Zoo Life starts before you ever leave your house. Tickets must be purchased in advance through the website at www.itsazoolife.com, and a waiver needs to be signed as part of the booking process.
Both steps are described by past visitors as quick and straightforward.
Tours are guided and run at specific times, so showing up without a reservation is not a reliable strategy. The schedule runs Tuesday through Friday from 10 to 11:30 AM, and Saturdays from 10 AM onward.
The sanctuary is closed on Sundays and Mondays.
If you are interested in add-on encounters like the Capybara meet-up, those should be arranged at the time of booking rather than at the gate. Feed for the animals is also available for purchase and worth picking up before your tour begins so you are ready when the moment arrives.
Group sizes tend to be small, which is one of the best features of the experience. A weekday visit often means an even more personal tour with just a handful of other guests.
For the overnight Kangaroo Cottage stay, booking well in advance is essential since availability fills up faster than you might expect.
Standout Animal Residents Worth Knowing by Name
Part of what makes repeat visitors feel such a strong pull back to It’s A Zoo Life is that the animals have names, personalities, and histories that guests actually learn during their tours. Murphy, Claire, and Henry are among the residents that returning visitors ask about by name, the way you might ask about an old friend.
The kangaroos are the undisputed stars of the property, particularly for overnight guests who get to spend unhurried time with them after the public tours have ended. Some are skittish at first, but most warm up and actively seek out attention once they feel comfortable.
The capybara draws its own loyal fanbase, especially among visitors who have wanted to meet one since first discovering the species online. Up close, they are calm, curious, and surprisingly interactive for an animal that size.
Then there is the sloth, who has apparently mastered the art of being compelling while doing almost nothing at all. Perched on a swingset and moving at its own unhurried pace, it tends to attract a small crowd of fascinated onlookers who cannot quite believe they are this close to a creature they have only ever seen in nature documentaries.
A Community Treasure With a Growing Reputation
It’s A Zoo Life has grown into something that Edgecombe County residents talk about with genuine pride. What started as one person’s deep passion for animals has become a destination that draws visitors from across North Carolina and beyond, many of whom drive an hour or more specifically to be there.
The sanctuary holds a 4.8-star rating across nearly 900 reviews, which is a number that reflects not just the quality of the experience but the consistency of it. Visitors who came on a whim, families celebrating milestones, and couples looking for something different all tend to leave with the same feeling: this place exceeded every expectation.
That kind of reputation does not happen by accident. It is built visit by visit, animal interaction by animal interaction, and tour by tour.
The staff at It’s A Zoo Life seems to understand that, and they show up every operating day ready to deliver something genuinely special.
For a small-town sanctuary with no massive marketing budget or corporate backing, the word-of-mouth enthusiasm surrounding this place is remarkable. It is the kind of destination that people tell their friends about with the slightly urgent energy of someone who cannot believe more people do not already know about it.
Final Thoughts: Why This Sanctuary Deserves a Spot on Your List
There are plenty of places you can visit on a road trip through North Carolina, but very few of them will leave you thinking about the experience weeks later the way It’s A Zoo Life tends to do. Something about holding a joey, locking eyes with a capybara, or watching a sloth do absolutely nothing on a swingset stays with you.
The combination of hands-on animal access, knowledgeable guides, genuine animal welfare, and the option to sleep inside a kangaroo habitat makes this sanctuary a genuinely one-of-a-kind destination. No other zoo in the state offers quite this particular mix of intimacy, variety, and heart.
Whether you are planning a day trip with the kids, a unique anniversary outing, or an overnight stay that will become a story you tell for years, It’s A Zoo Life delivers on every front. The staff is friendly, the animals are thriving, and the whole place hums with the kind of energy that comes from people doing exactly what they love.
Book your tickets early, bring your curiosity, and maybe grab some animal feed at the start of the tour. You are going to want to be ready when a kangaroo walks right up and decides you look like someone worth knowing.
