From safari parks, nature reserves and historic sites to private ranches, there are places you can always go to either watch or hunt exotic species in Texas. | The Best Places to See Exotic Animals in Texas

The Best Places to See Exotic Animals in Texas

Here are a few of the best options:

  • Palo Duro Canyon and surrounding counties in the Panhandle: Palo Duro is the second largest canyon in the country. It’s super rugged and an awesome option for viewing free-range aoudad. The aoudad have trickled throughout the surrounding Panhandle counties.
  • Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in North Texas: From the addax, bison and Arabian oryx, to the bare-eyed cockatoo and emu, Fossil Rim has a bit of everything. With a scenic drive covering over 1,800 acres, you’ll definitely see some amazing animals.
  • Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch near San Antonio: Dubbed the “African safari, Texas-style,” you’ll be able to drive through 400 acres and see approximately 500+ animals and 40+ species.
  • Y.O. Ranch near Mountain Home: The Y.O. Ranch is the place to go for exotic game tours and trophy hunts. Take your pick of whitetail, turkey, aoudad, axis, blackbuck, eland and many, many more for an amazing hunt!
  • 777 Ranch near Hondo: At the 777 Ranch, you’ll find over 60 species and lots of potential record-book trophies.
  • Mason Mountain Wildlife Management Area: Previously a working exotic game ranch, the Texas Parks and Wildlife department acquired the land which now has six species. This land allows for amazing research of exotic animals!
  • Exotic Ranch Zoo: Located in Johnson City and just a quick dart over from Fredericksburg, the Exotic Resort Zoo has 500 animals and 80 different species on their 135 acres. They provide guided tours and while very educational, you also get to feed the animals which gets the kids super excited. They also have luxury safari-style cabin rentals.
  • Morani River: Morani River Ranch is dedicated to the preservation and proliferation of wildlife and its habitat. The ranch is a 3,000-acre game paradise, nestled in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. It runs along four miles of the spring-fed Nueces River with a diverse landscape.
  • Ox Ranch: You will see thousands of wildlife free ranging on over 18,000 acres of Texas Hill Country. A few of the species you will encounter on your visit include giraffes, zebras, kangaroos, axis, bongo, kudu blackbucks, elk, hogs, red stags, and of course record-breaking whitetail deer.

Exotic Wildlife Association: We can put you in touch with other options in Texas as well so make sure to contact us at info@myewa.org for additional ranches!

The Best Places to See Exotic Animals in Texas_2

Where are the best places you know of to see exotic animals?