Find a Job You Really Want In
So, you just watched Tiger King and are ready to start your own roadside zoo. What reasonable person could resist such a promising business venture after learning baby tigers go for as little as $2,000?
No worries, we have a full breakdown on all the costs and expenses you can expect in your entrepreneurial pursuit.
While bigger zoos such as the San Diego Zoo spend over 100 million a year to keep things running, small zoos don’t see close to the numbers of visitors or donations, so they have to be pretty creative to stay profitable.
First, let’s look at the expenses. Can you financially recover from running a tiny zoo?
Labor Costs
Labor is the biggest expense of most businesses.
However, big cat people have inventive ways to cut down those costs.
Carole Baskins at Big Cat Rescue has an army of unpaid volunteers. Doc Antle’s workers work long shifts with little time off. He also marries a surprising amount of his workers, which maybe gets him a discount.
Joe Exotic provides room, board, and whatever Wal-Mart meat they swipe from the truck. He also finds people who are desperate for a job. And of course, the tigers. Apparently people will put up with a variety of things to be close to tigers.
After careful rewinding and tape review, it is clear the zoo had at least 7 employees. However, it is possible there were more.
According to a Reddit AMA by a former employee, Joe paid $150 a week.
$150/week
x 52 weeks
x 7 employees
Labor Costs= $54,600/year
Animal Costs
So, to have a zoo you have to have animals. If you go about it the ethical way, you will be reliant on rescued animals and animals such as Emus you can buy legally.
While Tiger King revealed over a dozen small zoos sold exotic animals, it is completely illegal to sell or buy endangered species like tigers.
Doing so puts you at risk for big boy prison like Joe. If you want to pay for your animals and risk imprisonment, you can get a baby tiger for $2,000. Baby tigers and other cute animals help lure in the crowds.
However, keep in mind they grow big and have big appetites.
Doc Antle said he spent $10,000 a year feeding each tiger. Meanwhile, Joe brought that down to $3,000 a year using the Wal-Mart meat and roadkill.
Joe Exotic had hundreds of animals, and at one point had over 40 tigers. That means Joe would spend over $120,000 a year feeding JUST the tigers. Toss in the cost of feeding a bear is $1,000 a year, and he had 3. There is another $3,000. This doesn’t include lions, crocodiles, monkeys, goats, and whatever else roamed the zoo.
After feeding, you have healthcare costs, after finding a vet who is cool with tigers. According to Big Cat Rescue, annual shots for big tigers will be $250 a year. Deworming needs to be done monthly and is $60/month or $720 a year. Median flea treatment price is $190/year. That equals a $1,160 yearly healthcare cost per tiger, assuming they don’t get sick or injured. For 40 tigers, that is $46,400 a year.
Altogether, between feeding costs of $120,000 and healthcare of $46,400, Joe Exotic tigers’ upkeep was $166,400 a year.
Feeding 40 tigers= $120,000
Healthcare for 40 tigers= $46,400
Total= $166,400
Insurance
Finding insurance rates for an exotic zoo is a little tricky (Apparently, tigers aren’t a common risk). However, petting zoos have a monthly premium of $300-$700 for 1 million dollars of general liability insurance. I think we can safely assume tigers will at least get you the $700/max.
$700/month
$8,400/year
Land And Facilities
The amount of land you need for your animals will depend upon your state and the number and types of animals you own. For example, in Florida you need 5 acres for your tiger (although you are free to contain the tiger at will within that property.) You will also probably get some kickback from neighbors about your new wildlife habit. You will need a good stretch of acreage in the country.
Lucky for you, aside from property taxes, that is a one-time fee. Although keep in mind, you need visitors to cover the ginormous feed bill and the further away from civilization you are, the harder drawing in guests will be.
Big Cat Rescue estimates a cost of $20,000 per cage for a full-grown tiger. So cages will definitely add up. And you’ll definitely want to keep them maintained, and the animals contained.
We won’t include these numbers in the overall expenses, but safe to stay, it’s not cheap to start a zoo.
Combined Yearly Expenses
Labor= $54,600
Animal Upkeep Costs= $166,400
Insurance= $8,400
Total Costs: $229,400
How many visitors does a zoo need to break even on these bare minimum costs?
Profit
Expenses: $229,400
Ticket Price: $25
Visitors: 9,176
Profit: 0
Ticket Sales are the most traditional way to bring in cash. We’ll assume a $25 ticket price after eye balling roadside zoo entrance fees. You’ll need a staggering 9,176 visitors to break even after labor, insurance, and food costs, as a bare minimum. This is just to get by.
To clear a respectable salary of $50,000 you’ll need 11,176 visitors. This is without including cage maintenance, property taxes, and feeding the non-tiger and bear animals.
This huge need for visitors is why so many roadside zoos have tiger cub petting and special “VIP” excursions to up-sell guests; The costs of running a zoo are huge and you need to sell a lot of tickets to keep the zoo afloat.
But Really, Don’t Start A Zoo
Just in case you haven’t picked up on this, don’t start a zoo. Those steep costs don’t even include the extravagant cowboy chique wardrobe you’ll need or all the drugs and partying that apparently goes hand in hand with tigers.
Unless you are a highly educated person and filthy wealthy, you won’t be able to provide the care and maintenance wild animals need. If you’re lucky the tigers will eat you out of house and home, if you’re not lucky they’ll eat an employee’s arm or a guest.
Instead, consider volunteering at your local zoo. Or buy a dog. Maybe a pig if you’re feeling extra adventurous. Just don’t start your own zoo. Anything but that.
Author
Kathy is the head of content at Zippia with a knack for engaging audiences. Prior to joining Zippia, Kathy worked at Gateway Blend growing audiences across diverse brands. She graduated from Troy University with a degree in Social Science Education.
