Two NC zoos hit the real estate market, animals included. There are conditions.
Businessman and Iredell County commissioner Scott Brown is selling two of North Carolina’s largest privately owned zoos.
Aloha Safari Zoo, off N.C. 87 in Harnett County, is a 66-acre property about an hour’s drive southwest of downtown Raleigh. Brown bought the zoo in 2022.
Zootastic Park of Lake Norman in Troutman is about 35 miles north of Charlotte in Iredell County. Brown built the 186-acre property in 2008.
In total, almost 1,000 exotic animals are for sale as part of the separate listings with National Land Realty.
Brown says both sales require a buyer to possess a class “C” permit through the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to continue to operate as a zoo.
He’s ready to retire.
“My goal is to sell it to someone that has as big an animal passion as I do,” he said in an email. “I would probably stay on two years to make sure everything would go smoothly.”
In 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued several citations for animal-welfare infractions against Zootastic, The Charlotte Observer reported.
But as of Feb. 6, federal inspectors deemed the facility compliant during a routine annual inspection.
Aloha also passed after receiving a citation for failing to document a bird environmental enrichment program last November. It corrected the issue a month later, according to the report. (See full record of inspection reports.)
APHIS declined to comment further on the parks’ histories or their impending sales.
It started with a monkey
For over a decade, Aloha has held some 300 species of rescued animals, including Bengal tigers, spider monkeys and a grizzly bear.
Brown said he bought the property for $675,000 in 2022 “as an investment,” records show.
Two years later, Aloha’s asking price is $5 million, which includes the zookeeper, owner and staff residences, its operating business, gift shop, inventory, and a diverse array of animals.
From lemurs and wolves to Watusi cattle, sloths and a spotted-draft horse called “Fletch,” they’re all part of the sale, according to the listing.
“Animals go with the zoo, except for a few of our personal pets,” Brown said.
Horse trainer Lee Crutchfield was Aloha’s original owner.
In the 1990s, he received a capuchin monkey as a gift and, appalled by the conditions of the sanctuaries he explored, he began making room on his miniature horse farm for discarded exotic animals. He took in animals from closing zoos and bought exotic animals before they reached hunting ranches, The N&O previously reported.
To help cover the animals’ costs, he opened the sanctuary to the public in 2010.
Today, Aloha offers hands-on “safari encounters” with animals like monkeys, sloths, lemurs, kangaroos and kinkajous, according to its website. Admission is $15.
The listing suggests “multiple revenue streams” exist through admission fees, animal feed cup sales, a gift shop, concessions and special events.
Zootastic, a popular attraction
Zootastic Park of Lake Norman is also home to more than 600 animals and a popular tourist attraction.
It includes a drive-thru section of hoof-stock animals such as water buffalo, eland, zebra and emus; and a section for exotic animals like tigers and giraffes.
A 60-minute “Super Safari” offers hands-on play with lemurs, a kangaroo, an armadillo and a kinkajou for $500, the website says.
There’s also a gift shop, carousel and train ride.
Price is available upon request, said listing agent Pete Mazeine, a broker with National Land Realty.
