Monterey Zoological Society

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	We BUILT A ZOO!!! Click Here to go to our actual Monterey Zoo Website but PLEASE, scroll down to learn how we're doing it and how YOU CAN HELP our efforts.

When Wild Things' owner Charlie Sammut decided to enter the animal industries, the real work was in Southern California where the majority of the studios and other animals companies were but his home was Monterey County where he decided to commute from in order to stay near his family and place he loved so much. He did this with a very special partner, his lion Josef who without a doubt, paved the way for Charlie's career and the future of Monterey Zoological.

In the early days we were a company called Wild Things Animal Rentals Inc. Our primary source of income and support was in-fact the film and television industry which kept our animals busy and active as well as our staff. The industry at that time was flourishing which meant our animals were on the go, seldom spending time in their enclosures getting ample time and attention as a result of our schedule. As the company evolved, we ventured into the education industry also for it was simply the responsible thing to do for both the planet and the animals. As we continued to evolve, Wild Things became one of the first and only animal compounds of its type to be open to the public. We welcomed all to see how we kept, trained and cared for our animals. This was made easy having decided to plant our roots in a tourist orientated county such as Monterey.

In recent years, the film industry has all but fled California (if not the United States) unfortunately to escape the extremely high cost of filming a production here. Many animals companies that had been thriving for years but had all their eggs in that basket were forced to either leave the state or close their doors. We continued to evolve.

Capitalizing on the tourism in Monterey, we searched for new and innovative ideas to support our home and our animals which included our Safari Bed and Breakfast, our custom and private tours, our Special Event Site and more. But these activities weren't as physically stimulating to the animals and all concerned wanted to find other ways to get them out of their enclosures.

In July of 2008, Charlie faced his biggest tragedy and challenge of all, he lost Josef at the age of twenty-two. On that final day, Charlie made Josef a promise; a promise that would afford the other animals a better quality of life that was not dependent on any given industry. A promise to finish what they had started together... and in the same fashion that kept the facility afloat for so many years, Wild Things continues to evolve today as it ventures into keeping that promise to Josef and building that home for the animals. A home we are now calling, "Monterey Zoological Society".

We actually started several years ago, filing the extremely complicated paperwork to establish our new identity as a California 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which after a pain staking two years was accomplished in the winter of 2011. We broke ground in January of 2012 with the materials had in our construction bone-yard, the help of a few good friends and a hope that things would continue to fall into place as we did what we could at the time with what we had to do it with.

The plan was to develop the remaining unused portions of our 51 acre ranch, constructing large, modern natural open paddock style enclosures as seen in most US zoos today for the larger animals able to be housed in such (lions, tigers, bears...) then after completing and relocating those animals to their new enclosures, we would remodel the existing facility where all the animals were, offering the free remaining space to all the smaller animals which in turn would tremendously amplify the size and atmosphere of their enclosures. Building the habitats for the lions, tigers and bears would be the first phase, building the larger habitats for the remaining animals would complete phase two and finally, a new entrance and parking area would complete phase three and we would be open and running as a zoo.

This was all completed in January of 2020, bringing Monterey County it's first REAL zoo, something we feel the Monterey County community is very deserving of. Aside from offering our animals a far greater quality of life, it now increases the times people can visit the animals more comfortably with a far more educational, entertaining and enjoyable flavor.


	June 0f 2020 was a very special time for Charlie, his staff and family as well as the animals at Monterey Zoo when the Zoological Assoc. of America granted Monterey Zoo their certificate as a ZAA Accreditation Zoo.

YOU CAN HELP.

FUNDING IS SO VERY MUCH NEEDED TO KEEP US WORKING. NO-ONE IS GETTING PAID EXTRA, THIS FACILITY IS BEING BUILT BY CHARLIE HIMSELF AND THE MONTEREY ZOO's AND VISION QUEST RANCH'S NORMAL STAFF ALONG WITH VOLUNTEERS SO THAT YOUR DONATIONS GO TOWARDS THE MATERIALS NEEDED ONLY.

Please help if you can, donations can be made by contacting our zoo office at (831) 809-2919. Anything helps and all go towards the health and well being of the animals as well as the education of all about conseversation.

400 River Road Salinas, CA 93908 (831) 455-1901 Fax (831) 455-1902

call us at (800) 228-7382