Wild Wonders

About Wild Wonders

Wild Wonders is a wildlife education organization based at 5712 Via Montellano in Bonsall, California, in north San Diego County. Its website describes a five-acre facility that is licensed and insured, and states its motto as Rescue. Educate. Conserve. The organization says it is home to more than 100 animal ambassadors from around the world, and that none were taken from the wild: according to the website, the animals came from other educational facilities, were confiscated illegal pets, or are non-releasable native wildlife.

Wild Wonders is a private facility rather than a walk-in attraction. Its website states that all tours and experiences are private and led by one of its keepers, and that reservations are made online. The organization lists membership in the American Association of Zookeepers and accreditation from the Zoological Association of America. It is not accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

History

According to the website, Wild Wonders began in 1991, and its staff page states that executive director Jackie Navarro founded it that year to provide grassroots wildlife education in Southern California. Navarro’s biography on the site says her career began at California Polytechnic University in 1989 and included work as a zookeeper, educator, trainer, and behavioral consultant at the Columbus Zoo, the Charles Paddock Zoo, the Santa Ana Zoo, and the San Diego Safari Park.

For its 35th anniversary in 2026, the organization has been publishing short monthly stories about its history. According to the anniversary page, the collection started with a tortoise, a parrot, and a boa constrictor and has grown to more than 100 ambassadors. Other installments cover its education outreach in Southern California schools and libraries, its conservation partners, and a story titled Victor’s Legacy and 35 Years of Cheetah Conservation.

Exhibits and habitats

The website’s animal page names several species that have their own visitor experiences. These are fennec foxes, Bennett’s wallabies, bearcats, servals, pacas, and reptiles. The education page also mentions a lynx named Tenzi and a serval named Sabi in the Cat Chat experience, a bearcat named Priya, and an iguana named Nolan among the reptiles. Parrots and conures appear in the Winged Wonders experience, which includes free flight viewing for ages five and up. The home page also lists kestrels, ferrets, opossums, and a bobcat among its residents, and a visitor testimonial on the site mentions a legless lizard, a kinkajou, and a groundhog.

The education page describes the Behind the Scenes tour as a private tour of the five-acre facility led by animal keepers and lasting about one hour. The tour is the base for several optional interactions:

• Fennec Fox and Friends, in which guests meet fennec foxes in keeper-only areas and offer them snacks. The website describes them as the smallest of the fox family.
• Cat Chat, which includes meeting the lynx and the serval and watching training sessions.
• Meet a Bearcat, a face-to-face encounter with bearcats from Southern Asia.
• Wallaby Walkabout, which includes interacting with Bennett’s wallabies and giving them treats.
• Pacas and Pals, which introduces South American rodents.
• Brunch and Walk with Priya, a morning walk with the facility’s youngest bearcat and keeper education.
• Reptiles from Around the World.
• Winged Wonders.

Conservation and programs

Wild Wonders lists a set of conservation partners on its website. They include Arctictis Binturong Conservation, which works to protect binturongs in the rain forests of Southeast Asia; Kids Saving the Rainforest, which the site says was started in Costa Rica by two nine-year-old girls; Cheetah Outreach in South Africa; Transfrontier Africa, which sponsors programs including the Black Mambas, a group of women leading an anti-poaching effort for rhinos; and Wildlife Victoria in Australia.

The organization also takes animals off-site. Its programs page describes animal education programs brought to schools, libraries, churches, and other venues throughout Southern California, along with birthday parties and special events, both on-site and off-site. The education page lists seasonal events including Zoo Camp, Winter Wonders, and Boo at the Zoo, which the website describes as flashlight tours featuring nocturnal animals, held in October. Programs carry names such as Walk on the Wild Side and The Emerald Forest.

A related business, Wild Ecotours, is listed as a subsidiary. Its page describes small-group trips featuring local wildlife and cultural experiences, and says the company has its own ecolodge, Warthog Rest, on the edge of Kruger National Park in South Africa. The home page lists trips to Costa Rica in August and South Africa in November.

Jackie Navarro’s biography lists her as president of the Association of Professional Wildlife Educators and a professional member of the Zoological Association of America. The website quotes Jack Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, as saying that she has a unique ability to communicate and inspire those who take part in her programs.

Planning your visit

Visits are by reservation only. As listed on the website, tours and experiences are private and are booked online through the facility’s reservation system. The Behind the Scenes tour lasts about an hour, and each interaction experience includes the tour. Ticket details are on the Wild Wonders website. The organization describes itself as a private facility rather than a public one, so each tour is exclusively for the booking group. The facility lists a phone number of 760-630-9230 and an email address of wildwonders@att.net.

Some experiences carry age limits. The Winged Wonders experience lists ages five and up. Seasonal events such as Boo at the Zoo are announced on the website.