East Texas Elephant Experience

About East Texas Elephant Experience

East Texas Elephant Experience is a facility at 14041 TX-105 in Cut and Shoot, Texas, outside Conroe in the Greater Houston area. The operators describe themselves on the website as a multi-generational family that has dedicated its life to elephants in human care for the past fifty years. The facility is not accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

History

According to the facility's About page, the family has provided elephant and camel rides and educational programs at renaissance festivals throughout the United States since 1980. The page says the family has participated in breeding programs and studies intended to improve the care of elephants in human care. The homepage says the three elephants joined the family in the late 1990s.

Exhibits and habitats

The website introduces three African elephants.

Paige has been with the family since 1996. The site says she was brought to the United States as an orphan in the mid-1980s after her parents were poached for ivory. She is the tallest of the three, listed at nine feet at the shoulder. The site says she was fitted with stainless steel tusk caps after repeatedly cracking the ends of her tusks.

Krissy has been with the family since 1997. She was also brought to the United States as an orphan in the mid-1980s, according to the site. She is the smallest of the three, listed at 7 feet 10 inches at the shoulder, and was born without tusks.

Jeanie has been with the family since 1999. The site says she was imported as an orphan in the late 1980s after her parents were poached for ivory. It lists her as the heaviest of the three, standing 8 feet 10 inches at the shoulder, and says she was fitted with stainless steel tusk caps after breaking her right tusk while digging.

Other animals named on the website are two dromedary camels, Earl Jack and Abu, a Grant's zebra called Mr. Z, and a small herd of pygmy goats. The site says Mr. Z has been with the family since he was two weeks old and shares the pasture with the camels. Visitors on a tour can meet and feed the camels, the zebra and the goats, according to the homepage.

Conservation and programs

The homepage describes a visit of up to one and a half hours covering the conflicts and plight of African elephants in their range countries, husbandry care including diet, exercise, skin and foot care, a chance to pet and photograph an elephant, and meeting the other animals. The website describes the facility as one of the only places offering close-up experiences with African elephants.

Public reporting

On June 12, 2026, Paige was brought to the Texas Republican Party state convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, according to TheWrap, which reported on the appearance on June 13, 2026. The outlet reported that Paige, wearing a banner reading Unity Drives Victory, was led into the venue and urinated near the press seating area, and that some social media users raised animal welfare concerns afterward. TheWrap also reported that the Animal Rights Coalition has repeatedly criticized the East Texas Elephant Experience and has urged it to release Paige, Jeanie and Krissy to a sanctuary.

Planning your visit

As listed on the facility's website, hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with tours at noon and 2 p.m.; the site notes that dates and times vary. Tours are booked through the website, and ticket details are on the zoo's website. The listed phone number is (936) 264-6262.