A zoo has hit back after a scathing reviewer criticised the site and compared it to a "zombie apocalypse" that housed "sad and abandoned" animals.
Dudley Zoo, located in the Midlands, was on the wrong end of a negative Tripadvisor review, with the disgruntled visitor saying the popular attraction reminded them of "The Last [of] Us," a game set following an outbreak of the undead.
They complained that the sea lions were swimming in "green dirty water" while the orangutans looked "sad and abandoned".
In their one-star review, they said the zoo seemed to have been "abandoned in a hurry", BirminghamLive reports.
The visitor travelled to the zoo with their toddler in tow back in March, and said that they were expecting a fun day out but were left bitterly disappointed.
Since the review was left online, a new orangutan enclosure has since opened at the site and, in July, keepers were celebrating after a critically endangered Bornean orangutan was born at the attraction, marking the second in a month.
Sprout, 11, gave birth but found first-time motherhood a little bit tough at first. Sprout's mother, Jazz, 30, who only gave birth herself weeks before, came to her daughter's aid and naturally stepped in to take over the care of her first grand-baby.
But the one-star review from March was less than favourable.
"Scenes from "The Last [of] Us" without the zombies is on par with this place," they wrote.
"Complete waste of a journey and money, we took our toddler here hoping to have a full exciting day out. We spent an hour at most walking around the zoo and castle, which I have to say was heartbreaking.
"The animals looked miserable and bored in their dirty, drab enclosures.
"The tigers' enclosure is a disgrace, the Giraffes were eating flaking paint from their fences. The orangutans looked incredibly sad and abandoned."
They added: "When walking through the castle entrance, there is water on either side full of green dirty water I assumed there was nothing in there, I was shocked to see [sea lions] swimming around in it. It honestly looked like the place had been abandoned in a hurry and the public had just found it again, was not worth paying full price and given there was hardly anything open or accessible due to construction I feel it's abysmal to charge customers full price entry tickets.
"The only thing that was a slight glimmer of hope on the day was the fair - although we had to purchase tokens for the pleasure. The staff looked bored, disinterested and miserable.
"The young lass running the dodgems did at least interact which was nice, and the young man (albeit he never spoke a word- awkward) was helpful with little ones getting on and off rides.
"It's a shame because it really has the potential to be a great day out for the family, but I feel there is more to be done than some construction to get it to a high standard and worthy of a £60 attraction. The animals' welfare is a concern in my opinion, and we won't be returning again."
A spokesperson for the zoo clapped back and commented: "Many thanks for offering your feedback, it is appreciated and we do take it on board and make adjustments if possible. Recent closures over the past two years due to the Covid pandemic did cause delays to our projects and resulted in a detrimental financial impact.
"However, we are now able to continue with our projects and improvements to the Zoo, particularly the large new outdoor orang enclosure, which is due for completion in a couple of months. This is an exciting project and will result in a much-improved area for our orangutans but does take many months to complete and we hope that you were able to see the improvements that we have already made."
They added: "Our prices compare favourably to similar attractions and we have frozen last year's prices to assist with affordability for visitors.
"The water in the sea lion pools is changed regularly. Painted shading on the bottom of the pool structure does create a dark effect in the water, leaves fall from surrounding trees and the sea lions shuffle and drag dirt into the water throughout the day, but it is cleaned daily.
"The animals' welfare is of utmost importance to us. They are cared for by expert keepers and we have regular inspections and a lot of positive visitor feedback. The giraffes have 'lick posts' around their enclosure for enrichment, which is probably what you saw them licking. I hope this explanation now gives further understanding of the situation."
Ticket prices at Dudley Zoo vary, but a family ticket for two adults and two children is priced at £52.80 without a voluntary donation, or £55.51 which included a donation.
