zoo Ethel, LA
SANCTUARY HILL
The Louisiana park that was Barn Hill Preserve, then Magnolia Wilds, and is now being rebuilt by its own staff as a nonprofit sanctuary. The capybaras are still there. The hands-on encounter probably is not.
Plan your visit
- Type
- sanctuary
- Hours
-
Not currently published. The website is under construction and booking runs through the phone line. Call before you drive out — this is the one place on this list where we would not turn up unannounced.
- Cost
- Not currently published. Previous tours under the Magnolia Wilds name ran roughly $29-39 with the capybara portion as an add-on, but that pricing predates the handover.
- Best time
- Year-round
- Booking
- Call first — booking is by phone
Unconfirmed We could not fully confirm the details here. Treat everything as a lead and check the official site before you go.
Read this one before you book anything. The name on the sign has changed twice, and the reason for the second change is not a rebrand.
What actually happened
This property has been Barn Hill Preserve, then Magnolia Wilds, and is now becoming Sanctuary Hill. The first change was a rebrand. The second is not. In 2026 the Wall Street Journal reported the operation had lost track of a long list of animals — a Nile crocodile, a Marabou stork, a lynx, porcupines, kangaroos, rheas, water buffalo, and capybaras among them. Founder Gabe Ligon was arrested in Texas on a felony theft warrant tied to a separate wildlife facility dispute, which is an allegation and not a conviction, and he donated roughly 125 remaining animals to his own employees.
Those employees are the ones now standing up Sanctuary Hill as a nonprofit. That is an unusually decent ending to a bad story, and worth saying plainly before anything else on this page.
Why we moved it out of the cafe list
Sanctuary Hill has said it intends to move away from most guest animal interactions and pursue sanctuary accreditation. Accreditation and hands-on capybara sessions are close to mutually exclusive by design — that is the entire point of the standard.
So the honest read is that the capybara encounter this place was known for is going away, even though nobody has published a date. We have relisted it as a sanctuary with viewing access rather than a hands-on encounter. If you specifically want to sit with a capybara in the South, Helen, St. Augustine, St. Petersburg or Mount Dora are the bookings that will actually happen.
If you still want to go
The website is under construction and there are no published hours or prices. Booking is by phone on (225) 286-3003, and the organisation has said all previous bookings remain valid. That is the whole of the reliable information right now.
Call, ask specifically what animal access exists on the day you want, and take the answer over anything written here or on a review site. Old listings under two former names are still circulating and none of them describe the current operation.
Good to know
- Two former names — Barn Hill Preserve, then Magnolia Wilds. Old reviews, links and TripAdvisor pages still use both, and none of them describe what runs today.
- The Delaware sister park under the old Barn Hill ownership is Coastal Wilds, a separate operation that is running normally.
- Sanctuary accreditation means fewer guest interactions, not more. Do not book expecting the old capybara add-on.
- The site is under construction and there is no online booking. The phone line is the only reliable channel.
Published on July 3, 2026 Checked on September 2, 2026 By Grumpy Capy
FAQ
Is this the same place as Barn Hill Preserve and Magnolia Wilds?
Yes, the same property in Ethel, Louisiana, under its third name. Barn Hill Preserve became Magnolia Wilds, and staff are now rebuilding it as the nonprofit Sanctuary Hill after the founder's departure.
Can I still meet a capybara there?
Unclear, and we would not plan a trip around it. Sanctuary Hill has said it is moving away from most guest animal interactions in order to pursue sanctuary accreditation. Call (225) 286-3003 and ask about the specific date.
Is it safe to book?
The new organisation has said existing bookings remain valid and is taking new ones by phone. But hours, pricing and animal access are all unpublished, so treat anything you read online as out of date until someone on that phone line confirms it.
Details change – always confirm hours, prices, and booking on the official site before you travel. Animal encounters are subject to each venue's welfare rules.
