Featured Image Credit: YouTube/SeanKing5150
Topics: World News, YouTube, Animals, Weird
Olivia Burke
An urban explorer was left stunned by what he found after he had a look around an 'abandoned zoo'.
Although he was expecting to have the entire place to himself, Sean King wasn't alone when he ventured inside Thailand's now-defunct Phuket Zoo.
The Brit content creator has been documenting his travels across Asia as well as his tours of deserted sites on YouTube (@SeanKing5150) over the last few years.
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He's visited uninhabited hotels, water parks that have fallen by the wayside and other abandoned attractions - but he nearly bit off more than he could chew when he headed inside the zoo.
The wildlife park, which was situated near the Mueang Phuket district, was formerly home to a string of exotic animals.
Tigers, monkeys, bears and elephants are among the creatures which used to traipse across the 4.8 hectares of land, but these days, the place is a ghost town.
And that might be a good job - as Phuket Zoo was constantly shrouded in controversy over the welfare of the animals in its care.
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According to PETA, it was described as 'hell on Earth for animals' before its doors finally shut for good in 2021 following a tourist-drought amid the pandemic.
Explaining that the private zoo closed due to 'financial concerns', the animal rights charity said the zoo's remaining creatures were going to be sent to nearby sanctuaries.
However, Sean discovered there were a few stragglers still lingering behind when he headed inside Phuket Zoo in June 2023.
In a series of videos of his extraordinary visit, the YouTuber explained he had been inspired to go after 'researching' the place and discovering it had been 'abandoned' for two years.
"A charity had removed all the animals and relocated them, the biggest rescue of its kind in its history," he explained.
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But he later found out this wasn't exactly correct while mooching around the neglected site.
Although some structures remained, such as toilet blocks for visitors, Sean said there wasn't a lot left of the animal attraction and most of it was reduced to rubble.
He then ventured towards a spot which he thought 'looked a bit ominous' - and it turned out that his intuition was spot on.
The content creator waded through some thick grass and dodged a big pile of elephant dung before climbing up a series of steps.
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Sean was then stood above a pool with a fountain in the middle, seemingly alone - but he realised moments later that he was actually drastically outnumbered.
Peering into the murky water, he said: "No way, f**k! Mate, they are still in here, f**k! You're having a f**king laugh. This is abandoned!
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine...nine. There is nine crocodiles. You're having a laugh. Ten, eleven! Twelve! F**king hell. Get them out of here."
Sean tossed something into the water in the hopes of encouraging the camouflaging crocs to emerge from their hiding spots - which they promptly did.
"That is a crocodile pen with twelve crocs in," the stunned content creator continued. "No way, I'm out of here, I've had enough of that! This ain't funny anymore.
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"I was looking but they are so camouflaged. That has freaked me out. I do not want a crocodile on my leg. You saw how they reacted when I threw that brick in - they are hungry."
Although he wanted to hightail it out of Phuket Zoo there and then, Sean decided to venture further into the grounds to see if any other animals had been left behind.
Unbelievably, the footage shows how he stumbled across a herd of deer and a lone tiger - and Sean believes someone had been feeding them.
Speaking of the tiger, Sean added: "There's an ice box there with sausages in. [The tiger] is looking at me. Poor f**king thing. That is outrageous!
"Phuket Zoo is beyond belief," he sighed. "It was probably the worst zoo when it was open and now it's closed, it's probably even worse still."
According to PETA, 11 tigers who were living at Phuket Zoo before its closure were sent to a sanctuary thanks to the efforts of the Wildlife Friends Foundation.
It marked the 'largest single placement of tigers at a sanctuary in Thailand’s history'.
It is not clear what happened to the animals featured in Sean's video, although it is believed that Phuket Zoo truly is empty these days.
According to Reuters, all remaining animals were moved in June 2022, a year after the zoo shut.
Viewers were left stunned by Sean's footage, dubbing it 'heartbreaking' and 'tough to watch'.
One said: "I truly hope someone who is able to help these animals sees this."
Another wrote: "Gonna be honest my hoop would have nipped up seeing them crocs move. Superb vlog as usual."
A third joked: "Sometimes you just gotta say ‘Phuket, I’m going in!’"
While a fourth wrote: "What a sorry state of affairs. They need to be held accountable."