Chester Zoo wanted to advertise a family-friendly big cat tour. But the naming choice did the opposite: ‘How did that get approved?’

Tickets for a “child predator tour” appeared on Chester Zoo’s site during a promotion for a new guided bus outing, according to The Telegraph. Zoo officials later stated that the wording was produced by a computer error and was not a title that staff had written. The private 90-minute ride was intended to show visitors Sumatran tigers, lions, rhinos, and Komodo dragons before regular opening hours.

The attraction’s website called the trip a way to see predators of the animal kingdom and their prey. It said riders would board an electric tour bus and spend 90 minutes in the zoo with no crowds. Listings also offered an “adult predator tour” at £30, or £60 when bundled with admission. Child tickets were shown at £25 for the tour only and £55 with admission.

A rush of humorous online comments followed once the pages went live. According to the BBC, one person wrote, “Staggering – how did that get approved?” Another said, “I hope this has been cleared by Cheshire Police – seems a bit dangerous.” A further commenter wrote, “This has given me such a chuckle this morning.” Someone else added, “Suspect there’s plenty of calls to the local constabulary.”

Officials blamed an automatic naming rule in the booking system

A zoo spokeswoman told the outlet that the error was “due to our default naming convention in our system” and that the wording was “quickly changed.” Such naming errors can lead to unintended consequences, as when a North Carolina family hired a petting zoo for a party, and guests later needed rabies shots.

A spokesman stated that the zoo had not generated the name itself. He said the labels were created automatically by a default naming system and were updated as soon as the error came to light. He also said the tour had been “unfortunately named.”

Website copy told guests they would come face-to-face with some of the zoo’s most iconic animals, away from the crowds, including its family of Sumatran tigers. Concerns about visitor safety around big cats are not new, as a woman once saw a man entering a tiger exhibit at the St. Louis Zoo.  

It said expert tour guides would share fascinating facts about some of nature’s most effective hunters. The ride was listed as featuring those tigers along with lions and Komodo dragons.

The ticket pages appeared earlier in the week of September 11, 2026. Chester Zoo changed the names after the listings drew online ridicule.

Officials described the outing as an early-access bus tour built around predators and prey. They said the adult and child labels came from the way the ticketing system names options by default. The pages presented the ride as a first look at the grounds that morning.

Spokespeople did not say staff had typed the titles. They pointed to an automatic convention in the booking system. The zoo updated the ticket pages after the comments appeared and took down the original wording.