Big Cats at The Wild Animal Sanctuary

The Wild Animal Sanctuary was started in 1980 by a very compassionate and resourceful man, Pat Craig, who has dedicated his life and worked tirelessly to provide for the hundreds of animals he has rescued from lives of misery and deprivation. Many dedicated volunteers have worked with him in this mission, and their love and hard work is evident in sanctuary's obviously well cared for and happy lucky residents
And the 150+ big cats, wolves and bears who live at the Sanctuary are indeed lucky to be in such a wonderful place--there are tens of thousands of large exotic animals currently living in unsuitable conditions outside of zoos in the USA today, and only a handful of sanctuaries with facilities to accommodate them, unfortunately.

It is hardly surprising that operating a sanctuary housing more than 150 large carnivores is an expensive undertaking. According to the Reader's Digest article linked above:

"Craig spends between $4,000 and $8,000 a year to board one animal. The sanctuary's weekly meat bill is $6,000. All together, the annual operating budget is $1.2 million, a staggering amount for a place that doesn't receive a dime from the government and doesn't have any corporate or foundation endowments."

Not having governmental, corporate or foundation support means the sanctuary depends on the support of individuals who are willing to put a few dollars toward a very worthy cause, maintaining sanctuary in the best sense of the word for some magnificent animals, most of whom have had very rough patches in their lives.
The Wild Animal Sanctuary is a state (of CO) and federally licensed zoological facility and is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization (tax deductible). They rely on volunteers and donations of materials and money from generous, compassionate people who understand how important their work is. Please consider a donation if you are inclined and able, even a modest amount will make a real difference in the lives and futures of these magnificent animals.

In addition to rescuing and caring for large carnivores, The Wild Animal Sanctuary promotes education and awareness about the mistaken idea too many people have that these animals could be suitable pets.

As unbelievable as it seems, many states do not have laws prohibiting people from keeping large wild animals in their homes or cars. Equally unbelievable is the idea that anyone would consider a bear or tiger as a reasonable pet. But in both cases, that is today's reality, and the numbers of these animals kept as pets continues to climb. Because there are so few options for these animals when their owners decide or are forced to give them up, their increasing numbers mean there are few alternatives to euthanasia.

Realizing the extent of the crisis from their "in the trenches" perspective, The Wild Animal Sanctuary does everything possible to get the word out in an attempt to change public awareness and attitudes.

By accomodating visitors, the sanctuary itself is a powerful statement about the crisis to those who come out to have a look around. Additionally, they have a wealth of information about the individual animals, their histories and their rescues, presented in a guidebook checked out for the visit and also in video presentations shown in their visitors' center. A visit to the Wild Animal Sanctuary is a wonderful and powerful experience, they are definitely their own best advertisement.

Since the number of people physically close enough to actually visit is relatively small, however, The Wild Animal Sanctuary also maintains a website (scroll up for link) chock full of information about the facility and its residents. Their work has also been featured in many documentaries and newspaper and magazine articles, another way to educate and raise awareness. And of course, their is good old word of mouth, (like this lens), where people who value what they do try to raise awareness by getting the word out whenever they can.

One of the many ways to support The Wild Animal Sanctuary is to "adopt" one of their animals for a year. It puts a fun, personalized perspective on a donation, and I highly recommend it. The volunteers at the sanctuary mail out a framed picture of your animal along with some information about the animal's background and personality, along with updates about what your adoptee is up to every so often.
Adopting an animal is an easy process via their webpage (see link above) and the cost is pretty reasonable.