Where do animals go when they can't go home?
But Surely, For That One Animal...
The World Will Change Forever!
The Wild Animal Sanctuary provides a safe haven for wild animals rescued from private owners, abusive situations, and others who would otherwise be destroyed.
About the Sanctuary
Lions and Tigers and Bears - OH MY!
Rocky Mountain Wildlife Conservation Center - now operating as "The Wild Animal Sanctuary"- is located just outside of Denver, CO and is a state and federally licensed zoological facility. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization (tax deductible) and operate with your donations and the help of very dedicated people who volunteer their time.We have been rescuing exotic wildlife and endangered species since 1980, and are currently home to more than 155 Lions, Tigers, Bears, Jaguars, Leopards, Mountain Lions, Lynx, Bobcats, Servals, Wolves, and other wildlife.
The residents of our Wild Animal Sanctuary were abandoned, abused, illegally kept, or came from other terrible situations. The vast majority of our animals were so-called "pets" - and were confiscated by law enforcement officials - usually within the first six months of their lives. We also provide permanent refuge to surplus animals from zoos and other wildlife facilities, where they face euthanasia due to over-breeding.
Wild Animal Sanctuary Headquarters
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What is a Sanctuary?
An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and be protected for the rest of their lives.Jaulas Vacías. El Desafío de los Derechos de los Animales, Tom Regan. Publicado por Fundación Altarriba, Barcelona, (2006). ISBN 84-611-0672-5 ISBN 978-84-611-0672-1. Página 111 Unlike animal shelters, sanctuaries do not seek to place animals with individuals or groups, instead maintaining each animal until his or her natural death. In some cases, an establishment may have characteristics of both a sanctuary and a shelter; for instance, some animals may be in residence temporarily until a good home is found and others may be permanent residents. The mission of sanctuaries is generally to be safe havens, where the animals receive the best care that the sanctuaries can provide. Animals are not bought, sold, or traded, nor are they used for animal testing. The resident animals are given the opportunity to behave as naturally as possible in a protective environment.
What distinguishes a sanctuary from other institutions is the philosophy that the residents come first. In a sanctuary, every action is scrutinized for any trace of human benefit at the expense of non-human residents. Sanctuaries act on behalf of the animals, and the caregivers work under the notion that all animals in the sanctuary, human and non-human, are of equal importance.
A sanctuary is not open to the public in the sense of a zoo; that is, the public is not allowed unescorted access to any part of the facility. A sanctuary tries not to allow any activity that would place the animals in an unduly stressful situation.
One of the most important missions of sanctuaries, beyond caring for the animals, is educating the public. The ultimate goal of a sanctuary should be to change the way that humans think of, and treat, non-human animals.
There are several national and international organizations that have taken the responsibility of supervising numerous systems of non-profit animal sanctuaries in order to provide a general system for sanctuaries to follow. Among them, The American Sanctuary Association monitors and aids in various facilities to care for exotic wildlife.American Sanctuary Association - About American Sanctuary Association (ASA) Their accredited facilities conform to high standards and rigid application processes to ensure that the animals under their care are enthusiastically cared for and maintained.
From the Director
"I'm the Executive Director and Founder of the Wild Animal Sanctuary located just outside of Denver, Colorado - a home for rescued large carnivores that were found in illegal or abusive situations. The sanctuary is a 160 acre refuge for lions, tigers, bears and other large carnivores where the animals become rehabilitated and get to live in large acreage natural habitats. I started the sanctuary 27 years ago after finding there were thousands of these kinds of animals being kept in tiny cages and other terrible places that they should never be. Today, we rescue animals from all over the United States, Mexico and Canada, and offer the only natural habitat facilities in the country." -- Patrick Craig 
Yummy
Magazines Subscriptions Via Amazon
$$$$$$
It costs over $400,000 per year just to feed the resident animals at the sanctuary! Oh geeze, I shouldn't complain so much about my grocery bill.
Donate Now
Any amount helps!!!
Providing Help
"Currently there are roughly 70 Accredited Sanctuaries in the United States. However, only 14 of those take in large exotic felines or bears. Our Sanctuary works closely with City, State, and Federal Agencies, to provide relief when they confiscate animals... but with over 30,000 large exotics living outside of our zoo system today - and hundreds of those being bred year after year - you can imagine the size of the problem we face.In addition to the overpopulation and illegal ownership issues we face, there is a also a huge difference in how each Sanctuary cares for the animals they do save. Here at The Wild Animal Sanctuary, we have one of the most contemporary facilities in the nation - with multiple habitats ranging from 5-acres... to 25-acres. These amazing habitats offer unprecedented freedom, and natural living spaces for the animals we rescue.
However, no matter how hard we work to save captive wildlife, and how well we care for the ones that are lucky enough to get rescued we can't begin to do what's necessary without your help.



Our extremely large habitats allow the animals to run free, and play with others of their own species. Tigers, and Bears love to swim in our natural lakes and ponds...
Our very unique 7,000 square foot temperature controlled round-house provides optimal care for the animals - and is used as a primary staging area for recent rescues and other animals that require special attention.
Our current facility is situated on 160 acres of rolling grassland - with additional areas under development.
Our Sanctuary was designed and built with a centralized round house located in the middle of all the habitats. This building provides a year-round temperature controlled environment - which can be vitally important during extreme weather situations.
The facility has a unique system of elevated cat-walks and observation platforms which allow people to view our rescued animals, enjoying their beautiful habitats.
Individuals and groups of animals have the ability to run free and swim in the Center's lake - or play with their toys in our specially designed "Tiger Pool".
Another Way You Can Help
Visit our group lenses on Squidoo. Rate them, leave us a comment, favorite them, stumble them, e-mail them to your sister-in-law in Vermont. Anything works - lots of visits and stars and comments and votes on the pages means higher Squidoo rankings for those lenses which in turn means more $ for the sanctuary!!!! The Wild Animal Sanctuary
1946 WCR 53
Keenesburg, CO 80643
And some Coatis Too.
Coatis, genera Nasua and Nasuella, also known as Brazilian aardvarks, Mexican tejon,hog-nosed coons,mundoandino.com and snookum bears, are members of the raccoon family (Procyonidae). They are diurnal mammals native to South, Central, and south-western North America. The word "coatimundi" ( Coati at bartelby.com) is a commonly used misnomer applied to solitary adult males of N. nasua. The term is reported to be derived from the Tupi language (Brazil).Merriam-Webster; The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary's etymology of the term is that it's Portuguese cuatimundi from Tupi kuatimu?ne, from kua?ti+mu/ne snare, trick.
Check It Out!
- MySpace
- The Director's MySpace Page.
- The Sanctuary
- Homepage of The Wild Animal Sanctuary
- The Sanctuary on MySpace
- The "official" Sanctuary space on MySpace!
- Reader's Digest
- Interview from July, 2007 with the director, Pat Craig.
- Non-Profits On Squidoo
- How non-profit organizations can earn donations through Squidoo.

No. I will NOT smile for the camera.
"Saving one animal may not change the world but for that one animal the world will change forever."
More Support
These lenses give 100% of revenue to the sanctuary
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What is a Wildlife Sanctuary?
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Unfortunately, the lure of the exotic, combined with the lucrative trade in wild species, proves too tempting to some even though keeping wild animals is against the law. When people are not able to care for their "pet" then the animal might be lucky...
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Bears
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Brown bears, teddy bears, polar bears, bear hugs, grizzly bears. Who doesn't love bears??
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The Power of Lions
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ROAR! Lions are majestic and noble big cats who enchant all who view them. Celebrated as Kings of the Jungle, living in Prides, guarding palaces, temples, and libraries the world over, mankind has always revered this awesome feline.
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Ft. Lupton Colorado
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Ft. Lupton is a picturesque town north of Denver. Surrounded by sugar beet fields, the town demonstrates what's best about rural living in Colorado.
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Tigers
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I've always been enchanted by tigers. Their colors, their power, and their wildness. Since becoming involved with fundraising here on Squidoo for the Wild Animal Sanctuary, I've been reading more and more about them. And they just keep getting more f...
Show Your Support!
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- naturegirl7 naturegirl7 Oct 25, 2008 @ 5:34 pm
- An excellent lens and a very worthy cause. Goooo Tigers! Welcome to the Naturally Native Squids group. Don't forget to add your lens links to the appropriate plexos and vote for them.
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- jasmineann jasmineann Oct 24, 2008 @ 2:51 am
- Truly a wonderful, inspirational lens for a great cause. The saving one animal quote is wonderful. Thank you for raising awareness of this.5 stars, lensrolling, faved etc.
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- LaraineRose LaraineRose Oct 22, 2008 @ 3:19 am
- My heart goes out to big and little creatures alike. It would be a perfect world if we didn't need sanctuaries for these beautiful animals. I'm hoping for that ... but until then ... thank you all for doing your part. 5 stars, favorited, fan and lensrolled.
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- dc64 dc64 Oct 11, 2008 @ 1:20 pm
- Very good lens to a worthy cause. We need places like these for our God-given animals. ***** and a lensroll and Digg.
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- OhMe OhMe Oct 3, 2008 @ 8:37 am
- Great lens and I would like to thank the Wild Animal Sanctuary for the wonderful work they do. 5* fav
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- Reggie_Marigold Reggie_Marigold Oct 2, 2008 @ 12:16 am
- $400,000 a year? Wow, I had no idea.
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- JohannTheDog JohannTheDog Sep 26, 2008 @ 2:30 pm
- Love this lens! I am all for the animals, and so glad there is a place and people to care for them!
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- Couch-Covers-Melanie Couch-Covers-Melanie Sep 23, 2008 @ 2:06 pm
- Beautiful lens! I am a big animal lover and i certainly enjoy articles like this. I respect and admire people who take care of the animals even when they are not wanted anymore. We could use more lenses like this! Good job!
5* for you!
PS: Did you know couch covers can be real moneysavers?
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- tdove tdove Sep 22, 2008 @ 10:24 pm
- Thanks for joining G Rated Lense Factory!
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- MusicMadness MusicMadness Sep 15, 2008 @ 8:54 am
- It's great to see so many people who work and care for such a worthwhile cause. What would truly be magical, is if all people could learn to treat animals with the respect and dignity they deserve, so the need for these kinds of places no longer existed. 5* for you.
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- dkdaniel dkdaniel Sep 8, 2008 @ 11:56 am
- A friend of mine used to live a few miles from a wolf sanctuary, and spoke of the stunning thrill she got almost every night, hearing them sing to each other in the distance...truly, saving animals is a noble cause. Love and Blessings, Daniel
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- ArtDiva ArtDiva Sep 7, 2008 @ 1:41 am
- Wonderful. There should be tomorrows for all living creatures and a safe place to be away from harm's way.
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- youhavegottobekidding youhavegottobekidding Aug 12, 2008 @ 9:06 pm
- Wow you really sped a lot of time on your Lens. and nice to see those funny pics of animals.
5 stars for your Great Lens.
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- thisnthat2 thisnthat2 Aug 12, 2008 @ 11:01 am
- This is beautiful, inspiring, yet humbling lens! Someday, a day at a time, we will have learned to respect the rights of all animals.
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- Roy Roy Jul 26, 2008 @ 2:37 am
- Great cause.
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- Alexander Alexander Jul 23, 2008 @ 1:54 am
- The white wolf is my favoirte.
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- chefkeem chefkeem Jul 20, 2008 @ 2:40 pm
- Great job! Welcome to www.squidoo.com/groups/squidoo-activists
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- Frankster Frankster Jul 17, 2008 @ 4:32 pm
- Excellent lens. I love the quote and I'll be using it. Thank you for sharing and supporting such a worthy cause. 5 stars, favorite and I'm a FAN! Bear hugs, Frankie
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- totalhealth totalhealth Jul 17, 2008 @ 10:09 am
- beautiful and informative lens, it helps increase awareness that there are a lot of mistreated animals and we should help them
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- debnet debnet Jul 17, 2008 @ 6:40 am
- Wonderful lens, great cause. There's a place over here called 'Monkey World' in Dorset (UK). The owners, one of whom is American, go all over the world rescuing Chimps etc that are being ill treated. The sanctuary is a wonderful place for these poor creatures to begin life again :) 5*
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- 8Redrose 8Redrose Jul 17, 2008 @ 12:33 am
- Hi homopath,
What a great lens. I learned alot. 5 stars
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- SherryHolderHunt SherryHolderHunt Jul 16, 2008 @ 9:11 am
- Great lens, set this as my Charity on my shh...don't tell gallery lens, hope it will eventually help them.
5*'s and favorited
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- ms-giggles ms-giggles Jul 15, 2008 @ 8:00 pm
- I'm a soft hearted women that has taken in many strays!! I have 18 cats and people are calling me wanting me to take more. I tell you if I could I would. It's my dream one day to be able to open a animal sanctuary and quoting you, "Saving One Animal May Not Change The World But Surely, For That One Animal..."
The World Will Change Forever! Oh I love that!!!
If we all just saved one animal, what a miracle that would be. I love this lens and wish you great success.
Gods Blessing to You,
Beth
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- Jul 15, 2008 @ 1:38 pm
- Animal Welfare is one of the most important things to me and this Lens is an inspiration. Great Job!
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- mulberry mulberry Jul 11, 2008 @ 4:13 pm
- Indeed a very worthy cause, I'm reminded of a video (you may have seen it on YouTube) about a lion cub that was rescued and later released in the wild. When the adoptive parents went to Africa he remembered them. I don't know if it's true but it's inspiring. Search for Christian the Lion (the full story) if you want to see it.
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