The Wild Animal Sanctuary

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m very late in posting these pictures (a little over a month ) but I wanted to be able to post these properly & not just do it in passing.

I was finally able to visit The Wild Animal Sanctuary. What makes this place so much better than a zoo or wherever you can see these animals outside of the wild is that every one of them are rescues. Their stories are on the website (get the tissues ready before reading!). I've read them all a few times and every time I shudder just thinking about what these magnificent animals went through before coming to TWAS where they are treated with dignity and respect.

They explained that they sterilize all of the males upon arrival to the Sanctuary, except for the lions. If they neutered the lions they would lose their manes. They keep the lions in groups of 2 males:1 female which keeps the females from going into estrus. Must work – there havenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t been any baby lions conceived there.

It was amazing being able to see lions and tigers and bears (Oh my!) and a black leopard (Eddy - the star of Animal Planet's special "Growing Up Leopard") and one wolf (who I swear came out of the den just so I could see at least one!) and 3 African Servals and an emu (who lives with the bears) and one camel (who lives with 2 horses, right next to the lions). It was hot so most of the wolves were in their huge den and Eddy was the only leopard out and about. The only thing I was disappointed about there was that you can't see all of the animals, like the coti mundi, bobcats, lynx, and mountain lions. My head understands it - they are more shy than the lions and tigers and bears (Oh my!), but my heart really wanted to see them too.

So, as the sign says, Welcome to The Wild Animal Sanctuary!










Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll start with the bears since they arenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t cats. There are 5 (I think) bears in this picture but it really gives a good perspective of where in Colorado TWAS is located. It is on the plains and surrounded by farm acreage, but still in the shadow of the Rockies.


Look right in front of the water tank, in between the brown bears & black bears. Yeah, thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s an emu. No idea how they figured out that bears and emus get along, but they obviously do.


Thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s the only grizzly they have. They have 4 separate areas/acreages for the bears. Thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a lot of bears.


I just loved how this guy was sitting in the grass. Happy bear.


Hereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s the only semi-decent picture I got of the wolf that came out. S/he was heading back into the den they had built for them.

As we were watching the big cats we all noticed that even though they are BIG cats they are, in essence, so much the same as our cats. One tiger was out playing with a ball. There is 1 space (so far) for tigers and either 4 or 5 for the lions. The Bolivian Lions are in their own private area still, so thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s another 20 lions there that we didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t see.







Then there are the "feral" like tigers. Well, obviously they're feral in the sense of human interaction but I mean more in the sense of not being used to being in an enclosed area with other tigers. They have what they call the "tiger roundhouse" which is set up kinda like a wagon wheel with separate enclosures as the spokes in the wheels with 2 tigers per enclosure and just fencing (like regular suburban wire fencing but much stronger, I'm sure!) in between spokes. This is where they get the tigers used to being around one another; once there is a group of 8 +/- that get along without separation they will get their own acreage but they definitely aren't there yet!
Their only white tiger.




As soon as one of the males woke up from his mid-morning nap he made his way around his "territory." Apparently he isn't too fond of the tigers to his left but the ones to the right are ok because he made sure that one fence post in the middle was good and marked. LOL He sprayed it at least three times before he decided it smelled good enough.




Looks like his roommate swiped him but good!



For the most part it was tiger nap time in the Round House




This one has the best spot of any of them as far as I could tell! Sleeping in a nice cool concrete tunnel with the sounds of a waterfall beside him…




Then he really got comfy – bunny feets! (Thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s what we call that when our cats sleep like that!)


Then on the other side of the wheel/pie there were a couple in one pen who weren't getting along very well either. Or at least one who felt s/he had to assert her/himself as dominant again while we happened to be there. S/he charged at the one on the inside space roaring and growling a couple times to make sure they stayed inside. Let me tell you - that is an impressive sound they make!
I caught the tail end of the charging and then s/he decided to take a dip.



And just lounge in the water for a bit…


And yes, tigers do look cute when they wash their faces with their paws.






All clean and back to looking quite regal.

Lions are lazy, lazy creatures. Well, male lions are lazy and females do all the work. Unless they donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have to and then they wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t either. It was about mid-day and the sun was beating down on us, which gives them an excuse. The tigers were doing stuff, but the lions werenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t.

Still just bigger versions of our kitties. One of the lions was sprawled out on his back keeping cool just like Mojo does.




And they had cat trees and kitty condos for the lions and tigers out in their acreages!


Same sleepy look…












…even Mama Lion has the sleepy look…









…and a big stretch!



The big black-maned males are impressive and gorgeous.





Sleepy, sleepy lions.



Want more proof that lions are lazy? This little guy felt quite safe nibbling grass inside the lion area!

The Servals are in a large enclosure behind a fence, so it was hard to get decent pictures of them. They are also directly across from Eddyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s Place, where all the leopards live, so not too many people even saw them. Heck, even if you saw the enclosure it was hard to see them! They definitely have amazing camouflage.



Psst! There are 3 of them in the second picture.


My favorite big cat is definitely the leopard. They are sleek, agile, gorgeous and so smart it is truly uncanny.

My favorite color of cat is black.

Put it together and you get Eddy. He is a black leopard who was born at TWAS. Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s kinda famous too – he was the subject of the Animal Planet special, “Growing Up Leopard.†I could have just watched him walk around his enclosure for hours.







So that was our day at TWAS. I cannot wait to go back!

Amazing kitties and big cats, I thought that black one was a girl with that big tummy that looks like pregnant..

Wow, they're all just go majestic

I'm going to look through the site a little later and read their stories, what an experience!

WOW! I am beyond envious!

All such beautiful creatures, and I love the enclosures!

Oh Heidi, this must have been such an exciting experience.... I looked through the website and the virtual tours, there are some amazing pics (and video) That super tall observation deck where you can look directly into the pens looks amazing.

Some of those rescue stories are so sad, but with a happy ending.

I love that lion who has a mane that comes down like bangs on his face

I would LOVE to go to a place like this one day. Thank you for posting this and letting us know about this sanctuary.

Hopefully, more people will see this who are able to donate to help with the welfare of this rescue babies.

You've got some really good pictures