According to their website, “The Wild Animal Sanctuary is the oldest and largest nonprofit Sanctuary in the US dedicated exclusivelyto rescuing captive exotic and endangered large carnivores, providing them with a wonderful life for as long as they live, and educating about the tragic plight faced by an estimated 30,000 such animals in America today.”The very knowledgeable staff member who greeted us as we entered the facility on a sweltering Wednesday evening informed us that there are more tigers being held in private hands, in basements and garages, in the state of Texas than are living in the wild in the world. That is some scary stuff, and underlines the need for the Sanctuary. Unfortunately, people who take on large carnivores often find that they cannot actually take care of them – as they grow up they become a danger to their host families. When they are abandoned, someone needs to take them in or they will be put down.

“Countless other great cats, bears, wolves and other large carnivores live in abusive conditions in roadside stands, circuses, magic acts, traveling shows, and other substandard situations. Untold numbers of animals suffer and die each year due to neglect, abuse or because they are abandoned and left to die, starving and alone,” says their website.

“Comprising 320 acres and sheltering more than 200 lions, tigers, bears, leopards, mountain lions, wolves and other large carnivores, it is the first sanctuary of its kind to create large acreage species-specific habitats for its rescued animals,” it continues.

We are told upon arrival that the facility is 100% non-smoking and if we choose to ignore this rule, we will be summarily removed from the site. This is because the bears in the Sanctuary that have been saved from roadside shows are nicotine addicts. The nicotine is what the trainers used to get the bears to do their tricks. Thus even the smell of a cigarette can have devastating consequences. It is a good thing no one in our group smokes.

The three main points of the organization’s mission are to rescue captive large carnivores that have been abused, abandoned, illegally kept or exploited; to create for them a wonderful life for as long as they live; and to educate about the causes and solutions to the captive wildlife crisis.
On site, it is obvious that they are committed to their mission. The animals that have completed their rehabilitation program roam freely in their large enclosures, encountering others of their kind. They look healthy from afar. As they are wild animals, I will obviously not climb into the enclosures for a close inspection, but trust in the organization to do what is necessary.