New Adventure!

I had heard about this animal sanctuary that provides a home for large animals (mostly tigers, lions and bears) that can’t be returned to the wild but I never realized how close it was to our house until recently.  We put visit the animal sanctuary on our summer fun list and today we went.  It was a great place to visit.  A little pricey, but then all the money goes to helping the animals and you actually get a better look at lions and tigers and bears than at the zoo.  It is sad that the animals are here rather than in the wild, but here is a much better place than where most of them came from.   Many of these animals were taken as babies and raised in homes or circuses, etc and then given away when they got too big or taken away by authorities because they were neglected. There were a lot of sad stories, but now the animals look very happy and healthy.  There are A LOT of animals here.  I don’t remember exactly, but like 60 tigers and bears and maybe 20 lions.  I think about 250 animals in all.  There are a lot of smaller cats too like mountain lions, jaguars, and servals.  I learned what a serval is today!!  Learn something new everyday!!!  A very cool place to visit and who knew this whole time is was practically in our backyard!

The lions home, not quite Africa, but at least they have room to run around.

The bears home.  You can’t get close to the bears so you have to use binoculars to watch them, but they were so fun to watch.

Brynn checking out the bears.  She had no idea how to use the binoculars, but she was awfully cute trying!

Avery had to have her turn also!  So cute!  She learned to roar like a lion today!

Avery and Carter checking out the animals.  I think the animals were checking them out too and thinking they would make a nice dinner!  Had to keep a close eye on these two monkeys!

So you walk on these observations decks and look down at the animals.  Here is where the tigers live until they are rehabilitated enough to go out in the big areas.  They each had their own swimming pool and were having a good time going swimming and they would roar at each other through the fence, kind of scary!

I think this was the head guy, he was pretty cool to watch.

So Tanner spent his own money to buy a stuffed leopard and Brynn got a plastic bear to go with her bucket of plastic animals.  When we got home Tanner and Brynn got out all of their stuffed animals that were zoo animals and made their own animals sanctuary.  It was so cute.  They used Brynn’s doll crib/changing table as a vet office and were taking care of all the animals.  The next morning at the crack of dawn I heard the front door open and Tanner and Brynn were taking their animals on a walk in the doll strollers.  They never fail to make me laugh.  I wonder what the neighbors were thinking? 

Of course I brought super nanny Michele with me because you know I can’t go out alone with my own children.  I turn into one of those really mean moms that just yells at them to sit down, don’t move, stop touching.  It is just so much more enjoyable and so worth my sanity for Michele to join us on any big adventure!  And the best part she takes pictures with me and my kids!!!  I never get to be actually IN the pictures.  Don’t you love that the almost 8 year old is in the stroller!