We Went “Wild” at the Big Cat Habitat

(Wauchula, FL) Hi 84 Lo 61 – The wind kicked up early in the morning and it stayed windy all day.  I did go out last night in search of the armadillo, but didn’t see it.

We got up earlier than usual so we'd be ready for neighbors Fred and Martha to pick us up for a day trip to Bradenton and Sarasota.

Martha and Fred


Bradenton is about an hour away and along the way we saw two alligators lying on the shoulder of the highway, and we almost ran over a five-foot tall sand crane that was standing in the middle of the road.  Fred had to swerve to dodge it; it didn't move at all, it just stared at us.

Our first stop was the Red Barn flea market. It’s huge! Fred was looking for a specific item so we didn’t stay long but we’ll be going back when we’re here next year.

My favorite shop was a seashell shop.



It’s hard to tell by the picture, but these curtains are made up of tiny shells.


Then it was lunch time. We love pizza, so we went to Hungry Howies Pizza Buffet. This was our first visit. Great pizza!



After lunch we drove about 19 miles south to Sarasota for the highlight of the day, our visit to The Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary.













It’s an exotic animal rescue center started in 1987. There are lions, tigers (including two white tigers), cougars, bobcats, and even a "liger" (lion and tiger hybrid). Along with the big cats, they have many bears, primates of all kinds, exotic birds, turtles,  goats, and emus.  They only take in animals that are abused or injured. They rehabilitate them and keep them here for the rest of their lives.

The caretaker, a zooligist who has been with them since the facility opened, was on hand to explain about how they find the animals and how they're cared for and trained.

This little lion, along with his sister, was rescued from a circus where they were abused by their owners.  The sanctuary has trained them to run, play and be normal “kitties.” They’re only seven months old. This one batted the ball around the cage just like a house cat.


The petting zoo consisted of about 50 goats of all sizes. There was a fenced in area, but the bars in the fence were wide enough that the baby goats could run in and out through them. Jim couldn’t resist picking one up.
 
Large turtles


Alaskan Kodiac bear. They keep cool in the Florida heat by diving in a pool of water, and they have electric fans in their dens.


They have both Siberian and Bengal tigers. The Siberian tigers are the largest, and grow up to 700 pounds.


This white tiger had an attitude... he did a lot of loud growling.


Two brown bears were play fighting in a big pool, and the black bear sat on the sideline like he was waiting to take on the winner.


This lady is the sister of the facility owner. With her is "Chance," her 2-year old chimpanzee. He's very sociable and played with the kids, giving them "high fives" and the finger to finger touch, like in “ET”. She said he's learning fast for such a youngster. He will be potty trained by age three.  He was very cute and entertaining.


These lions are in double cages so it was very hard to get a picture of them.  Reminds me of Lion King.


Although the cages look very sterile and empty, the staff assured us that the animals get plenty of outside exercise. There is a very large fenced in area that the cages open out on, so a couple of times a day they open the gates and let them run.

It was a great day "going wild."  It’s a wonderful facility and worth a visit if you're in the Sarasota area. They depend only on public contributions, so the $12.00 "donation" to get in is well worth it. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday they have organized demonstrations of their training techniques. We plan to come back to see that next year.

Florida Trivia: Florida is not the southernmost state in the United States. Hawaii is farther south.

6 more days till we head north.