Animal Sanctuary

I’m back!  I’m sorry for being MIA for a bit but our internet was down for quite awhile.  After one new modem and all outside parts being replaced by the cable guy, our internet is finally back up and running so I can resume my postings!

We recently were lucky enough to spend some time in Colorado with my parents, aunt, and cousins.  It was sooooo nice to get out of the AZ heat and Mr. C and I are in love with Denver so it was a perfect long weekend.  While we were there my aunt and cousins took us to the Wild Animal Sanctuary.  The Sanctuary houses mainly lions, tigers, bears, and wolves.  These animals were saved from  horrible conditions which typically consisted of some crazy person thinking they could keep a lion or bear in their apartment or something similar.  The animals begin in smaller areas when they are brought to the reserve and as they bond with other animals they are eventually introduced into the larger areas where they have acres to roam and a safe habitat.

A catwalk was created to allow visitors to view the animals in something closer to their natural setting.   The catwalk creates a stress free environment for the animals since they have no natural predators above and don’t see people parading by at eye level as they would in a traditional zoo setting.  We loved the Sanctuary and I’ve never in my life seen lions so relaxed….they looked just like our happy kitty at home.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip.  It was hard to get a good angle sometimes so sorry for those shots!

I don't know about you, but it looks like that lion is a smilin' to me

Clearly not shy.....

This little squirrel was running around the bear habitat.  He clearly was a bit of a daredevil, along with the little bunnies running around the same area.

One very ferocious wolf...I believe he was one of two "adopted" by a couple in the woods behind their house. When the couple was going through a divorce the husband hired someone to kill the wolves so his wife couldn't enjoy them.  Luckily the hired man saved the two and they seem to live a very happy life at the Sanctuary.  It's not really hard to figure out why the wife probably wanted a divorce....

No, this is not a bunny or squirrel!  The animals seemed to be very well fed with piles of raw meat in their areas.

The prides each had separate areas which consisted of many acres, and they also had access to this indoor area if they wanted a change of scenery.