Big Cat Rescue:
Alternative to Tampa Zoo

The Lowry Park Zoo is the largest and most popular Tampa Zoo. However, if you are looking for a more unique experience than your typical zoo then Big Cat Rescue is the answer.

Big Cat Rescue, formerly Wildlife on Easy Street, is actually not a Tampa zoo but a sanctuary for rescued exotic cats.  It is one of Tampa's most unique attractions. 

The sanctuary is home to over 100 cats with 16 different species.  

Lions, tigers, leopards, and bobcats are just some of the many species located in the sanctuary.

The refuge provides a number of tour options to observe the large cats. 

The Kids tour is the only tour that children under 10 are able to attend.

Tour Options

All tours provide up close encounters with the large cats.  The feeding and the night tours are some of the most exciting.  

The night tours are for the fearless that want to experience what it is like to wander in the jungle during the night hours. 

During this tour you will get a tour of the sanctuary while hearing roars and seeing the large cats' eyes glaring at you in the moonlight.

Some things have changed over the years with the tours at Big Cat Rescue.  

At one time you were even allowed to enter into the cage with some of the cats.  

You were also given the opportunity to hand feed them yourself.

However, new governmental restrictions and laws now prevent those activities and only allow you to be as close as 3 feet.

Strangely, Big Cat Rescue was not a planned attraction.  The founders surely were not looking to create a Tampa zoo.

History

The founders were looking to purchase another wild cat after already owning one for a brief period. 

At the time they did not realize what was involved with caring for one of these wild animals as the cats grew older.  They now discourage most people from keeping these wild cats as pets.

When searching for a pet they found a breeder for the type of cat that they were looking for.  

When they visited the breeder they were in complete shock at what they found.

They found the cats in horrible living conditions.  In addition to the horrific living conditions, the breeder informed them that the cats that were not sold would be slaughtered and their fur would be sold.

This completely broke the hearts of the founders.  To prevent the cats from being killed, they came to an agreement. 

They would purchase all of the animals that the breeder held in the breeding farm if he agreed not to slaughter them any longer to sell their fur.

There were many long nights caring for all of the cats that they purchased. 

It was an arduous task for them.

They quickly outgrew where they were holding the animals and moved them to a piece of land that they had purchased a few years back at the current location of the sanctuary.

They decided to open the animals for the public to see as a way to generate funds to care for the exotic animals.

The rest as they say is history.

While not as popular as the Lowry Park Tampa Zoo, Big Cat Rescue provides a unique experience.  

With all of the tour options you should be able to find something that you are daring enough to do.

Big Cat Rescue is the largest accredited big cat sanctuary in the country. It is a non-profit educational sanctuary and does not receive government support, supported by the tour income, donations,etc.

So while enjoying your tour you can be certain that you are helping to support a good cause.

Photos provide by CrackleCaracal.