Big Cat Habitat & Gulf Coast Sanctuary

Great show for kids! Smart chimpanzee and unique big cats.
Sound system for the show is a little weak.
They do great work, very good cause to support

Wonderful up close educational experience. Show was entertaining and informative. Amazing what the are able to accomplish as a not for profit. Wife got to pet week old goat. The open door viewing area for the big cats was great, very active time of their day. Do not recommend on going on a rainy day… Priced right… Will do return next January.

Wonderful for the price. The kids got to feed lions, tigers and bears! Seriously. The shows were wonderful, and the petting zoo was fun. Always a blast when we go. I would recommend anyone to go here! Kids and adults!

Big Cat Habitat is as good as it gets in terms of exotic animal sanctuaries. This place is Sarasota Fl best kept secret gem. it is an amazing place to visit and you will leave feeling good about these animals and you will have learned several things as well. The sanctuary has done an amazing job providing natural habitats for these animals to the best of their ability. The place is spotless clean. It is evident the animals are very well taken care of and most of all they seem happy and healthy. Most days they provide a demonstration show that is very educational. It is Not a «show» per se, it is a very educational demonstration and the handlers are extremely knowledgable and informed on each and every animal. It is simply an amazing place, and bring the kids. they will learn about the plight of these animals and how important it is to keep the species going. Another fascinating thin that was learned is the difference between «Animal welfare advocates» and «Animal rights Activists». Wow! I am so glad we learned that! Animal welfare advocates = good, …animal rights activists=confused and bad. Don’t get sucked into their trap. educate yourself between the 2!
So if you are a local or a tourist. this is a must see and go to.

What an amazing place for exotic animals that have no where to go. The staff and volunteers are super friendly and educated about the animals. The place is very clean and all of these beautiful animals are treated with the utmost care. I don’t know what the other reviewers mean when they say the cats are in small concrete cages. every big cat we saw, yes had a cage but also had a beautiful habitat they can go in whenever they want\. They each have a really cool pool with toys and they are right up close where you can see them play in the water. You could tell these animals are happy. The bears are amazing and so much fun to watch. They provide an educational demonstration with cats, chimp and exotic birds (most of the time). We learned a lot from this. It is an amazing place to visit. Make sure you bring every member of your family, and friends.

One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to this Big Cat rescue facility where we saw an amazing show featuring Chance The Chimp, Mia The Liger, Handsome The Male Lion, and a beautiful white tiger named Barry. The facility was well-​maintained and you can tell that the animals are well-​cared for, even loved. Great activity for kids and animal lovers alike.

I was visiting Sarasota last week and my friend mentioned this place. I looked it up and to my absolute horror I noticed that these magnificent big cats were in cages walking on concrete! Thank goodness I did my homework. I thought it was a sanctuary to be kind to these wonderful creatures. Putting them in small cages with concrete floors is not kind. I would never go to this sanctuary and I will spread the word amongst my friends who might think its a good idea to go.
Sorry but this place does not, in any way, shape or form, get my vote. Absolute cruelty.

I agree with the other reviewers. The animals were in very small cages and being the middle of August in FL it was overwhelmingly hot. I can’t imagine these animals such as the brown bear and tigers weren’t over heated. It’s too expensive for such a small venue and I won’t return or recommend this place to friends. I felt extremely bad for the animals. I don’t understand how places like this are legally operating. Wild animals need space to roam or not be captive.

I was really saddened to see these animals in such poor conditions. They were crowded into tiny cages and the cats were clearly overheated. They were panting and breathing rapidly. The worst part was the «circus» show. Some obnoxious guy got in the ring with the lion and tiger and taunted them and people laughed and applauded. What’s worse is he said that this place «treats them well.» I noticed there were some Kodiak bears who are native to Alaska in the hot sun. When I asked the man who worked there if they get overheated, he just replied «naw, they’ve been here for 8 years. They don’t know any better.» To call this place a «sanctuary» is very misleading. It’s also overpriced. The only reason I gave it 2 stars was that there were an impressive variety of animals (some quite unusual) and some of the smaller ones seemed to be kept in better conditions. The conditions of the big cats was the most disturbing. They were kept in tiny, depressing cages. I visited a big cat sanctuary in Indiana as well, which was much more worthwhile. This one was a real letdown.

This was such a great experience. I like how you were able to get much closer to the animals than at a traditional zoo. There was always someone close enough to give u a little history on each animal. We got to feed a couple bears and tigers and that was the most enjoyable part. The least enjoyable part was learning the lions are actually kinda lazy and boring lol. The barely listened at all during the «show.» I’m still glad I came for the experience and it’s very inexpensive and family friendly.

Going to the Big Cat Habitat was a great experience.
It’s a non-​profit organization. All of their animals are either rescued, donated from private owners or raised from birth in captivity. They are obviously well loved and well taken care of.
They have beautiful creatures that you may never get close to. All of my life, I have never had the opportunity to be so close to these spectacular breeds of animals. They have tigers, lions and bears… oh my. (I couldn’t help myself) They also had lemurs, chimpanzees and birds, llamas, baby goats, camels, zebra, alpacas and more.
They had a show that was not only up close and personal and entertaining, but also very informative and enlightening.
It’s nothing like a zoo. You are feet away from these animals.
They also have a petting zoo.
I look forward to going back and especially on a day when it is a bit cooler here.

I never in my wildest dream thought that something so powerful and so beautiful are that big. This is a must see on your list. Buy the food and the T shirts. The money goes to the animals. This ran and cherished by a family. they are very well maintained and you are so up close and personal with animals and the people that volunteer. They opened a new cat walk that is filled with big cats and playing pools. And what great photo ops that is. I was splashed by a Tigger. I could feel there breath when they hufffed. Oh and the bear that was in the Eddie Murphy movie DR Dolittle greats you with a hello. You can also feed the animals for a small fee. Bring cash they do not take cards in the park but there is a ATM.
Please tell all your visiting peeps I know i am

The big cat show was very entertaining. Great to see amazing animals safe and well taken care of.

A million times better than any zoo! Thank God for the family (all volunteers) that treat and respect these wild babies! Loved petting the goats and hanging out with the monkeys! Stop to meet George&Gracie. Gracie has a good arm for a monkey! Gracie stole my heart along with the Emu’s who just wanted a hug! The shows are educational and very well organized. Take an hour or 3. Admission is $ 7 dollars. Casey does a fantastic job showcasing the tiger show and bird and monkey show just amazing! 501C that will from here on out gain my contribution. Thankful for people that fight for the cause and give these animals a safe haven.

We had a great time at the sanctuary. The animals were very unique and well cared for. The ligers were so impressive as well as the bears. All of the workers were very nice and helpful, answering every question.
The show was very impressive too. The performers were very talented and showed their skills with birds, horses, monkeys, dogs and even house cats! Of course the big cats were awesome. Especially the lion, elephant and liger. You can tell they love what they do. The horse riders were very good too. They added an aerialist and she was fantastic too at only 16 years old.
I was impressed by how hard these people work to put on a show and although they asked for donations many times, but I’m sure it takes an extraordinary amount of money to feed and care for all of the animals.
I read some of the other negative reviews and I don’t agree that the animals cages were too small or the animals were mistreated in any way. The monkey named Chance needed to be on a leash, he’s an animal.
My whole family enjoyed the show from my one year old to my mother. My two year old was mesmerized for the whole two hours and that’s saying something. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

This place is just confusing. I see the word «Sanctuary» and I think save haven, place for animals to live life as closely as possible to how they would in the wild or at least just comfortably. Corralling huge elephants up in a really small roped off pen for hours while another elephant gives rides to people on his back in a tight circle (for cash! ding ding!) is the exact opposite of that. There’s a small alligator with his mouth taped shut that they charge $ 5 to pose with. What a great life for the alligator! Tigers, lions, ligers are paraded out and made to perform tricks daily. The only thing they have going for them is they don’t whip them (so they say) but I’m not sure having them perform is very dignified or kind. Ponies tethered, walking in a circle for kids to ride, bears being fed salty hot dogs as a reward for waving — again, no dignity. I laugh when I hear «They enjoy doing it». No they don’t, it’s all they know. They’re doing it because they learned a long time ago if they don’t, someone will beat them. You’re just taking advantage of that broken spirit and changing out food treats for whips. If you listen to the show’s message, they talk about treating the animals with respect and dignity. It’s like they don’t know what those words mean. I felt really uncomfortable there. The employees really seem to care about animals but they also seem to be drinking the same koolaide so they won’t see the reality of it all.
On one hand, yeah ok they aren’t being treated as badly as circus animals that are dragged from city to city. But as I watched an Alaskan bear pace pack and forth, panting in the heat, I wondered if euthanasia wouldn’t have just been more humane. It just seems like a shitty life. And I paid $ 15 to have it continue. Not doing that again.

When you first walk in, you will either like this place or totally hate it. For me it comes down to the cages that some of these animals live in. I feel they should be a lot bigger or they should be able to roam around a big plot of land like a natural habitat, similar to Animal Kingdom in Disney.
While the show with the Liger, Lion, and Monkey was great, these animals were sometimes taunted during the show. This is a double standard because there were signs up telling us not to taunt the animals.
Look, I think they treat the animals with a lot of care but there were a lot of red flags and I just can’t rate this any higher than 2 stars based on my opinion that these animals should not be stored in tiny cages. There was one particular wild animal (can’t remember the name) that was pacing around in circles the whole entire time. Looked like he/​she wanted to get out and run wild.

The price to enter is high-​$ 15 a person– but, I understand because of the cost of caring for the animals. It’s not a big place so spending about 2 hours on a cool winter afternoon is about right. The staff is mostly volunteers and friendly. As I was walking around, I couldn’t help wonder about my family’s safety regarding the security of the animal cages. I did keep my paranoid eyes open and surveiling the surroundings. Some of the animals are far away from viewing, so I felt cheated in my cost of viewing.

They are an awesome place to visit and learn about the different animals. They are a non profit organization that helps protect and save many endangered animals. The show that they do is so informative and funny. I really appreciate what this family is doing. Greg job! A place you must visit in Sarasota!

This is a must see when you are in the area. Hell, even if you’re not in the area it’s worth the drive.
The habitat is actually a rescue for exotic and semi-​exotic animals, animals that people foolishly and selfishly bought as pets or animals from bankrupt zoos. You’ll get to see lion and tigers and bears (go ahead, say it — «oh my!). You’ll see all manner of monkeys and birds, too. Maybe even catch a glimpse of a buffalo and a camel.
I cannot fathom the amount of money it costs to run this place. Everyone you see on staff is actually a volunteer, but the cost to feed several lions at a minimum has to be high. Entry fee is about $ 15 for an adult. I suggest you try to pay cash even though they take credit cards just so they can keep as much of the money as possible.
The visit is primarily a walk through of the habitat. On your left are bears not necessarily enjoying the balmy Florida weather, but enjoying their pools. There’s Buell the blonde Syrian bear, his breed is nearly extinct. On your right are the lazy lions and their significant others. There’s also an inside covered row of cages for the tigers, where you’ll see that depending on the time of day they get to go out to a larger area and roam and swim.
In back is the wall of monkeys and in between you’ll see a new small aviary for some rescued exotic birds, a wandering peacock and a better zoo of goats. You may even catch a glimpse of the kangaroo.
Finally, there is a show around 2 pm. It’s an opportunity to hear about the habitat, learn they now have some sponsors such as Whole Foods (all the veggies and fruits the simians enjoy is organic) and see some animal tricks. Did you see «The Wolf of Wall Street?» If you have, and remember that lion at the beginning with the amazing mane… you’ll see him here. His name is Handsome (or as his trainer calls him — Fluffy Face) and he’s an awesome sight. The show is actually more than seeing large animal tricks, it’s a learning experience about these rescued animals that are no longer able or were never able (born in captivity) to survive in their natural habitat and whose only hope for survival is this lovely habitat in Sarasota.