Panther Ridge Conservation Center

We took the private tour with Judy. It was well worth the drive from Miami to see this immaculately maintained, beautiful sanctuary for cats. Judy’s love for the animals is obvious and they seem to love her back as well. We spent the afternoon learning about each of her animals and a lot about the efforts to save these animals from extinction. A must see!

Great place and for a great cause! Thank you Sadie (sorry if I got that wrong) for being so informative about all the cats at the property, you do an amazing job! Kids and my friend had a blast. Definitely check out this hidden gem when your in the area!

I have been visiting family in Wellington for years and never knew there was a big cat conservation center. The tour was highly informative and it was great to see the cats up close. Definitely recommending to friends and family.

This is a must see if your in South Florida. It’s worth the drive from wherever. You need to make an appointment, it’s not a tourist trap, this is a private reserve. This is an experience of a life time. The place is spotless, the reserve is incredible itself without the cats. The cats themselves won the lottery, they live better than I do. The staff are some of the most caring and knowledgeable people I’ve ever run across. I was speechless by the end and I’m not half the animal lover my wife is. Best few hours your can spend away from the beach. Absolute must do. I almost never write reviews too. This was worth it.

Highly recommend visiting here. A wonderful experience meeting Judy and her beautiful family of cats.

Locals and travelers alike must take an hour or two to enter this enchanted land of big cats that are almost extinct. You will see and learn first hand– up close and personal — how amazing these animals really are. The trust and respect due to these wildly exotics is captivating. You won’t know whether to stare and watch or take pictures ! Truly a beautiful and peaceful environment to admire the big cats while they purr, huff and puff and even growl to interact with their caregivers. Totally must go –everyone can help even in the slightest ways and everyone will enjoy these majestic creatures.

This is an incredible place! Judy took a great deal of time explaining each breed, the history of each cat, and the conservation difficulties for each breed. We were able to get amazing pictures of these beautiful well cared beloved animals, what a treat! Make an appt, drive out, & enjoy.

Let me start by saying, I am not a huge fan of cats. I had a friend from out of town coming to visit and was looking for unique places to take her. (She is an animal person). I stumbled upon Panther Ridge but some fluke. Let me tell you, it must have been fate. I called to make a tour reservation and they were so flexible. I was limited on available times due to my planning of several activities in a short time period. Judy, the owner I later found out, was more then accommodating my this limited time frame. When we arrived, we were pleasantly greeted. She took us around the property showing us all the place had to offer. She interacted with the animals, feed them snacks, and gave a bad ground on each animal including how she came to own them and there history as a species. She was extremely knowledgeable. She answered all my silly questions. She showed me how welcoming these animals could be and encouraged me to work at getting over my fear of cats. The most impressive part of this entire experience, outside the interaction, was how clean all the enclosures were and how well the animals are cared for. I encourage everyone, even non cat people, to enjoy this experience. It will not disappoint.

This place is amazing. Well worth the money and time. The guide Ryan is very knowledgable polite and friendly. The staff is very friendly and you are guided through their property with very up close and personal interactions with the cats. And the cats are amazing to see up close the director Judy is very polite and you can see how much they love these cats this place is a must go for the family

By far one of the best experiences ever!
We are so supportive of what they are doing here to help keep these panthers healthy and happy.
The location is out in the middle of no where but definitely worth the drive. We drive from Coral Springs and it was worth it. Please note it’s not open to the public. You have to make an appointment online or call. We paid $ 25 per person. Our tour guide Ryan was unbelievable and very informative. He knew everything about each one and answered all our questions. He was beyond friendly. Made the tour very enjoyable.
What I loved most was how well each and every panther was taken care of. How clean and well organized everything was. Each one has plenty of space in the cage and lots of toys to keep them occupied. Very impressive to see this.
Overall, I recommend everyone to take a tour. You won’t be disappointed. Kids are welcome too. Great experience and you are up close.

Great Place! The Location is amazing! The owner Judy is so nice this whole place is amazing! This is one of greatest places I have ever been. If you are a cat lover or an animal lover this is a great place for you. The animals there are so cute and pretty! A cheetah is my favortie animal and it was amazing and so exciting to see one in person. And I am so happy that other peolpe are trying to save these big cats and this is coming from a 7 year old girl. I think no animal should be extinct or endangered and I am glad that some people feel the same way.

From booking through the end of the tour, this was a remarkably fascinating and satisfying experience. Judy and her team deliver exceptional service; and yes, the cats are amazing, too.
We traveled 30 miles via Lyft (way better than a cab! Score a $ 50 credit here:
) and it was incredibly worth it. Thanks to vacation brain, we were running a little behind. Judy graciously accommodated us by a) letting us join the tour late and b) making sure that we got to see the cats we missed at the end. It probably comes with the field (zookeeping — where the pay is crap and tasks are endless, and the only way to survive/​thrive is an intrinsic motivation for the job), but Judy and her staff are some of the most genuine service professionals I’ve ever met.
Moving on to the cats, you can check them out here (
), or you can stop by and see the real deal yourself. It’s a cool experience for you and it obviously funds this much under-​resourced organization (and field).
PS. Based on her bio and the current year, Judy must be in her late 60s. She doesn’t look it one bit (!), which is no doubt partially thanks to doing work that she loves. Pretty inspirational actually!

Panther Ridge Conservation Center is a wonderful place to visit, and the work they do there is so important! There are various levels of tours, but even the most basic one includes seeing each cat up close, learning about the breed, hearing each one’s life story, and getting answers to all the questions you can think to ask. Out in Wellington’s beautiful equestrian area, the grounds are beautiful, and the cats are wonderfully cared for and loved. It’s a great place to take out-​of-​town guests, too. This time we brought our visiting exchange student, and she absolutely loved it. It was our second visit, and we will go again!

What a wonderful place. The cats there all look so happy and healthy. Its obvious by their interaction with staff that they feel bonded to the staff.

Wow! Went with my family this past weekend and had the Directors Tour and it was such a great a experience. Skip the zoo and support this awesome woman for a real cause. These cats have had horrible past lives and Judy has made it her mission to see that they live out the rest of their days in bliss! I don’t see having enough time for the one hour tour so I would suggest spending a bit more for the 2 hour.

Fantastic small preserve for endangered big cats. We took our Nieces and we all had a great time.

You simply must experience this private sanctuary for endangered cats!
8 endangered species, 18 cats and the opportunity to learn about them from Judy Berens, the Founder. We had the most amazing time there and cannot believe this amazing facility is so close to Palm Beach/​West Palm Beach. Thank you, Judy for sharing this lovely place and your knowledge with us.

Panther Ridge is a special place. While touring the grounds with Judy Berens, the Director, I almost felt as if I were on sacred ground. Judy got into the cages with the magnificent felines (including panthers, clouded leopards, cheetahs, jaguars and cougars) to pet, groom, and feed them while sharing their stories. It is apparent Judy and her big cats share a special bond — and no wonder! Some have been rescued from deplorable conditions while others have been raised at Panther Ridge. I highly recommend a Director’s Tour of Panther Ridge — not only is it a wonderful experience, but you will be supporting the good work that Judy and her small staff do to rescue and care for the endangered big cats.

What a great way to spend a couple of hours. The facility is spotless and the interns have great knowledge of the cats in their care. This is not a huge facility with row after row of cages that smell, this is a beautiful estate with a fairly small number of cats (17 today June 21,2014)
The cats are all very well cared for and, as this is a sanctuary, not a zoo, several of the cats have medical issues while others are prior pets which were declawed and had their teeth filed down by less knowledgeable owners/​keepers, and all now have a permanent home with Judy at Panther Ridge.
Visit this place, you won’t regret.
Don’t forget to bring a donation as it is EXPENSIVE to keep animals the right way as they do at PR.

This sanctuary is a highlife of any time that you spend in the Wellington area and gave us a memorable opportunity to see a large number of big cats in a beautiful spacious setting that reflects the owners long standing love of each animal and her commitment to the preservation of each type.
We were fortunate to spend a few hours with Judy Berens on her beautifully maintained estate in the heart of horse country. Her respect for and appreciation of each cat was immediately apparent and even without much more than the opportunity to see these amazing beasts in a setting where they have the space and comfort to be as natural as possible would have been a joy itself.
The detail that Judy gave us about each cats’ background and in most cases the breeds’ endangered status as we toured the sanctuary made our visit memorable. We walked away with a much better understanding of their peril and why Judy is so committed to their salvation.
Panther Ridge is one of life’s rare opportunities to come in contact with an experience outside of your usual view of life and to meet a woman and her staff who are trying to have a positive impact.