Big Cat Habitat — Attraction in Sarasota

Let me be very clear, THIS IS NOT AN ANIMAL SANCTUARY! Nothing about this place is a sanctuary for animals. It is a circus entirely for the amusement and pleasure of humans. I don't care how much the people 'caring' for these animals 'love' them, if they truly cared for the animals welfare they would relinquish them to actual sanctuary's where they could live out the rest of their lives in as much peace as possible for wild animals that have been raised by selfish humans.

The cages, and they are literal cages, are so small you can see every inch of them from all sides. The big cats and bears have little to no shelter from prying eyes or enrichment to keep them entertained. Bears and lions and tigers, some of the most majestic and wild animals, in cages smaller than the bottom floor of an average sized house. I wish I had taken pictures to show just how dismal these cages are but I couldn't bring myself to and honestly wanted to wipe the memory from my brain as soon as possible (it has not worked).

I had seen at the entrance that there was a 'show' about 30 mins after we arrived and I think in either a vain attempt to tell myself that I was wrong about how appalling what I was seeing was or maybe to fully convince myself that what I was seeing was real, we hesitantly sat down to watch the 'main event'. The 'show' starts with a video with claims that at Big Cat Habitat they are entirely about animal welfare (not to be confused with animal rights, because animal rights is crazy right?) and that they have 'rescued' former circus animals and provided them with a sanctuary free from that life and that when 'training' the animals they only ever use positive reinforcement... This is then followed by a literal circus show of a white tiger and a 'liger' doing 'tricks' and jumping through hoops, and 'performing' for a crowd. All the while a ring master stands in the middle of the ring holding a whip the entire time. Doesn't physically whip any of the animals (the tiniest of consolations) but also doesn't mention it at all or explain why he's got it or, most importantly, explain how a whip is used in positive reinforcement training 🤔 Then, to round it all off in a nice big tortuous bow, they cram a huge, beautiful, majestic white tiger into a glass box that is barely bigger than the tiger itself so that humans can go up and 'take a selfie with a tiger'.

I like a good zoo as much as the next person, I love all animals and any chance I can get to see them I jump at. I also fully believe that well maintained and properly set up zoos with animal welfare and conservation at the heart play an important role in educating humans of the impact we have on habitats and entire species', in the hopes that one day we'll stop causing complete extinctions. Places like this, however, do the exact opposite. They perpetuate the belief that human entertainment and pleasure is more important than the welfare of animals. Because being able to stand a foot away from the king of the jungle and poke a piece of meat on a stick in his face is more important than anything else, right?

Please please please do not get duped like I did by this scam. I was incredibly naive and all it would have taken was one quick Google that got past the quite frankly horrifying 'good' reviews to find out that this place is not a sanctuary. It is, at best, a circus show, but in reality is no more than a prison for tortured animals that deserve so much better. If you want to see these beautiful and majestic animals 'up close' watch a David Attenborough...

This was an interesting place. There’s a steep price to get in and you can see the whole place in 30 minutes. I understand that the money is really a donation to the animals. Working with animals myself, I understand keeping animals separate (who may not get along) and training animals for enrichment (responding the the cut and paste reply by Big Cat to most of the negative reviews here). BUT, the habitats for many of the animals (mostly the cats) were very bare sometimes only being a grassy open area with nothing to climb or engage with. I didn’t see many enrichment items in the large animal enclosures either like balls or boxes nor shade. The spaces are clean but not up to AZA standards by any means (many small establishments do not meet these standards but do strive for them).

The staff/volunteers seemed passionate and helpful.

Now to get to the show. I was appalled to say the least. I felt so uncomfortable watching, my partner and I had to leave. In any AZA setting, a human would NEVER be allowed in the same space with a large cat like that (at one point the cat got distracted, as any animal might, and went to play with the humans leg, biting him. As any of you with pets know, animals may accidentally hurt us). I get training but it should be done professionally and with the human outside the enclosure. The person leading it made tons of inappropriate jokes (definitely not child friendly) and in some cases harassed the animals (making it wait to get its reward; Pulling the food away multiple times while the animal tried to grab it and making a joke about it all). Too much talking about anything other than just the plain ole education of the place and what he was doing. As an animal ambassador educator, I was just sad at the incredibly missed opportunity to actually educate with these animals instead of using them to make a show. Some have said it’s just a different form of a circus and I do have to agree.

I’m not against animals in captivity, I’m not against animal trainings, I think it should be done with education and empathy at the forefront of everything and that is obviously...

This is my 3rd time at the BCH. I first went 9 years ago and then 7 years ago and the last time was just a week ago.

I love these creatures and think they’re doing a great job caring for them and making their lives in captivity, good ones.

We had a lemur experience which was beyond amazing…those sweet things were SUPER interactive and lovable with us and the woman leading our tour was excellent! She was super informative and helpful the whole time, giving lots of great facts about them and made it enjoyable for my whole family (thank you!).

The only downside we experienced this time around as opposed to how the park used to function, was not being able to feed and get up close with the Ligers and Tigers in the barn anymore (which is now closed off). We also couldn’t figure out how to see the lions up close, which was a huge bummer since we had hoped and been excited for that.

Finally, the big cat show was completely different and a big let down. In the past, the show was incredible and involved multiple animals doing lots of great tricks. The commentary was small, and the animals were the stars of the show (as they should be). This time around, there were 2 animals (still beautiful and incredible!) but the main show was the VP making silly jokes which honestly, were not amusing, especially with our kids present as some were inappropriate. We paid for VIP seating which turned out to be a big waste.

Overall, the place is worth visiting and special, but a few things are better off going back to how they worked in...