Black Pine Animal Sanctuary — Attraction in Ligonier

Me and my husband went there a week ago and it was awesome! I highly recommend booking a staff guided tour in order to get the best experience. I would have loved doing the enrichment tour but we weren't able to that day due to not having a enough time which was nothing to do with the place. The tour was about an hr, hour and a half. The tour guide was very informative and interesting to talk to. It was not only educational but brought a sense of awareness to what a sanctuary place is all about. I want to clarify that this place is not a zoo. It is a sanctuary, meaning the animals there were rescued from horrific situations and now they are there to rest and live out the best days of their lives in peace and comfort. Although the stories were tragic to listen to, seeing how well they are taken care of and how well they look it makes me feel relieved and overwhelmed with joy to know that they are safe and well. Even though we didn't get to see all of the animals partially due to the fact that they can come and go in and out of their enclosures and partially due to some of the areas under construction, we had a wonderful time. I would recommend going at a time that's maybe a little warmer in the day, so that the animals are more likely to be more active and all going during a time when construction isn't going on so that you'll be able to see all the animals. They truly are beautiful! The place isn't overly large so walking isn't bad at all. They also have a lovely gift shop that you'll want to check out! I definitely plan on going back there in the near future with more of my family members! Thank you so much to the people there taking care of them! You...

I do not support zoos so my kids have never been to one. We finally got around to visiting Black Pine sanctuary yesterday and our entry fee was $55 for 2 parents and 2 toddlers. My kids are very well behaved and were buckled in strollers, yet everywhere we walked we had some volunteers that would start following us and remind us of their rules every 2 minutes just because they seemed skeptical of toddlers. "Remember no yelling and stay behind white line" they continued to say as they started up gas powered highly noisy weed eaters and mowers right by the tiger enclosures. We were very disappointed that we only saw tigers for a split second before that. As we were leaving we were asked if we enjoyed our time so I told the lady at front desk that I had some suggestions which she welcomed so I concluded to tell her electric weed eaters make no noise that we missed the tigers and asked why they are not doing that before or after the 4 hours of open admission. She put on a fake smile and said she hears my worries but until someone wants to donate electric cutting supplies they will continue to use gas powered and unfortunately the animals are kinda used to it now so we are welcome to stay and wait for tigers because they rely solely on volunteers and are understaffed at the moment so thats why it's being done now. What a joke of an...

Since they changed directors they have lost many good volunteers and donors! The director has no experience with exotic animals prior to her position! She has alienated many people which I question her ability to make decisions on behalf of the animals that live there, the care they receive etc. I have personally experienced (Trich) who accused us of petting the animals at the sanctuary, which is a down right LIE! As she has never taken the time to meet us or speak to us! She had one of her employees relay the message to us in front of numerous people in the gift shop! Humiliating😡 We have been long time donors and volunteers, but never again! It's just sad, at the time of our last visit a tiger, Ticha an elderly cat was having difficulty walking in her habitat and fell over and couldn't get up! I had a personal interest in this particular tiger she was rehomed there from our sanctuary because of new laws in Ohio, she received great care and attention until the Directors changed. It's just disappointing, they have lost allot of good volunteers and employees! It's not easy to find qualified people to care for exotic animals! Trish has burned her bridges! Let's hope animals don't suffer at her...