National Tiger Sanctuary — Attraction in Missouri

It was an interesting experience. Hearing the animals' stories was fascinating. My friend received tickets during Teacher Appreciation Week, earlier this year. She took me as her guest. Thank you for supporting teachers. I am a retired teacher.

I thought the prices were high. I realize it is expensive to care for so many animals. The enclosures/habitats worried me a little. One of the men on the tour mentioned some of them were tied together with string and they appeared rickety.

We were in a very large group, on a very hot day. My issues with the tour, and suggestions follow.

While the tour guide was walking, I could not hear her because I was in the back of the group. She needs to project her voice or wait until we all catch up to talk. When I could hear her, she did a great job.

Some people, who paid to feed the tigers, did not get to do so. There were 3 reasons for this. First, on July 31, 2024, it was already so hot prior to 10 a.m. the decision was made to feed the tigers early in the day instead of the evening. Second, so many people on our huge tour paid to feed the tigers, there were too many snacks. And finally, the tigers were not hungry (see above) for their $15 snacks.

It took so long for the attempted feeding of snacks, we did not get to have the full tour. We were there for the entire hour, but we did not get to see the "kids" of the largest male lion. Based on something the guide said, I thought we were going to see them. This made me sad.

Suggestions: Limit the number of people on the tour. I would have waited for the next tour. If you make the decision to feed early, limit the number of snacks. If the group size was smaller and we were closer to the guide, we probably could have heard her. She also needs to face the audience/group when speaking.

I have waited a week to review. For this situation I dislike the star rating system. I decided to go with 3 because I hoped it would get your attention and you would read this.

All this being said, I am thrilled my friend invited me to go on this adventure. I learned things. I saw majestic animals. I had fun.

Would I go again? It is quite doubtful. If friends wanted to go, I would probably be busy that day - unless I knew things...

We were in Springfield for an event and needed something to do during the day. After doing some research, I found the National Tiger Sanctuary. We decided that since we had some much time to spare, we would go ahead and do the behind the scenes tour. WOW!!! Are we sooooooooooo glad we did!!!! The first hour of the tour was with about 8 other people and we walked around, met 8-10 cats, learned about them and few others that we just saw in passing, fed a couple of them (thru a tube and a fence...thank goodness haha), learned a lot about the National Tiger Sanctuary and then we are told it was over?!?!? WHAT??? Oh wait, it was over for the other 6 people with us and we had another hour 1/2-2 hours. This was the best part of the tour. We literally got to see/meet ALL 47 cats, horses, foxes, alligator, turtles, lemurs, cats, dogs,etc. And Shelby our tour guide was incredible. She has such an amazing connection with the cats. She has a very special connection with Krishna. He watches her every move, plays with her, etc. It was so fascinating to watch the connection between these 2. But she has a special unique connection with each cat out there. It was very nice to see how much they truly love and care about these animals. I would HIGHLY recommend visiting the National Cat Sanctuary and doing the behind the scenes tour. Yes, it's $125, but you are paying $60 to do the awareness/feeding tour, so why not just pay the extra and REALLY get to see and meet the cats and the people who take care of them and love them. As a couple in our mid 40's we LOVED this visit, I can only imagine how cool it would be for kids and to experience it thru their eyes...

Wanted to not do the standard tourist things in Branson Missouri. So, found the national tiger sanctuary close by. It is an easy drive from Branson or Springfield to this location. Directions are easy if you have it on one of the navigator apps or with Google directions. It is a fairly small location and they do tours but they also have an area where you can just walk in and see some of the animals. We took a riding tour around and we're introduced to the different animals, their stories, and what their Rehabilitation programs are. It was amazing to find out how shows, Etc. , that use white tigers and other exotic animals, actually acquire and get rid of the animal. It gave me a very different perspective on whether I would go to such a show. I would definitely need to find that information out before paying admission to such a place that had animals on show. Many of the animals here have been injured or harmed or came because they were older. They take great care of the animals here with keeping them clothes for socialization, but separated if there's any conflicts between different personalities. They go through an amazing amount of food per day. There are programs and donations from big companies like Tyson and the local Walmart. This is a worthwhile place to donate to so that great care can continue. You will see during your visit that there is no extravagant spending that goes on here. This is very safe for all ages. The information is easily understood by children. We had several young ones...