It has been an extremely busy fall so far! With lots of guests still coming out for tours even as the weather cools. Keeping up with updates can  sometimes be a challenge. One fun event that has been happening is pumpkin enrichment! Generous donors have supplied enrichment for the cats to play with. Pumpkins are an excellent way for the cats to destroy a toy with no negative effects. It is non-toxic and safe for the animals in case they accidentally eat any; and if it doesn't get completely cleaned up, it will simply degrade back into the environment. Many of the cats have a love for this type of enrichment. Harry, one of our young male tigers, loves carrying his toys around and eventually deposits them in his pool. 

Our youngest resident, McKade, got to enjoy his first chance in the media spotlight and his very first pumpkin. We were visited by KY3 and KOLR10 out of Springfield for a story about this little cutie. He and his mother Farah are getting ready to be moved into a new habitat in the next few weeks. This means that he will soon be on display for the public! In the meantime, he has been extremely energetic, playing with the live stream camera and putting on a show with his toys. After he played with his small pumpkin for a few minutes, he saw his mother's bigger pumpkin, he forgot about his own and had to help destroy hers. He played on the live stream with the pumpkin for more than an hour, raking in over 500 viewers at one time and over 30,000 views in total. You can re-watch the stream of his pumpkin fun by following this link  Here .

If you've come out for a visit recently, you might have noticed all the pumpkins decorating the sign and the sidewalk going into the welcome center. We currently have a surplus of pumpkins and will probably not need any more donated for some time. Thanks to the support of Susan Meadows and the generous customers of Charley's Discount Grocery in Billings, MO, we have more than enough pumpkins for everyone to have at least one! And after the recent donation by Fluffy Puppy in Nixa, MO, who brought out 50 more pumpkins, we believe every cat will be able to have multiple toys this fall! Again, thank you so much to all the generous donations and support of the big cat's Fall toys! We look forward to sharing more videos and photos of the animals all having a good time!

We've scheduled our next Tigers By Twilight Tour! It's coming up this Saturday, October 28th at 7pm. Come out and see the big cats like you've never seen before, by the light  of the moon! Go adventure in the fading light on a feeding tour and feel the presence of stalking big cats. Sunset is at 6:20pm that evening, so unless you can see in the dark, make sure to bring a low light flashlight with you. You can purchase your ticket in advance on our website, but walk-ins are also welcome!

Ticket Prices:

Adults $40

Seniors (55+)/Locals $35

Children (3 to 12) $20

Members $15

Get Your Tickets Today!

Back in September we launched our Born to be Wild Campaign. This limited edition shirt campaign raised over $1,300 for the big cats of our sanctuary. We are looking to raise more! We are going to be re-launching our Born to be Wild Campaign November 1st. It will run for 14 days before closing down again. This means the shirts will be in the mail and arriving by December, just in time to be given as gifts to all your loved ones!

Were you lucky enough to catch it on the first go? This time around there are new styles and colors to choose from. The new campaign will launch November 1st, so keep a lookout so you can get yours before it's over!

After the campaign begins, you can find the shirts  Here!

Shelby England has been working at the sanctuary since April 2017. She is currently in her senior year at Missouri State University, majoring in Anthropology with a minor in Biology. Helping animals has always been her passion and working at the sanctuary has been a dream come true. You can see Shelby leading tours wearing her Kritter Klip tiger ears, helping to spread education about our cats and how you can help them. She loves how each tour is different, with new questions and interactions with the cats. Once she graduates, Shelby plans to continue educating the public by developing educational programs in zoos and museums to show everyone that we all can make a difference in the lives of these animals.