Lions

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Directly below you and to the south are two African Lion prides. Some of these Lions have been at the Sanctuary since the early 2000’s. In the habitat directly below you is a male Lion acquired from an exotic wildlife auction to become someone’s so-called pet in Ohio. The Sanctuary was called when he was a few years old and the people admitted they had made a mistake and said that he kept outgrowing everything they put him in. Some of the other Lions in these prides were the subject of a documentary that came out in 2010 called “The Elephant in the Living Room”. This documentary looked at the problem of exotic animals in the state of Ohio and can still be viewed through online streaming services. Another one of the Lionesses was rescued from the film industry in California. That is, as is often the case, when she was about three years old, she refused to respond to her trainer and resisted being used as a prop in productions. It was at that time the Sanctuary was glad to give her a home for life where she would no longer be exploited.

 

Camels, Horses and Mules

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To the south you will see a large, 65-acre area of pastureland. You may also see Camels, Horses and Mules. Even though the Sanctuary’s primary mission is to rescue captive born large carnivores, we on occasion rescue other animals that are in dire need of a home or being saved from being euthanized. Once rescued, the animals are simply allowed to live out their lives free of any human expectations. A roan-colored horse that may be visible was rescued along with a Tiger that was rescued from an 83 year old woman in Oregon who could no longer care for either animal. The Sanctuary is proud to allow these animals to return to a life of dignity and ease.

 

Kangaroos, and Farm Animals

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Although they may be difficult to see, to the south and a little bit to the west where the second set of buildings is, the Sanctuary has a number of rescued potbelly Pigs, Kangaroos and Wallaroos. All of these animals came from a terrible hoarding situation in Ordway, Colorado in early 2019. At the time the Sanctuary was asked to assist with this dire situation, it was the only facility that could take all of the animals at one time. Also from this rescue, the Sanctuary took in a Camel, some Donkeys, Goats, Horses, Tortoises, Patagonian Cavies and various waterfowl. Many of the animals were rehomed to other sanctuaries that could provide a more suitable climate. One may be tempted to ask how the Kangaroos and Wallaroos do here in Colorado. Like all of our animals, they adapt by growing longer fur to keep them warm during the winter. But we also provide a heated, enclosed building for them for more extreme weather. If you take your time and patiently look, you may see some of the Kangaroos and Wallaroos hopping around their multi-acre enclosure.

 

More Land

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When the Sanctuary first moved to this location in 1994, there were almost no other people living in the area. It was literally an ocean of wheat fields. However, if you look around you will begin to see that more and more houses are being built in every direction. As you can imagine, land is essential to the operation of the Sanctuary-- both obviously for the animals themselves but also to provide a buffer from civilization. Since 1994 the Sanctuary has grown from 160 acres to its current size of 789 acres. Hoping to acquire additional land for these purposes, the Sanctuary approached neighbors in 2017. However, for a number of reasons, including the oil drilling boom in Weld County, surrounding land owners were not willing to sell their property even though they had previously given indications they would do so. As a result, the Sanctuary looked farther afield and ended up acquiring the nearly 10,000-acre Refuge in southern Colorado. Even with the Refuge, however, if financial resources allow, and land adjacent to the Sanctuary here in Keenesburg becomes available, the Sanctuary would certainly consider purchasing it so as to give it additional breathing room.

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