All the animals have incredible habitats, they seem and look very well cared for, and the staff are incredibly nice. There is a huge variety of felines, but I find it rather sad that people decide to own so many different types of big cats, only to get them removed or voluntarily given up to a sanctuary like Big Cat Rescue. All of the cats stories are inspiring, and have a very happy ending. At least the cats are given a forever home that is incredible, and helps to teach the public. I will 100% go again when I can. I went exactly a year ago.
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Organization works to rescue big cats from illegal or abusive captivity and provide them a safe habitat for the rest of their lives. Well worth the trip to Tampa to see the big cats.
I am so grateful that we have a place like big cats rescue, the cats look happy they look healthy and I'm glad they're there to rescue them and give them a good home where they can survive, my daughter had a blast.
Great place and they really love the animals. I believe there is a better sanctuary called the wildlife sanctuary near Tampa but this one is good as well
BCR is a GFAS Accredited Sanctuary who takes stellar care of all of their animal residents. All the proceeds from the ticket sales go directly to the care and feeding of the cats. They are staffed by some of the most dedicated and amazing volunteers.
Amazing facility and work. The kids loved seeing the big cats and they were happy and well care for. Totally worth a visit if you are visiting Tampa. Huge
My siblings made a donation to Big Cat Rescue and signed me up for the magazine for my Christmas present last year. I live in New Hampshire, so of course when my boyfriend and I went on vacation to Florida a few months ago, we made sure to include a feeding tour of Big Cat Rescue as part of our trip. What an amazing place! It was so cool to be able to see so many wild cats up close and watch them eat. The cats have so much room to roam and play, and the employees and volunteers are so dedicated to caring for them and raising public awareness about mistreatment of big cats by zoos and private owners. Next time we visit Florida, we will definitely visit again!
I am in New Zealand and have not been to Bigcatrescue but you are my favorite on Youtube and I do visit your website regularly. Tried to donate money through my phone but not sure if it worked since I did not receive any text confirmation. Anyway I just wanted to say you guys are doing such a great job!!! Honestly you are an inspiration to me..this is what one should make their life about..truely meaningful and everyone can make a difference to the world!
Awesome place! My second visit to see the big cats. The first tour of the day, a feeding tour was small and the tour guides were knowledgeable and fun to talk to.
I was a little skeptical going in, I figured worst case scenario I've donated to a good cause. But, I was extremely happy with the tour. Our guide was personable and passionate, providing anecdotal stories, history, and personal experiences of the cats and the rescue mission. If you're on the fence just go. I would not only recommend it but plan on going again.
What an amazing place! I would highly recommend this rescue. When you tour the rescue, you learn the background of each cat that you see and what an issue the exotic pet industry is. The tour guides were friendly and informed. I learned a lot more than I thought I would during the tour and really enjoyed it!
A worthwhile and enjoyable hour and a half. Our guide was knowledgeable and friendly. The conditions these cats had to endure before they got here are truly heartbreaking. Use your gps to find the road/driveway off the main road.. It's a little tricky.
Tragically, lots of big cats to enjoy. They are well-cared for by your donations. The donations are not wasted as they have interns and volunteers that do much of the work. Enjoy a visit and be sure to stop in the excellent gift shop.
I really think more people should make a visit when they are in the Tampa area. To see why, look up Big cat rescue on YouTube and you will know what I mean. They put the Cats first and fight to ensure that all Big Cats are treated with respect.
They are a non profit organization with donations going directly to the animals. If you can volunteer, do so. Nowadays it's hard to find charities you can trust. This team can be trusted with your donations. Go on the tours for a unique experience.
First of all I was not really wanting to go. We had family in town that wanted to see it. Everyone enjoyed it, with the cooler weather that we had this weekend the cats were very active. Would highly recommend for anyone living or visiting the bay area. It was just a short drive for us coming from Saint Pete. And a special thanks to the young man and lady that gave the tour. We were on the 10.00 green this Saturday 01/28/2016
Been coming here for years and sponsor cats regularly. A true sanctuary that treats this previously mistreated animals with the respect they deserve. They do not make the cats do anything they don't want to do. They do not enter their habitats and they do not touch them. They let the cats be as wild as they can in this environment. If humans wouldn't try to keep these wild cats as pets this place wouldn't need to exist. Had a great day tour on Sunday, worth every penny you spend, since all money goes to the cats. (The guides are all volunteers) If I lived here, I would definitely volunteer myself! Learn about the plight of big cats in private ownership, circuses and pseudo-sanctuaries. A must see when visiting Tampa!
We had Kristen, Bridget, and Jeff as our guides. They were very friendly and made the experience educational yet enjoyable. They answered questions honestly and if they did not know the answer they did not pretend. As a whole Big Cat Rescue is so worth the money. You get a guided tour where you have a device and a fresh ear phone. When you pass by a rescue cat the guide will play a story through your ear phone so you understand what happened to and why the cat is now in a sanctuary. All of the habitats are large and truly enjoyable for the cats. This truly was an amazing experience that will touch your heart. They had said at the very end that if you call and read off the script (pictured) it is worth 100 signatures on a petition.
This is a must when you're in the area! Wonderful staff and worthy cause to support by going there. If the cats want to see you, that's a plus, but don't expect a zoo. These animals deserve to live their lives in peace.
There are very comfortable enclosures for all of the animals. You enter, for example, under a walkway built for a bobcat. There are large cats of every kind here, and more tigers than you can imagine. The stories behind many of these are just horrific, and there's a whole row of tigers that they don't let you see just because the poor animals have been treated so poorly by humans in the past.
I am an animal lover but I don't think a "sanctuary" should be open to the public. I have never been here, but I have been to a zoo and this looks like a zoo. Like I said I love animals, but this is not right.
This was a fun place to visit with the kids! The animals are really beautiful. Very clean environment, too. It was nice not to have to drive far to find a big animal preserve.
If you love cats you will love Big Cat Rescue where they give former "pets", abused cats and retired circus cats a life with care and love. These animals are given space much larger than zoo cages in which to live the remainder of their lives with dignity. You are also educated on what you can do to help get laws in place which keep these animals from being abused to entertain people.
Such a wonderful place with a very positive mission! If you are in the area you MUST go to the Big Cat Rescue. I can not stress how much the wife and I enjoyed our tour of the compound. The animals are amazing! The staff are all volunteers and collectively give over 1 million dollars worth of free labor to the cause each year. All proceeds go to caring for the animals. This is one of those excursions that open the heart and give you the opportunity to be a better person.
Make sure to schedule your visit, thankfully they were able to fit us in. Very educational. Before you book, see if you can schedule your visit closer to their feeding time so you can catch more big cats out and about. Staff is made up mostly of volunteers who are dedicated to these animals. Worth the $ and a visit when you are in the vicinity.
Flew all the way from New Hampshire to visit I took the keeper tour and I loved it when you get to make toys for the cats (sadly they didn't like mine) I wish I was a big cat and lived there. You can tell the cats are comfortable and happy the staff are super helpful and it is an amazing experience.
We really enjoyed our tour here. All the cats have separate, spacious enclosures that allow them to hide if they don't want to be seen. The tour guide identifies any cats that we do see and then plays an audio recording about that cat's story. So most info is received via personal radios with ear buds, meaning less talking and disruption for the cats. Do expect a slight urging from the staff to get involved with petitioning your local government.
My niece treated me to a guided tour of this facility. The first thing you notice is the staff are all very happy and glad to answer any questions. By the end of the tour you learn they are all voluteers, who recieve personal satisfaction from helping all these majestic cats. The cats will live the remainder of their lives well fed in a clean enviornment. You will hear the history of the cats and how they came to the rescue site. A good morning wallk. I suggest comfortable shoes.
Great experience. Animals are very well kept and taken care of. We attended the morning feeding and were able to see a lot of the animals. My daughter and I really enjoyed the feeding tour.
Amazing place that creates a safe and rehabilitating atmosphere for big cats. They do a great job with the care of these animals and their attention to detail for their living areas is incredible.
I'm happy to give BCR a five star review to help them keeping the excellent record they are entitled too. I havn t been to BCR yet and I m not even sure, if I would fit in one of the tours. I m disabled due to a disease depending now on a wheelchair. Therefore, all I know about BCR comes from their videos I love to watch on YT. From the videos alone you can see how passionate and animal driven their spirit is. When I went to Google maps to locate the place in Tampa I came to the reviews. I started to read the one star reviews, as I could not understand why anyone could give them a one star rating. Next to the fake ones (easy to detect as most of them show only one or two review in total) are a few real ones. From the responses they got from BCR I understand, that they got a full refund for what they have paid. In other words, some people only need to write a negative review to visit the place for free. Therefore, I would not refund this people or at least not the full amount. On the other side, I think it is a shame from this people, when they do get a full refund at least have the courage to upgrade your rating to three or four stars! I'm sure all of them have taken the money they got refunded with surprise and not expecting it. From my side all I can say to the BCR team is keep up your good work from educating stupid people and help big cats get not taken as pets. Even I would love to have such a pride big cat like a mountain lion around me, but I know they don t belong in homes, they have to be wild and belong to the wild, therefore my mountain lion is my little cat sleeping right now on my chest while writing this.
Update 11/19/2019: Thank you so much for offering me a seat on a golf cart. I will gladly contact you ahead of time when I get a chance to come visit BCR, for you in order to organize everything. Thank you for your kind reply!
The place really liked it, was on feeding. The animals look well-groomed, the cages are spacious, I advise you to visit everyone who is interested in helping wild animals affected by human activities.
My son and I went to BCR today,and had an amazing time...it was a birthday present for my son,and he loved it!!...he loves animals...and our tour guide Kaetlyn was awesome...she was very informative and personable with everyone...she claimed to be a little nervous since she is kind of new,but she was amazing.....
I just went here a few days ago and it was amazing. I did the day tour. Lovely staff! I even made the call to help support big cats! My only complaint would be that I couldn't afford to do the feeding tour, haha!
We went on Dec 23, 2018 and had a great time. The rescue facility is very well maintained and it warmed my heart to see the Big Cats living such a good life. We got to see most of the big kitty s and the audio tour was great. Our tour guide was terrible tho. She couldn t answer basic questions like why are the cats paws so big or where did the cats come from or why is their blue paint in the tigers face ( answer is that the kitty s get to play with paint for fun and enrichment. We had to asked the gift shop Ladies) . Her standard answer was I don t know . It was truely pathetic. She didn t have any basic cat knowledge and she kept referring us to the ladies in the gift shop for answers to our basic questions like how do you move the cats from one enclosure to another . We could play a drinking game with the amount of I don t knows that she responded. Overall I loved seeing the gorgeous big cats. And I love that they are cared for and no longer in pain or treated badly. I love cats and I will definitely come back. Hopefully next time we will have a better cat educated guide.
Watching animals at zoos is fun, still I can't resist thinking those animals as jailed. But Big Cat Rescue sanctuary is a different thing. Beautiful and graceful creatures, lots of information about all kind of cats and their stories, so heartbreaking! But every story has to have a happy ending and those cats indeed have theirs 'lived happily ever after' for sure. I would recommend to take the tour to single travellers, couples, families with children, namely to everyone. You'll never regret.
They are an amazing group that provides homes to big cats that can help them live out the rest of their life happily. It truly warms my heart that there are people out there that can help animals like that.
Wonderful advocacy for these magnificant big cats. I appreciated that they don't make the cats show up for the visitors, they truly are there to live their lives as best as possible. They also have big 'vacation' enclosures where the cats rotate in and out for more space, different views etc. The animal's stories are heartbreaking but the interns and volunteers help the visitors learn what to do and how to help. Great tour, beautiful cats.
What a great spot to view Big Cats! We took our 14 year old for her birthday this past weekend and did the Daytime Tour.
It was a great opportunity to learn more about the rescues at Big Cat and the stories behind each of the cats we saw. We learned the process to become a volunteer and got to see cougars, leopard, tigers, lions, bobcats, cervals and more. It was incredible.
Walking tour was about 1.5 hours and informative both from the guides and the recorded stories given via audio-boxes for the tour. The gift shop was great and reasonably priced. We'll be back!
One of the best animal sanctuaries I've been to. The enclosures are quite large (with some of the tigers having up to 2.5 acres or more to themselves). Highly humane, highly recommended. Love the work they do!
This place was very cool, so happy we went! They seem to take very good care of these gorgeous creatures, it was cool to see them up close, within their comfort zone.
We enjoyed our tour a lot! Some cats were sleepy or nowhere to be seen, but a surprising amount of cats were active and even interacting with guests. Our tour was pretty full, but we went at a pretty leisurely pace and had enough time to see the cats but not have to stand around too much. It seems like most of the negative reviews about this place are people who disagree with the politics or people who didn't book ahead of time/tried to bring kids on an adult tour. Especially if you are a cat or wildlife lover, the tour is worth while. The rescue is also encouraging all guests to contact their local representatives to support legislature protecting wild cats from abusive ownership, which is great.
This place was truly amazing. There is no other way to describe it. Animals are well taken care of and the sanctuary is very clean. It's very good to know that people like them are out there making a difference in these animals lives. And I would like to discredit any review that said their enclosures are too small. These animals are very happy and have loads of space to be free. If I lived around here, it would be a must visit place on a monthly basis. Well done guys.
Awesome! Our tour guide, Elizabeth was knowledgeable and we learned so much. Her love for these cats is obvious and we learned that laws need to change to protect them. Edith in the gift shop could've been friendlier but I guess you can't be choosy with volunteers.
This place is NOT a zoo... it's a place where exotic felines that were born and/or raised in captivity can get comfort and peace. I am impressed with the work they do here and that they have been able to accomplish so much. For whatever reason, videos from BCR kept showing up on my YouTube feed. I live in Connecticut but I come often to the Tampa area to visit. This time I wanted to see it for myself and I am so glad I did.
bigcatrescue.org
