By Arnold J. Gordon
At the November 23 meeting of the Retired Men’s Association, Horst Tebbe introduced the speaker, Pat Craig, Founder and Executive Director of the Wild Animal Sanctuary outside Boulder, Colorado. During a trip to Colorado, Horst had been so impressed by the noble work being conducted by the sanctuary that he invited Pat to make a presentation to the RMA.
Mr. Craig gave a webinar talk on the development of the enterprise and its role in rescuing wild animals from lives of miserable captivity. Pat began saving captive wildlife after learning that thousands of “surplus” animals were being kept in tiny cages hidden in zoos across the country – with many being euthanized daily. He set out to help save these animals by building a small rescue facility on his family farm outside Boulder. Pat became the first person to build a sanctuary dedicated to saving large carnivores. Created in 1980, the 10,473-acre facility is situated on grasslands in Keenesburg, Colorado; it specializes in rescuing and caring for large predators which have been ill-treated. This state and federally licensed zoological facility is the oldest and largest nonprofit sanctuary in the Western Hemisphere dedicated exclusively to the rescue of captive exotic and endangered large carnivores that have been abused, abandoned, exploited, or illegally kept.
Pat has 40 years of experience in captive large carnivore behavior and sanctuary development and is a leading expert in the field. He lectures nationally on captive wildlife rescue and transportation, great cat behaviors and their diets, and teaches about the captive wildlife crisis and sanctuaries at Colorado State University. He works with the USDA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and many other organizations in the never-ending rescue of animals in need.
About 90% of the animals he rescues originate through court ordered confiscations by the USDA, and U.S. and state fish and wildlife services. Much of the mistreatment of lions and tigers came to light for the public following the Netflix series “Tiger King,” a true crime documentary about the life of a former zookeeper and convicted felon. It exposed the horrible conditions for the animals; the sanctuary eventually rescued 148 lions and tigers from that facility.
Throughout his talk, Pat showed still photos and videos of their expansive properties, which over the past 40 years have grown to become the largest carnivore sanctuary in the world, not only by the number of animals rescued and cared for, but also through the size and scope of their operations. Their educational facility, located near Keenesburg, CO, is built on 794 acres of beautiful open grassland. It currently hosts over 550 lions, tigers, bears, wolves and other rescued animals and is open to the public for educational purposes. A special feature of the site is the “Mile Into The Wild” elevated 1.5 mile walkway, which has changed the way animals are viewed; the bridgework provides unwavering protection to hundreds of animals and ease of viewing for visitors. A much larger site, 9,752 acres of forested land that offers varied landscape for current and future rescues, is not currently open to the public due to the difficulty of access to the remote area.
It takes about 1000 pounds of food per week to feed the animals; each site has one or more full time vets and a hospital. Using specially built trailers, Pat and his staff collect animals from all over the U.S. One of the more insidious sources are breeding compounds, where owners care only for the offspring they can sell, disposing of the adults by starvation or outright euthanasia. Many other countries face the same problem of mistreated and abandoned animals. Mexico appears to be the worst of the lot, having no rules governing the ownership of animals. A particularly bad situation for bears exists in South Korea, where they are housed in “bile farms” that extract gall bladder bile for sale as a folk medicine, and waste away by the hundreds. The practice is illegal, and after a tedious and lengthy six-month permit process, the sanctuary brought more than 22 bears to a permanent sanctuary at the Colorado facility.
One of the most challenging recent efforts has been the rescue of lions from a zoo in Odessa, Ukraine, where they are under threat due to the ongoing war. Obtaining permits from the U.S. Government ordinarily takes up to a year but due to the war, the sanctuary was able to obtain an emergency permit. In September of this year, the animals were transported through Bucharest, Qatar, and Dallas before being trucked in special cages to the sanctuary in Colorado. It is considered the largest wartime effort in history to rescue animals.
For information about the sanctuary, go to
https://www.wildanimalsanctuary.org. A book about the sanctuary has been published on the occasion of its 40th anniversary, Forever Wild, Forever Home (see
To see the full presentation, go to https://greenwichrma.org/, cursor to “Speakers” and click on “Speaker Videos.”
Note: The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker. They are not intended to represent the views of the RMA or its members.
The RMA’s upcoming presentation, “Important Municipal Issues Common to Greenwich and Westport,” by Jennifer Tooker is scheduled for 11 AM on Wednesday, December 7. There are many similarities between the two towns of Greenwich and Westport: coastal communities, vibrant commercial districts, location between I-95 and the Merritt Parkway, excellent schools, and many more. There are also some differences. Both communities face ongoing challenges such as zoning conflicts, parking, dealing with climate change, and affordable housing. Ms. Tooker will discuss them and share her administration’s priorities. It will be instructive to learn how Westport deals with such matters and whether there are lessons to be learned for Greenwich.
Jennifer (Jen) S. Tooker is completing her first year of a four-year term as Westport’s First Selectwoman. Previously, she served as Westport’s Second Selectwoman and served as a member of the Westport Board of Finance, the Westport Board of Education, and the Westport Conservation Commission. Jen received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and International Studies from the University of Notre Dame. She had a 22-year career as an executive with General Reinsurance Corporation. Upon retirement, she served on the Board of Directors for the Women’s Business Development Council, the Board of Directors of the State Education Resource Center, Bishop Frank Caggiano’s Education Commission for the Diocese of Bridgeport, and as a Board Member of the Adam J. Lewis Academy in Bridgeport. In 2019, Jen launched Westport Together, whose mission is to promote the positive development of children. Jen also created and hosts Westport Means Business – a series of events focused on the local business community. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, she served as Chair of the ReOpen Westport Advisory Team. She has also served in various capacities with a number of local organizations, including the Westport-Weston Family YMCA Board of Trustees, the Westport Sunrise Rotary Club, the Sunrise Rotary 21st Century Foundation Board, the Bedford Family Social Responsibility Fund Committee, and as a coach for the Westport Soccer Association.
To stream Ms. Tooker’s presentation at 11 AM on Wednesday, December 7, go to https://bit.ly/30IBj21. This presentation will also be available on local public access TV Channels, Verizon FIOS channel 24 and Optimum (Cablevision) channel 79.
RMA speaker presentations are presented as a community service at no cost to in-person or Zoom attendees. The RMA urges all eligible individuals to consider becoming a member of our great organization, and thereby enjoy all the available fellowship, volunteer, and community service opportunities which the RMA offers to its members. For further information, go to www.greenwichrma.org, or contact our membership chairman (mailto:members@greenwichrma.org).
