The guides are verry sweet an knowlageable. I love it! How wonderfull these cats storys of privat ownershipp. My husbands fave are the ligars! Went to Serenity Springs in Aigust of Julie had me hooked from the get go on facebook.. I would spend every weekend there if my job allowed me to. Serenity Springs is one of the most amazing places to visit, we have pictures of our kids and the baby tigers and we go out there very frequently to bring friends.
They do family days and in July they do a bike rally to where you can camp. I think its great that they went through so much to save Snowmagic.
All of the animals are incredible. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication. The staff is very knowledgeable and makes the visit very educational. I have visited twice-the first visit I had my picture taken with a baby tiger and the second visit I got to see the tiger all grown up. My brother-in-law liked it so much he sponserd the tiger we had our pictures taken with.
If you haven't been out to Serenity Springs what are you waiting for It's great for all ages and makes for a great day. We went out to Serenity Springs after it was recommended by my cousin. It was so incredible to see all of the cats in their awesome enclosures. We're going to go back soon to see them again. Wow this place is amazing. The cats there are very lucky to be in the care of Nick and Julie. We just went on a tour and was amazed how many cats and how happy they all were.
If you have been out to visit it is a must do. Rob D. I surprised my wife by taking her to Serenity Springs when they had Tiger cubs. She had no idea where I was taking her since they are located out in the rural countryside. As we got to the gate she saw big cats! We were first in line for that days tour and she got to hold a Tiger cub. After we took the tour she said, they take good care of those animals!
We have been back a few more times and love going there. We've also told many of our friends and they have gone out there too. It's a great place that does good for the animals. I have taken my boys to Serenity Springs twice now and they absolutely love it.
Even my teenager. It is such a wonderful experience. Hope we get back there again sometime in the near future. I have been going to Serenity Springs for many years and I still get goose-bumps when I see the front gate. Every tour is a learning experience and that is wonderful at 50 plus. I went with friends several weekends ago and would go again this weekend. What a great family experience. My first experience with Serenity Springs was about 8 years ago.
I had the amazing opportunity to hold and get my picture taken with a tiger cub. After that I went out to tour the facility and was amazed at how close we could get to the animals. I even recommended to friend of mine, who is a teacher, to take her class as a field trip.
Her students loved the field trip. The staff was knowledgeable and friendly. I try and take any out of town visitors that I have out to the facility. Serenity springs is a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. They have a beautiful assortment of tigers, lions, panthers, and smaller species too. They just got a tiger lion mix too, I have too see that.
Devon D. As soon as someone told me about Serenity Springs, I knew I had to go check it out. As soon as I visited, I knew I wanted to get involved with helping out. I've only been volunteering for a short while now but it is my favorite place to be on the weekend.
The people and the animals there are all awesome and its such a good feeling to see so many happy and healthy cats there that can call it their forever home.
This is a fantastic organization that cares for and maintains a great quality of life for the big and small cats they receive from all over the nation.
My husband surprised me with a private tour for our first wedding anniversary. What a thing Serenity Springs does, adopting these gorgeous big cats that giving them a place to live!! Cages were all clean, the animals were well fed and seemed very content.
I would love to be able to go back and see even more animals housed there. By far the best experience of my life, very knowledgeable place! I was very surprised when I visited this park, clean cages, well kept animals, and very beautiful surroundings. I have visited many animal zoos through out my years, employed by a AZA zoo, and Serenity Springs exceeds them. During my visits through out the years, the AZA accredited zoos are the worst kept zoos. If you want to go out for a day, and enjoy yourself with nature, Serenity Springs is a must see.
My boyfriend arranged for us to do a photography tour for my 30th birthday last year and I couldn't stop smiling the moment we walked in the facility. It's incredible to see such beautiful, majestic animals being cared for in such a loving and responsible manner. As soon as our tour ended I immediately decided I wanted to become a volunteer to help in any way I could. If you love animals, then you should do yourself a favor and visit Serenity Springs. It truly is an amazing place.
The people are amazing both employees and volunteers they love this place and the animals so very much. I couldn't ask to be part of a better organization. Serenity Springs is such an amazing place. We visit as often as possible. On their tours they truly are amazing at educating you on each feline that is housed there and they tell the story of each animal.
Introducing visitors to our big cats is a great joy and one that I never tire of. If you've never visited Serenity Springs, you should definitely put it on your list of things to do. Spending time with our beautiful cats, you will see how well cared for and how well loved they are I first heard of Serenity Springs when a friend and co-worker of mine told me she volunteered there.
She brought the story of Snow Magic to my attention. I wanted to help do something to save this majestic creature. My husband and I went to see him at Serenity Springs, it was the first time we had been there. I was shocked to see that there were so many big cats. As the tour guide explained the plight of the big cat and how few there are, I was moved to tears. I was impressed by the love and attention that the caretakers give to the animals, you can see that the whole team is passionate about providing a comfortable forever home to each and every one of them.
We also learned of the cost to keep them I will continue to donate to Serenity Springs and Encourage everyone else to as well. This place is the only one who will step up to the plate and help rescue when there is no money involved.
I have been there, inspected the place and let me tell ya, if you have never been there you have no clue what your talking about if you leave a bad comment, they do amazing work and would be honored to support them in any way. Rating: 4. Smith said things will change at the Colorado refuge. Copyright Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Morning Headlines, sign up for a mix of what you need to know to start the day in Colorado, picked for you.
Condescending and Rude Tour Guide. I just got back a couple of hours ago from a visit to this facility and I was extremely disappointed with the tour. I brought my Daisy Scout troop for a tour, but I would never recommend the place to anyone else. From the very beginning the tour guide seemed condescending and rude. Before we even entered the gate she was making sarcastic, intimidating comments, "if you don't the group, you'll hear me yell.
My son was walking by an empty cage and without thinking about it, brushed the fence, like many children do when walking past a wall. She yelled at him so rudely, and in front of the entire tour probably 40 at least , that he was mortified and I was devastated for him.
She said something to the effect, "If you touch the fence again, I will personally escort you out myself"! The tone and expression was so cruel, and like I said it was an empty cage, so she didn't say it out of fear for him, but just pure frustration. It's also good to note, that he had not touched the fence previously. I understand the safety element, but truly it was an empty cage and he was in no danger.
It completely ruined the experience, and there was no way to recover from what was already an intense tour. I would never go back or recommend it to anyone with children.
It was an hour and a half of: look, be still, and don't talk. Unless you have perfectly behaved children with an incredible attention span, I would stay away! They will only leave frustrated and defeated. Amy, We are very sorry that you did not have the best possible experience at the facility. That said, the safety of our guests and the endangered animals in our care is our main concern with any tour. EVERY enclosure on the tour route does have an animal in it, even if that animal is not visible when the tour passes.
These apex predators are extremely fast and can be on the fence in the blink of an eye or less-we see this every day particularly with leopards. Touching any enclosure, intentional or not, can easily result in a life changing situation for the guest and a life ending scenario for the animal.
We are indeed fanatical about preventing this at all costs. We are particularly vigilant about the safety of children visiting the park. We do ask a lot of children to grasp the very serious consequenses of touching or being too close to an enclosure and trust their parents or guardians to be vigilant about their safety while in the park. We are sorry that this came across as rude. Our intention is to keep you and the animals out of a situation that could be devastating to you both.
Showing results of Read all replies. Hello, How much is the tour and pet animals please? Which day are the best to come? Thank you Joy. When conduct tours every Saturday and Sunday at 9am, 11am and 3pm until we switch to Winter hrs on Sept 1.
Niesse Colorado Springs, CO 1 contribution. No reservations needed to attend a regulate weekend tour. Currently Saturday and Sunday at 9am, 11am and 3pm. For Speciakyt tours like Feeding and Photos tours we prefer at least 2 weeks notice.
Thank you! Add a reply. Do you offer tours on Memorial Day? What is the cost of tours? Tours at 11am and 1pm. When we have them yes. Right now we don't have any baby bears.
Leigh P. What time of the day is best to visit to experience the animals? An applicant for a CBW permit must include information specified in 50 C. Endangered Species Act 2 Jan. As evidenced by the list of births that Serenity Springs submitted with its CBW permit application, while the facility seeks a permit to breed lemurs, cheetahs, three species of leopards, tigers, and hyenas, of this list, the only type of animals that Serenity Springs has bred in the past five years is tigers.
As the FWS has explained elsewhere:. We do not believe that breeding inter-subspecific crossed or generic tigers provides a conservation benefit for the long-term survival of the species. Inter-subspecific tiger crosses and animals of unknown subspecies cannot be used for maintaining genetic viability and distinctness of specific tiger subspecies.
Generic tigers are of unknown genetic origin and are typically not maintained in a manner to ensure that inbreeding or other inappropriate matings of animals do not occur. Moreover, even the non-white tigers bred by Serenity Springs—at least twelve in the past five years, according to its application, App. Statement of Dr. As experts Dr.
Ronald L. Philip J. Nyhus et al. Indeed, a brief look at the commercial sources from which Serenity Springs has obtained tigers in the past makes it clear that it is not working with pure subspecies. Serenity Springs also obtained a liger from GW Exotic. All natural with no interference of man. Serenity Springs also lists Dirk Arthur as the source of seven of the tigers it currently holds—including at least four white tigers.
Needless to say after the foregoing discussion, a true endangered species breeding program does not breed white tigers. Yet not only has Serenity Springs acquired three white tigers from Dirk Arthur as recently as last year, see. Arthur exhibits multiple white tigers, as well as a hybrid liger. Indeed, it does not appear that any of the facilities from which Serenity Springs has obtained tigers is a member of the AZA SSP, making it all but a foregone conclusion that it is engaging exclusively in unlawful breeding of hybrid generic tigers.
For the reasons explained above, Serenity Springs has no current conservation breeding program. To the contrary, as recognized by the FWS and elaborated further below, Serenity Springs is engaging in breeding practices that are harmful to conservation and contrary to the ESA. Not only does Serenity Springs currently lack any semblance of a breeding program, it has failed to describe with any level of specificity a proposed conservation breeding program, and for this reason alone the permit must be denied.
Serenity Springs utterly fails to provide a specific description of the required information. The majority of this document describes projects that do not involve captive breeding and that are spearheaded by groups other than Serenity Springs. Through out specific breeding program and working with organizations listed above and to begin a relationship with the AZA and their Species Survival Plan we plan to increase numbers of individuals within each recognized endangered species and subspecies.
Maintain the number and diversity of the subspecies currently recognized. Preserve genetic diversity at both species and subspecies levels recognizing the crucial role of both in situ and ex situ approaches for this.
Indeed, this description does not even make reference to specific species, which is particularly concerning given that Serenity Springs initially submitted an application for a permit to breed twenty-six different species—a number of which it does not even possess. For instance, brown hyenas, lemurs, and cheetahs are amongst the species for which Serenity Springs seeks a CBW permit to breed, Receipt of Applications for Permit, 78 Fed. Instead, Serenity Springs has submitted a laundry list of animal exhibitors, dealers, and breeders, unaware whether any of them possess the requisite CBW permit and, if so, for which species.
See App. At an absolute minimum, then, Serenity Springs must be denied permission to breed these species. Equally unclear is where Serenity Springs intends to put any additional animals it acquires—or any animals it breeds.
We could not authorize any additional species until facilities were available. The applicant has not made clear where it intends to house lemurs, cheetahs, or brown hyenas. That Serenity Springs is not prepared to take on these additional species is evinced by the fact that, while the application includes enclosure descriptions for a number of species, it does not include descriptions for hyena, lemur, or cheetah enclosures. Complete denial of the permit application is further warranted on this basis because even the enclosures that Serenity Springs does have are, according to the U.
For example, just earlier this year the USDA cited Serenity Springs for no fewer than eleven inadequate enclosures, which hold a total of twenty-two animals. Serenity Springs provides no such documentation whatsoever—instead it states, without supporting documentation:. Our facility currently manages our captive documentation through written and online reports as well as completed medical records for all animals. Any offspring are documented through a detailed birth record.
All animals residing at the facility are also photographed for their record. We are also just beginning a program to microchip all animals as well. Again, these assertions are left unsupported, as, notably unlike most CBW permit applicants, Serenity Springs does not actually attach any of the documents showing the lineage of the animals it intends to breed, instead simply attaching a single blank form.
See also, e. See, e. Not only does T. The brochure even features Doc Antle with a liger. In short, virtually every organization that Serenity Springs lists as part of its disposition plan has a documented record of irresponsibility. There have also been an unacceptable number of mortalities among tigers bred at Serenity Springs.
Although the application lists two tiger cubs born on August 17, , App. In addition, the application reports the death of another cub born at the facility in In a recent USDA inspection report, it was noted that an employee had observed a female tiger in labor and contacted the attending veterinarian, who instructed the employee to monitor the tiger.
Two additional tigers born at Serenity Springs were put down in after attacking a volunteer, who had entered their enclosure while they were present. Also of great concern, numerous other infant animals have died at Serenity Springs as a result of likely negligence and lack of appropriate veterinary care. USDA Compl. Moreover, as Dr. Runts of the litter when hand raised have just as good a chance at survival as the larger cubs. And, according to Dr. Aspiration pneumonia is always the fault of the handler.
Improper technique and feeding too much volume at too long of a feeding interval is the primary cause. If this facility is allowing aspiration pneumonia to occur, they should not be breeding wild animals. In other words their permit should not be renewed. Two seven-month-old tigers further died of feline panleukopenia in It is highly unlikely that two tiger cubs would have died of this viral disease had they been appropriately vaccinated.
Richardson Statement 1. Serenity Springs has failed to adequately address how it intends to prevent such mortalities in the future. But the best method of prevention is clearly vaccinating tiger and other big-cat cubs for panleukopenia and other viral diseases.
Therefore, the application fails to discuss how Serenity Springs now trains and monitors staff and volunteers to ensure that this will not happen again.
But it does not discuss how Serenity Springs selects breeding pairs to minimize the risk of genetic issues, particularly as so many captive tigers are inbred; whether it performs any genetic testing, or the like. Serenity Springs is not a member of either the AZA or any of its SSPs, nor does it appear to participate in any other organized breeding program or contribute data to a studbook.
Serenity Springs fails, or is likely to fail, to meet numerous accreditation standards, including, but not limited to :. Among these owners of exotic animals are the notorious Joe Schriebvogel of GW Exotic in Oklahoma , the disgraced and now defunct Wesa-A-Geh-Ya facility in Missouri, and Las Vegas-based entertainer Dirk Arthur, who breeds, transfers and uses tigers as props in a magic act.
The problems that we documented included the following:. Photos from the investigation are attached and are also available here. Wesa-A-Geh-Ya also transferred tigers to Schreibvogel at that time. Sculac has also obtained exotic cats from Arthur. Arthur has been cited by the USDA on numerous occasions for failing to comply with AWA regulations, including unsanitary facilities, and numerous instances in which tigers were kept in hot metal cages in direct sunlight where temperatures reached up to degrees.
This is not only untrue—it is irrelevant. For example:. See id. Specifically, Serenity Springs has made numerous false and misleading statements regarding the causes of mortalities at its facility. The following morning, the male leopard was discovered lying on top of the female, vocalizing and in distress, whereupon. Sculac administered tranquilizers to the male leopard and affixed a noose around his neck to remove him from atop the dead female leopard.
The attending veterinarian reported that the suspected cause of death was septicemia due to the length of time of impaction. Because Serenity Springs has made numerous false and misleading statements to the FWS in its CBW permit application—statements that bear directly on its ability to properly care for the animals it seeks a permit to breed—the application should be denied outright.
OSG Prod. Tankers LLC v. United States , 82 Fed. The number and causes of animal mortalities at Serenity Springs make the facility utterly unsuitable to receive a CBW permit. The facility lists an astonishing fifty-nine deaths in the past five years.
Many of the animals at Serenity Springs have died as a result of poor veterinary care, negligence, and improper handling. On March 10, , two bear cubs purportedly developed aspiration pneumonia, from inhaling milk into their lungs, as a result of their poor handling. One of the cubs died. Again, according to the USDA, on January 19, , Serenity Springs did not provide veterinary care for a lynx, Phoebe, with a painful prolapsed uterus, which caused impaction.
And tigers were killed in fights with enclosure mates on two separate occasions. Again, however, as Dr. Richardson Statement 2. Furthermore, two seven-month-old tigers died of feline panleukopenia in But, as far back as at least , the AAZV has recommended that tigers never before vaccinated for panleukopenia receive at least two and preferably three booster vaccines approximately three weeks apart after six weeks of age , as well as an annual booster.
Richardson 1. However, as Dr. In a recent USDA inspection report, inspectors noted that the facility acquired three-day-old white tiger cubs. One died within twenty-four hours of arriving at Serenity Springs, while another was euthanized. In the same inspection report, it was noted that an employee had observed a female tiger in labor and contacted the attending veterinarian, who told the employee to monitor the tiger.
May 23, , at Finally, the June, 2, inspection report states that a male tiger died three days after beginning to show signs of declining health, such as losing weight rapidly, drinking lots of water, and having difficulty walking.
The staff attempted to contact the veterinarian, but was unable to make contact for four days. During that time, the facility failed to make any attempts to contact another veterinarian.
According to the inspector, there was no provision for backup or emergency veterinary care in the written program of veterinary care. June 2, , at 1. In addition to the egregious alleged violations detailed in the last subsection, Serenity Springs has committed the following AWA violations, among many others :. Tigers are listed as endangered pursuant to the implementing regulations of the ESA, see 50 C.
Valley Auth. Hill , U. Research Serv. Print H.
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