One Non-Profit Organization That Was Hit Hard

By Liam Easley

Nearly 800 acres of Keenesburg has been dedicated to the Wild Animal Sanctuary, a place that takes in large and exotic birds, reptiles and mammals from all over the country. According to sanctuary owner Pat Craig, the release of the Netflix docu-series “Tiger King” sparked an interest in the sanctuary during the harsh COVID-19 pandemic. However, the pandemic had already inflicted its blow on the establishment.

The sanctuary gets its food from donations, and the website explicitly states that all entrance fees go toward the infrastructure and facilities - the walkways, bathrooms, parking lots, insurance and everything else that is needed to keep it up and running.

In fact, only individual donations, which can be made on their website or Facebook page, actually go to the animals. Additionally, the sanctuary started receiving food donations from large grocery chains about eight years ago. Previously, the sanctuary spent around $2.5 million on food annually.

“One-hundred percent of our food is donated,” Craig said. “So, it’s a really great program because it allows us to repurpose that money we would have spent on food toward habitats, rescues and medical care.”

However, the support provided by stores and the public eventually came to a halt because of the virus. “When the virus hit, everybody freaked and emptied the shelves,” Craig said. “That impacted us greatly because 100 percent of our food was coming from that, and we went down to maybe 10 percent of what we would normally get.”

Because of the limited flow of food, the sanctuary resorted to using its food surplus that it had amassed over the years, but even that did not have the potential to carry the facility for long. In addition to decreasing food donations, monetary donations also faltered. It wasn’t until the release of “Tiger King” and the reopening of businesses that the Wild Animal Sanctuary saw a revival in interest.

Donations to the sanctuary are always accepted and vital. While donations go directly to helping the animals, entry fees are just as important, since the establishment needs to be kept in good shape.

While there, visitors travel on the Mile Into the Wild walkway that extends over one and a half miles into the habitats and is elevated between 18 and 45 feet above the ground. The daunting height of the walkway is to ensure the territorial animals don’t feel threatened by visitors.

“When people are on the ground and come up to (an animal’s) enclosure or cage, that’s a threat to them,” Craig said, “but they can’t really go anywhere because they’re in a cage. That’s why you see animals pacing in zoos - because all these people are considered strangers. When I first started the sanctuary, I realized these animals didn’t consider the sky to be territory, so every time I was working on a roof, they couldn’t care less.”

To see the world’s most exotic animals in a safe and friendly environment, visit any day at 9 a.m. Closing times vary, depending on when the sun sets. A list of specific hours can be found here.