We were looking for something new to try with the kiddos during Labor Day weekend and I found the Lion Habitat Ranch on Yelp. I was surprised I hadn’t heard of it before, but the reviews were positive so we figured we’d give it a...
Read MoreWe were looking for something new to try with the kiddos during Labor Day weekend and I found the Lion Habitat Ranch on Yelp. I was surprised I hadn’t heard of it before, but the reviews were positive so we figured we’d give it a chance.
You book your reservation and pay online, which secures your specific time slot. We selected 10am on Monday as it was going to be well into the 100’s that day. A big plus is that they allow 1 child free entry per adult ticket.
We arrived a little early and waited in our car outside the gate until they opened, about 5 minutes before 10.
The parking lot is small, but I imagine they only allow a set amount of reservations at a time. The checkin process entails the adults signing waivers and if there are any children, writing their name and age on the waiver. Each adult then gets a wristband and you are able to head outside.
We were immediately greeted by a very kind volunteer, Jim, who informed us that they would be feeding one of the male lions soon and we could get a picture with him. We wandered around for a few minutes as the other groups were checked in and then they called us over. Since we were the first group there, they took our picture first which was nice. The photo op in the jeep with the lion behind us was a cute touch.
After the photo we were free to wander around at our leisure. The next cage over was home to two male lions, brothers, and we were able to watch their feeding. The volunteer was really great at explaining what she was doing, tidbits about the lions and answered our questions.
We repeated this with each cage and learned more each time. We were informed that at least one lion is selected daily for enrichment, meaning they give them extra stimulation via large balls or other things. The lion that day had baby food spread on a large ball that he would lick off and engage with.
All of the lions here, with the exception of BellaDonna, are directly descendents of the lions that were on exhibit at the MGM. Belladonna is one of the remaining lions from that time. We were told that this was originally a holding place for the MGM lions when they were not on exhibit. After that closed, they moved the lions and their offspring here to live permanently. They don’t actively allow the lions to mate, so they will just live out their lives here.
The thing that struck me the most was how much the volunteers and staff cared about the animals. I did not get any sense that the lions and other animals were not well cared for, they seemed as happy as an animal in captivity could be.
The icing on the cake was at the end the very nice volunteer, Jim, who greeted us asked the girls if they wanted to learn some more about the animals. He sat down with them and took the time to show and allow them to touch various animal artifacts, sharing knowledge about each.
I can’t recommend this spot enough! I even am considering volunteering here myself in the future.
Wheelchair accessible entrance 
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