We visited Sarasota's Big Cat Sanctuary on Saturday and could recommend it to those interested in preserving wild life. We had a chance to see a demonstration showing trained bears (brown and grizzly) and tigers (even a rare white tiger) that is presented in order to raise funds for taking care of all of the exotic animals the Sanctuary has rescued from small circuses, "have your photo taken with a ..." and from private owners who purchased a bear cub or tiger kitten when it was small and then wanted to destroy the animal when it got to large for them to handle. After all, who is prepared to share a bed with a 700 lb tiger?
If you are in the area, I would most certainly recommend a visit (and a donation) to support the Rosaire's in their mission to rescue and then provide care for large, exotic animals. I learned, for example, that they need to purchase 5,000 lbs of beef each week just to feed the tigers that are in their care. That's certainly beyond my modest budget.