Forever Wild, Forever Home

A story that has never been told about a place like nowhere else. Forever Wild, Forever Home celebrates the forty-year anniversary of The Wild Animal Sanctuary, home to more than 600 rescued exotic animals, including over 200 bears, 60 African lions, 100 tigers, and hundreds of other large and small carnivores who thrive amidst the freedom and peace of Western prairie grasslands and stunning canyonlands. In 1980, Sanctuary founder Pat Craig saved a dying baby jaguar he christened Freckles and embarked on a life-changing journey to combat the growing crisis of exotic animal captivity, abuse, and trafficking - one rescue at a time. Since then, the Sanctuary has saved more than 1,000 wild animals from backyard cages, illicit big cat breeding and cub petting outfits, and seedy private zoos around the world - including 127 from "Tiger King" Joe Exotic's notorious Oklahoma zoo that was the focus of a number one hit on Netflix. Forever Wild, Forever Home highlights the Sanctuary's bold rescues and groundbreaking rehabilitation programs, as well as the elevated (and Guinness world-record-holding) Mile into the Wild Walkway, which gives more than 200,000 annual visitors a sky-high view of these magnificent survivors in their enormous habitats. Both heartwarming and humorous, this well-researched and timely book with over 100 color photos honors the nobility of the wild animals who call the Sanctuary their "forever home," and the heroic and gratifying labors of those who care for them.