If your family is looking for something different to do on your next trip to Branson, Missouri, then the National Tiger Sanctuary is for you! This exciting destination is one of the world’s most respected animal habitats of its kind and is the home of a variety of majestic and stunning animals!
The National Tiger Sanctuary is a non-profit organization devoted to providing a safe, permanent home for exotic and domestic animals. Their facility, located just a short drive north of Branson, was built in 2000 entirely on donations and private funds. The folks at the Tiger Sanctuary are devoted to preserving the environment and providing an educational experience for each of their visitors.
One of the first things you’ll notice when you visit the National Tiger Sanctuary is that the passionate and well-educated staff has nothing but the animals’ best interest at heart. Giving their animals the highest level of care is their number one priority! For instance, the staff only gives guided tours of their facilities to assure that the cats have plenty of time to rest between visitors, and each animal is provided with an individualized diet tailored to its specific needs. Animals are also given access to all natural surfaces, and they are never fed frozen food. The special environments created for the sanctuary’s feline friends were designed to give each animal ample room to play and move around. At the National Tiger Sanctuary, the animals are treated like family!
The sanctuary is home to over 25 beautiful and exotic animals. Even though the majority of the facility’s animals are tigers, there are several lions, panthers, and cheetahs who also call the sanctuary home. The sanctuary also houses a variety of domesticated dogs and cats. On your special guided tour of the facility, you could meet a panther named Blackie, tigers Dee, Etana, and Harry, or two lions named Judah and Leo!
Since the National Tiger Sanctuary is a non-profit organization, all of the admission fees collected from tours of the sanctuary go towards caring for the sanctuary’s beloved animals and providing a special educational experience for each of the sanctuary’s guests. No matter what you’re looking for when you visit the sanctuary, there is a tour that is perfect for you! On the Awareness tour, you and your family will see tigers and lions, learn all about their unique personalities, and gain tons of useful knowledge about the magnificent large cats. The Feeding Tour is similar to the Awareness Tour with one notable difference: you’ll visit the cats at feeding time, see how they eat, and learn all about their special diets! On the You Feed Tour, you’ll even get to feed the big cats yourself. For an in-depth look at the inner workings of the sanctuary, take the Behind the Scenes Tour. Here you will see twice as many big cats as the other tours, watch feeding time from an insider’s perspective, and feed the cats like one of the crew. You’ll also receive souvenirs from the sanctuary. Adventurous guests can take the Tigers by Twilight Tour where you’ll visit the animals at night. Here you’ll learn all about how these incredible animals hunt by night! To understand everything that goes on at the National Tiger Sanctuary, you can sign up for the 5-hour Day with the Director. On this comprehensive tour of the sanctuary, you’ll receive a VIP look at how the staff cares for the sanctuary’s animals, drink in even more information about feeding time, hear all about animal transportation, and so much more!
If you are looking for a unique, educational experience on your next family vacation, make sure to visit the National Tiger Sanctuary. Their thousands of visitors a year all agree: it will be an experience you’ll never forget!
