I have driven by this place a million times, but I have never had the time to stop, and I feel bad about that. This list makes me want to make stopping there a priority one of these days. Especially the jaguarundi, Pallas' cat, and clouded leopard
The park has received a second caracal kitten, Luna, who is the sister of the first caracal kitten, Inira, they got a few weeks ago.
This Thursday (Sept 5, 2019) Dr Ashwin Naidu of the Fishing Cat Conservancy (a personal friend of mine) will be at Cat Haven at 5pm to share his work to save wild fishing cats. It is being billed as "a casual, impromptu event" and as far as I can tell admission is free. I believe there will be no tour of the grounds and the cats, although the two caracal kittens will be in the building for visitors to meet.
The park has acquired a male white lion cub from an unnamed zoo in Texas. When he gets older he will be a companion for their adult female lion, whose male companion passed away.
Here is a local news story on the new white lion cub. The video clip and the typed text are virtually identical. However there is one glaring error that is repeated throughout. The two people who run Cat Haven are mistakenly referred to as a married couple (The Andersons) who co-founded Cat Haven. In reality, Dale Anderson founded Cat Haven and Wendy Wichelman-Debbas joined years later. Unless there was a wedding I don't know about, they are coworkers and nothing more. Project Survival's Cat Haven gets a new lion cub
The park has a new website. In addition to a species list and a list of conservation projects they support, it now includes a list of optional (extra fee) encounters you can sign up for. Home - Project Survival Cat Haven (On a personal note I was also pleasantly surprised to see my photography business logo appear on the rolling scroll of sponsors at the bottom of the page).
Park founder Dale Anderson (a personal friend) was asked to be interviewed for a podcast because of the new Tiger King series (Joe Exotic). The podcast is lengthy (over 34 minutes) but very interesting. The first half deals with Cat Haven itself, how they were set up, how they do conservation (more than most traditional zoos), and it is not until the second half that they get into discussing Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin. Well worth a listen IMO if you have the time. The title on the page is Tiger Talk which right now is at the top of the linked page because it's the most recent. If you find this post later you may need to scroll down the page until you find Tiger Talk. The Me Vs Her Podcast
The park has sent out a very lengthy email report to everyone on their email list (I got it just over an hour ago). It is a detailed report of their history, the conservation groups they support, their entire staff, and a full breakdown of their financial income and expenditures for the fiscal year to date (which I believe is October 2019 through April 2020). I have never received such a detailed report (via email) from any zoo I have been a member of and I can only assume it is an effort to assure donors that their money is going to a good cause during this lockdown period.
Actually it was 2.0 born, but one was transferred to Wild Wonders. The park has partially reopened after the state-mandated Covid-19 shutdown. They are open Saturdays and Sundays for guided tours by advance reservation only. (Note - they have always done guided tours, but previously no reservations were required).
This live news segment is a couple years old, but it gives some insight into what they are about. Project Survival's Cat Haven - YouTube
On August 31st, 2022, the sanctuary announced they acquired (1.1) jaguars named Oz (also melanistic) and Wicked. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=596333315299759 登录 Facebook
As of December 2022, the park is home to 41 cats (according to website). I don't know the gender of all of them, so will just list the total number of each species. It should be noted not all of these are on exhibit (for example the breeding pair of clouded leopards were moved off exhibit). 3 bobcats 1 canadian lynx 2 caracals 2 cheetahs 3 clouded leopards 3 cougars (pumas) 3 eurasian lynx 9 jaguars (3 melanistic) 3 leopards (1 melanistic, 2 amur) 3 lions (1 leucistic) 1 pallas' cat 3 snow leopards 3 servals 2 tigers (1 leucistic)
On January 25th, 2023, the sanctuary announced that a (0.1) cheetah named Salsa passed away. 登录 Facebook
Ok jilted lovers, here is your chance. In "honor" of Valentine's Day 2023, you can have the name of an "ex" painted on a (dead) guinea pig and fed to one of the cats for only ten bucks. Promotion is called Eat Your Heart Out. (Really, not a joke): Donate to Project Survival Cat Haven - Project Survival Cat Haven
Spoiler: Domestic News On June 7th, the sanctuary announced that a (0.1) domestic cat named Annabelle passed away at age 11. Project Survival's Cat Haven On April 10th, the sanctuary announced that they moved their tigers to new enclosures. Project Survival's Cat Haven On July 3rd, the sanctuary announced that they built new shade structures in both of the African lion enclosures. Project Survival's Cat Haven
From what I can tell, they just built new night dens attached to the exisiting enclosure, NOT a new enclosure.
On August 20th, the sanctuary announced they started construction on a new enclosure for their (0.1) clouded leopard named Chai. Starting a new enclosure... - Project Survival's Cat Haven
