Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!

Respect, Love and Sanctuary

The buildings look like they need a fresh coat of paint. And it's not a flashy attraction.  In fact, they have porta-pots for the visitors.  But hey, where else can you hand feed a tiger?

Kay Rosaire began rescuing big cats in 1987. She founded the Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary to educate the public by fostering an appreciation for these animals.

Lions

And Tigers

Buck, The Grizzly Bear, from Dr. Doolittle

I Hand Fed a Tiger

Athena and Kay Rosaire

Kay Rosaire's family and volunteers are dedicated to these beautiful animals. Although Kay is trying to retire from the ring, she was called on to perform with the cats as her son was ill.  She has worked with exotic animals for over 30 years. Her educational demonstration proved she is extremely knowledgable about each animal.

Banana Tree

They also have lemurs, primates, birds, camels, zebra, llamas and a petting area for children.

Wombat

It appears all of the animals are very well taken care of and, most of all, they seem happy and healthy. The Rosaire family devotes their lives to caring for these beautiful animals.

Spiny Turtle from South Africa

Also Fed the Grizzly Bear

We had a "lupper" (lunch/supper combination) at Der Dutchman for Amish kitchen cooking. It's a huge gathering place that offers dining, a bakery, and gift shop.

A Delicious Taste of Amish Country

Following our dining experience, we headed to Lido Beach for a romantic sunset walk.  While we were excited to find some sand dollars on the beach, it was rather chilly and breezy for our sunset walk.

Sand dollars live on sandy or muddy flat areas of the ocean floor in shallow water near land. They often live in colonies.

The spine of a live sand dollar is covered with small hairs called cilla. By moving the cilla and spine, sand dollars are able to move across the sea beds in which they live.  As sand dollars have few predators, they can live up to ten years. 

If you find a sand dollar that is brownish and covered with short, dark, fur-like spines, the animal is alive and should not be removed from the beach. Please only remove sun-bleached skeletons.

Lido Beach Friends