SARASOTA – Maintain social distancing, keep one lion apart, reads a sign at the Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary in Sarasota.
The non-profit sanctuary reopened Wednesday after being closed for nearly 10 weeks. Vice President of Big Cat Habitat, Clayton Rosaire says they waited to reopen because they wanted to do it right.
“We want to make sure that our animals are healthy and happy, but we also want to make sure that the customers are also safe and healthy as well,” said Vice President of Big Cat Habitat, Clayton Rosaire.
Staff members are getting temperature checks, sanitizing the entire facility during the day, limiting capacity to 250 guests, and asking that all wear face masks.
“We are really trying to take the steps needed to keep it as safe as we possibly can so people can still enjoy coming out, being in the sunshine and spending some true family time and maybe help take the kids’ minds off of what is going on right now and come out and remember how amazing nature really is,” said Rosaire.
The sanctuary is also limiting up-close interactions with animals
“Until things change, until we figure out other ways to do it, we don’t want to allow the public because of course, we don’t know where they came from, we get a lot of visitors so we have to be very cautious about our furry family,” said Rosaire.
And in regards to the popular Netflix documentary, Tiger King, Rosaire says it was a wild ride for people, during a time where everyone was stuck on a couch
“The most important part about the whole story, what everyone should have took away was that animals need proper care, true love, and a good life, whether in the wild or in captivity, that’s what we need to strive for,” said Rosaire.
Big Cat Habitat is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 4 PM.
