I love tigers & big fan of the show. love to come by & visit your zoo/rescue. :) i cant find a buy ticket option on our site ! please let me know ! i just moved here and would love to come by !!! & if closed when will you guys open back up ???

We had Kristen, Bridget, and Jeff as our guides. They were very friendly and made the experience educational yet enjoyable. They answered questions honestly and if they did not know the answer they did not pretend. As a whole Big Cat Rescue is so worth the money. You get a guided tour where you have a device and a fresh ear phone. When you pass by a rescue cat the guide will play a story through your ear phone so you understand what happened to and why the cat is now in a sanctuary. All of the habitats are large and truly enjoyable for the cats. This truly was an amazing experience that will touch your heart. They had said at the very end that if you call and read off the script (pictured) it is worth 100 signatures on a petition.

I went to Big Cat Rescue a few years back and I still tell people about you guys. The tour was extremely informative and I really appreciated how much care is put into caring for these big cats the totality of their lives. I still have a great tote bag from the gift shop. Also people there is a GOOD reason children aren’t allowed here, but if you need to be told why, well then I’ll just leave that one silent. Big Cat Rescue is outstanding and has a heart of GOLD. I love what you do.❤️✨💕🌈🌸

I absolutely hate all of the nasty reviews I am reading here. I have not been to BCR yet but will be visiting hopefully this year.People dont realize what a sacrifice the folks at BCR make to give these animals the best life possible- better than in the wild. The animals are cared for and loved. And they know it. The animals are not at fault for anything. People are at fault for trying to possess a novelty and when that wears off discarding them like an old pair of shoes.I take care of a cat colony. 2 feedings a day of wet food and ensuring they have fresh water and dry at all times. Everyone is spayed/neutered. I have my own house cats too. Its expensive - I do it all on my own and would not change anything.. I love them all. Any animal that shows up at my house will be protected, taken care of and loved.I will never understand the hate comments.

Carole Baskin,killed her husband; Whacked him.Fed him to Tigers, theyre snacking.Cant convince me that this didnt happen.Carole Baskin.

Big Cat Rescue is really great! They do amazing work there caring for big cats that would otherwise not have a safe place to live out their days. They are not a zoo, but an actual rescue. The cats always come first. Highly recommend a visit. Youll learn a lot.

This is a great place for wild cats sanctuary. They really do take care of their wild cats that have been abused. Whether they were former circus performers, from people who think they can raise tigers, lions in their home then have gotten too wild or people breeding them illegally for private sales. These cats are well take care of here and can live out their lives in peace without abuse.

Do take your self, friends, family to this wonderful Rescue. You will learn so much about how these cats got there, through no fault of their own and cannot be returned to the wild. Most came from horrible places.Take the feeding tour..much value here and your money goes to help sustain these magnificent creatures who need our support.No where can you get so close and the cats are happy and healthy, they even have a vacation area to run and enjoy. Tigers have a portion of the lake to enjoy safely. Much thought went into this habitat for the cats. Become a supporter. This is a wonderful experience.

I visited many years ago along with my son and a friend that was visiting from Texas..the tour guide was very informative..the cats were well taken care of..waiting for the place to reopen to take my 5 yr old granddaughter..her favorite animal are tigers.. I’m sure she’ll enjoy this..

Went on the keeper tour. We loved it and the work they have put into the rescue center is amazing. Staff are great and very knowledgeable. The 2 hour tour may have been a little long on my 10 year old, but the 12 year old loved it. For 2 hours it may be a little expensive but I think its well worth it.

Visiting Big Cat Rescue was a great experience. It was interesting learning about the different cats and their stories on how they arrived at the rescue. All the volunteers were very knowledgeable and friendly.

Absolutely wonderful place that rescues big cats from bad situations and gives them a safe habitat and care. Such an amazing experience!!!! I would highly recomend visiting Big Cat Rescue. It was very clean. The cats looked and acted very well cared for. The guide Jennie was very informative and really sweet. Elizabeth the volunteer was a total sweet heart too. Everyone was great. Such an amazing experience!

I visited this sanctuary years ago before covid/documentary. I didnt meet Carole herself (Actually I had no idea who she was or what the controversy was) so I dont have an opinion about her. The volunteer tour guide was nice, I really enjoyed seeing the big cats so close to us, and the enclosures looked clean and spacious. I hope they would reconsider reopening the sanctuary to the public. Im checking every few months or so before my visit to Tampa in hopes of being able to bring my niece (teenage age) to see the big cats and learn about the exotic pet trade. Its too bad how a small percentage of crazy fans from the documentary ruined the experience for everyone else who just wants to see the big cats.

The best experience, up close and personal with these majestic cats! We did the Keeper Tour which was great as the group was much smaller and it was a much more intimate experience. Our tour guide Dillon was great and knew so much that he was able to answer everyones questions. Hands down amazing experience for myself and my family. Everyone should go and educate themselves.

I absolutely love this place! Im so happy to see that a big cat sanctuary like this exists. It made me so sad to hear about the conditions that most of the cats were kept in before they ended up here, but I love that they have a chance to live here and be so much better cared for. I would recommend this place to anyone who loves animals, especially cats!

Truly amazing rescue. when the guides talk about each cat you can hear the sympathy in their voices and see the passion in their eyes. As happy as it was to see these animals happy, safe and VERY well fed, its still emotional hearing about where they came from and how many cats are still out there not receiving the care they need. We had a great guide named Tonya. She was very knowledgeable, very personable and cool as hell. She volunteers there most days out of the week. Shes there to make a difference, not for a paycheck. Everyone there is a special type of person. Also. They are working to get a big cat public safety act hr 1380 passed. You should call your local rep and tell them you support the act!

Beautiful big cats well looked after by passionate, knowledgeable people. Took some brilliant photos and learned loads. Well worth a visit, and your money will go to the best of causes!

Excellent rescue facility. Tours are fun and informative. Gift shop is stocked with a lot of fun items and great clothing.

I dont know if I have the words for how much I love this place and what they do for these cats lives who have (with a few exceptions) been rescued from horrible conditions. These cats have huge enclosures and the cats who choose to do so take turns going on vacation in even larger enclosures. The bigger cats vacation enclosure is 2.5 acres! You can watch the big cats vacation enclosure 24/7 on explore dot org. Some people only see a small part of a cats enclosure and think the enclosure is small. If it looks small, they went through a door or tunnel from a much larger area. The cats get enrichment (different sprays or spices on toys and treats) to help keep them from getting bored since they should be living in the wild instead of in cages. Because of the amazing care they receive, many of these cats live into their 20s when they would only live to be 10-12 in the wild. The cats couldnt be more spoiled or loved by the staff, keepers, and interns who go through very extensive training and are all really knowledgeable. The tours are awesome and given by volunteers so every bit of the money goes towards the care of the cats. BCR does so much to fight for big cats rights, end the abuse, and would actually love to go out of business! They know big cats should not be in captivity and provide the best possible care and the most love for their cats who were born into captivity and therefore can never go free.

I Feel very bad for animals. If you go on trip and want to have a positive experience, do not go, I left crying and sad. Very very bad place....

What a wonderful day! What an outstanding place! What truly beautiful souls, both the people who volunteer/work there and the absolutely magnificent cats! I highly highly recommend doing a tour there! It goes to a great cause of course and you will learn a lot! I give this amazing rescue 10 stars out of 5!!

I loved visiting this place and I love going back when Im in Tampa. This is not a zoo but a place for felines who can no longer live in the wild. You will meet cats that used to be mistreated or were rejected by zoos because of their age/health. The only way to visit is with a guided tour where they will tell you the story of every feline living in the rescue. I loved how they have big areas to play and run. The volunteers do an amazing job here, theyre very informative, and the cats look very happy. At the end of the tour, you can go visit the store. There is also an area where you can adopt one of the cats.

Awesome place to see and learn about the big cats. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and seemed passionate about preserving and loving these majestic cats. Definitely check it out

One star. Terrible place, Terrible ownership. Dont recommend going there. All the cars there are taken out of the wild.

The place is very nice and clean. You have 1.5 hour tour with a guide. The down part is that you dont really see any animals. Because they are hiding in the caves. If you want to enjoy the animals, go to the feeding time tour. Of course, its a lot more expensive.

I dont like the place at all, I feel sorry the animals, they dont really rescue them, rescue them would take them a while and take them to their natural habitation not having them locked in cages like those that she criticized and on top of picking tickets also for seeing them bone theres difference between that and a zoo? Like the others? Both of them are wrong! Hippocrite! Returns these animals and stops making profit from them

Everyone should visit this amazing Sanctuary !!! Your purchase of ticket for tour helps feeds the cats😼😻 Our tour guides were the best... It was a hour and half tour wellspent on a beautiful afternoon. Check out my photos .

Well kept sanctuary doing their absolute best for the big cats.

Great non profit helping the big cats. Nice big enclosures and good size property. Tour was good just was a hot day so the cats werent active just staying out of the heat.

Great tour. The cats are cared for very well. They have freedom to move and places to hide. They get medical care. The tour lasted over 90 minutes and was well worth it.

What an amazing experience. The feeding tour followed by the keeper tour is a great combo. We will be coming back as often as we can!

🐅🦁🐾 Big Cat Rescue today... was a very cool experience to see these majestic guys so close. They are very well taken care of, you can tell they are happy animals. We had no idea people trying to have exotic cats as pets was such a huge problem.

My favorite place in the whole world. See beautiful cats up close and learn their stories from your experiences tour guide. The price for the tour is well worth the experience youll have and the gift shop has lots of cool goodies

Wasnt sure what I was getting into but its a wonderful guided walking tour with 3 guides, Bridget, Kristen, and Jeff, it was super informative, the animals all look healthy and happy. Definitely worth the trip.

I recently did the crane work for the cell tower that is on the property. The facilities were very clean and organized. All the staff was very friendly and helpful.

Loved it. The guided tour was very informational & entertaining. This facility/volunteers are very ethical and caring stewards of these beautiful and powerful creatures. I posted a video on YouTube under sole searchers.

They do SUCH good work here, and the tours are very affordable. Everything goes back into the rescue, so its well worth whatever the price.

Amazing place 🙌. They rescue and take care of exotic cats who each have interesting life stories.

This place is very informative and is doing their best they can for the cats. The equipment they provide was faulty. It is sad that we could not pet the cats but we were told that it is for their and our safety and their comfort that we do not get to touch them. I would say as a viewing thing it is not much but the work they do is great. I would definitely say donate towards their efforts but as far as going to see the cats I would say it depends.

We went to the big cat rescue over spring break one year. And they wouldn’t let us in because we had a child under 12 with us. They said that we were late for tour that was child appropriate. But when we looked on their website it said nothing about a child tour. They Baskinly showed us to the door. And it felt like they didn’t want our money. And Carole before you go saying that you didn’t find me on your list of people who have come just know your staff wouldn’t let us in your doors.

Four of us were booked for a 9AM a private tour. We showed up 30 minutes prior to our tour at 8:30AM as directed by the email. When we got there the gate was closed. We called and no one answered the phone or retuned our call. We sat in the car in front of the gate until a few minutes before 9AM when someone finally came and opened it up. So if you have a 9AM tour, you don’t need to get there 30 minutes early. All the staff members were friendly and helpful. A pleasant surprise was that our private tour included a ride around the grounds in a large electric cart. Our guide was Ginny and she was great, very friendly and knowledgeable. She taught us a lot about the Big Cat Rescue and their mission to stop people from owning big cats and outlawing petting circuses. Which is all in addition to taking care of all the big and small cats along with managing their medical issues. We watch the BCR YouTube channel and the live webcams and know who some of the cats are and their stories. We all loved the tour and loved seeing all the cats we knew, it was fantastic! You can see and hear that the cats love it there and are treated very well. The smaller cats were purring and the bigger cats were chuffing. You get to be very close to them and most of them like the company. We live over 1000 miles away but the next time we’re in the Tampa area, like Clearwater, we will come back to see the cats again and help support the BCR. We recommend going to see the cats, it’s a wonderful experience.

Fantastic retirement home for the big cats - and some little ones, too! Just visited in May 2017, and was so impressed with the care these cats get. The Keepers are fabulous - the enclosures are HUGE and clean - there are wonderful dens for the cats to hide in during the heat of the day or if they dont feel like visitors - there are trees shading the enclosures and the paths, and soft sand in all the enclosures for the cats to lay on. Lots of landscaping so the cats can play hide and seek. Id go back in a minute - and plan to!

Animals so clean and well cared for - you cant get this close to them at any zoo! Non profit and definitely worth the trip!

Have not been personally yet, but my father went and he was very pleased. You guys are saints for doing this and giving these big cats a second chance! So sad that people are misled by the lies of Joe Exotic, glad he is living out 22 years in prison. Meanwhile yall are doing good in a world of bad, I hope to go sometime and pay you guys a visit!

Great experience. Animals are very well kept and taken care of. We attended the morning feeding and were able to see a lot of the animals. My daughter and I really enjoyed the feeding tour.

Wait, so you condemn/ attack anyone with 1 star reviews that are based on a show and call them false... But you welcome any/ all 5 star reviews that people leave based on seeing a show and praise them. How does that work? Based on that alone I wouldnt recommend this place to anyone. Everything about it this place is shady

So you assume Ive never been here...how do you know that? The main reason for this review is how you handle criticism and your distinct lack of proper customer service. Not everyone that leaves a bad review is brainwashed by a documentary. Extremely unprofessional and rude, absolutely not the way to handle dealing with the public.

Amazing organization. Thank goodness this place exists. Was awesome to see these cats healthy and able to live out their lives instead of the horrible situations where they came from.

Awesome group to support. One time there and you know they care for the cats and are trying to make a difference. The people that work here are super passionate, plus the animals are awesome too see and learn their stories!

I went here in 2018 with my husband, and we had a great time on the tour! The tour guide was super kind, we learned a lot about the animals and the issues they combat as a rescue center, and we sponsored Skipper the Canadian lynx. Price was also extremely reasonable for the tour we went on.

We visit the big cat rescue every year and support their amazing cause. They are beautiful and well cared for. Please support their mission to get rid of cub petting!

Must do! Beautiful experience and very in formative. Also you can help with

Big Cat Resue work hard to provide the best care for their rescued animals. Staff are friendly and provide tons of information on the animals. All animals have natural habitat with adequate size for each animal. You can tell they care about the cats in there care. Takes about 1 1/2 hrs to walk thru the park. Well worth the money spent and it all goes to taking care of the cats.

Omg, fabulous! Guide was so well educated! All the cats in plain site, went yesterday, rained at last minute and guides whipped out ponchos! Very thoughtful and educated! Must do!!

All of the Staff are well educated and the Cats are beautiful and healthy. Love this place ❤

The best thing on our family trip. Cool to see how they track and care for the animals. Wonderfull volunteers

What an amazing place! I would highly recommend this rescue. When you tour the rescue, you learn the background of each cat that you see and what an issue the exotic pet industry is. The tour guides were friendly and informed. I learned a lot more than I thought I would during the tour and really enjoyed it!

Wonderfull place. The staff are all very friendly and knowledgeable. And more importantly than all, the animals seem very well taken care off. Would recommend to anyone.

Such a great experience!! Definitely interested in coming back

Big Cat Rescue is a huge favorite of mine. I went once eight years ago and returned this year for my birthday. They take such great care of all of the cats and the tour guides know every single ones story. Their mission is noble and the education they provide is top notch. Being able to see these cats relaxed and peaceful is an amazing experience that everyone should get to have.

This was something Ive wanted to do since I heard about it years ago. I was not disappointed. The staff never touches the cats or forces them to do anything they dont want to do. There are plenty of places for the cats to hide, so you will not get a good view of all the cats, but there are so many you will not be disappointed. Kids tours are Saturday and Sunday at noon. There are water stations placed throughout the walking path. Cant wait to return.

Wonderful cats. Well informed staff. We did the keeper tour and got to watch the kitties play with cat nip

This is a lovely retirement facility for these beautiful cats. They definitely know they have visitors and came over and even talked to us! Taking a private tour was far more delightful than seeing animals with the crowd at a zoo. It felt very personal between us and the animals. Even the shy ones made an appearance. We heard a range of cat sounds from meows to roars. My favourite is Manny Jaguar and he hopped up on his platform and put on a show. What a beauty!

Wonderful advocacy for these magnificant big cats. I appreciated that they dont make the cats show up for the visitors, they truly are there to live their lives as best as possible. They also have big vacation enclosures where the cats rotate in and out for more space, different views etc. The animals stories are heartbreaking but the interns and volunteers help the visitors learn what to do and how to help. Great tour, beautiful cats.

This was a great day trip for my son and I. We went in the kids tour with a small group of about 3 other families. The volunteers were knowledgeable and kept the children engaged and happy while explaining the importance of protecting our wild life. I definitely recommend if you are near Tampa to stop by for a tour.

Big Cat Rescue does awesome work educating people and taking care of abused and unwanted big cats. Check out their Facebook page. They have many tigers, servals, bobcats, and others. Excellent photos of the cats in their enclosures can be taken.

This place is amazing! They have the highest certification for rescued animals, they do not touch the animals, breed them or anything. The habitats are built to be as natural as possible, the tour guide was fantastic. An overall great experience.

This is a Rescue, no breeding, trading, selling or Hands-on with the wildlife! Just a nice little place from these Wild Cats and other wild life to live their lives out! Please Visit if you can! The staff was nice, including the volunteers! We did the 90 minute tour and I Loved it! Some past sad stories but their future is in good hands! Their Facebook page also has some photos and videos. This place is worth the visit!

This large sanctuary  provides medical care and life long habitats for exotic cats that have been mistreated,  abused or surrendered  . It is a wonderful cause that encourages education to the public and increases awareness of the lack of appropriate legislation concerning the unadequate breeding, care and treatment of these beautiful animals. Our lawmakers can only make changes if they are aware of the need to change the inhumane behavior allowed through very lenient vague laws .

My bf and I took the keeper tour to see the cats. Our experience was fun, informative and full of cat viewings. We started with making cat toys for the big cats. It was fun to see that catnip is an attraction no matter the size of the cat. But I learned a few new things to try with my tiny housecats to keep them entertained. It is great that these large rescues have landed in such a caring environment. We saw most of the cats on our tour since they had learned to associate the wagon being pulled by the staff to mean good treats. It was fun watching some of them pretend indifference until we started to walk away...then out they came for their snacks, lol.

I know there is a lot of controversy going on about this place right now, but the animals seem to be well taken care of and I am so happy they have been rescued. There was a lion there that I absolutely fell in love with. We had a staring and blinking contest with each other, and I wish I could see him daily! The entire staff was very friendly and seemed to really care about the welfare of the animals. I would definitely recommend going!

Ive never been here but they take care of the cats very kool to me as I luv panthers n jaguars esp black ones...😁🤩🖤♥️🖤💕

This place is NOT a zoo... its a place where exotic felines that were born and/or raised in captivity can get comfort and peace. I am impressed with the work they do here and that they have been able to accomplish so much. For whatever reason, videos from BCR kept showing up on my YouTube feed. I live in Connecticut but I come often to the Tampa area to visit. This time I wanted to see it for myself and I am so glad I did.

While I long for the day when places like Big Cat Rescue are no longer necessary, they are, so please support them. Big Cat Rescue is one of a small group of organizations whose sole purpose is to, hopefully, put themselves out of business. They work tirelessly to save these animals from horrible conditions, give them a quality of life that they would not otherwise know, put the unethical/immoral/illegal breeding facilities out of business AND raise awareness of these issues. I cannot suggest strongly enough that, if you have the ability to, go see them and take on of the tours. If however, you cannot do that, donate a few dollars to them by going to their website and clicking Donate. If you cant do THAT, simply find their YouTube channel, turn off your ad blocker (if you use one) and watch some videos. That method allows you to donate by generating ad revenue for them.You can also help by contacting your elected officials and urging them to support initiatives that discourage capturing/breeding of these amazing creatures, or if they already support such initiatives, thanking them for the support. Sometimes, the simple act of saying thank you can have a profound and lasting effect.

Such an amazing place, giving big cats a great forever home that is a safe and loving environment 💛

Me and my husband have been there twice and we absolutely love and miss going to the Big Cat Rescue. My favorite cat that I fell in love with was Cameron, it was so sad when he passed. I hope soon this place can reopen and we can go back.

Amazing. They treat the cats very well and educate visitors. Amazing people amazing cause. Tour worth every penny.

What a great organization and a great experience! We have loved following them on social media and YouTube and were thrilled to be able to finally visit. We took the day tour, which has recorded descriptions of the cats and an intern to lead it. That was cool, but the Night Eyes tour was amazing! Led by keepers who really knew the cats and told us lots of in depth information. So informative and enjoyable. Definitely worth the trip!

An excellent tour of the rescue. The tour guides were very knowledgeable about all of their animals (save a couple that they are temporarily holding pending litigation against the animals previous owners) and did a great job of keeping the tour at the right balance of entertaining and informative. All money given for tours, merch, donations, etc. is used to support the cats.When we toured in February 19, we saw servals, savannah cats, lynx, tigers, panthers, and lions, among others.

We just did the annual Wildcat Walkabout. What an awesome experience! We were able to walk the tour path at our own pace. It seemed crowded before the tour started, but once people started on the trail, it spread out and we were able to see the big cats up pretty close. The caretakers had provided the cats along the tour path with enrichment items, so most of them were out where you could see them playing with pumpkins and enjoying their special popsicles. I will definitely sign up for this next year!

This place was very cool, so happy we went! They seem to take very good care of these gorgeous creatures, it was cool to see them up close, within their comfort zone.

Had a great time.It was a guided tour - it felt like less than a mile, but over an hour with the stops and stories.

Great place with a great cause. Really enjoyed my 90 minute tour here.

We had a blast and learned alot.I recommend anyone and everyone to spend a day there.

A must visit for any animal lover when in Tampa. I am so grateful to BCR for providing a home for these majestic animals and providing them with excellent care.

I attended the Wildcat Walkabout last month and had a wonderful time. The cats have tons of room and seem extremely happy. I was sad that I didnt get to see Joseph the lion but they explained to me that he has anxiety from being used as a photo prop and is uncomfortable with crowds, so then I was very happy that he wasnt on the tour. They clearly care about their cats and work hard to keep them happy and healthy. I felt good spending my money on something that would benefit big cats rather than continue the cycle of keeping them in captivity, like a zoo. I loved everything about it.

Was nice to visit! Very good cause!

Beautiful cause for beautiful animals! Just a your though, I wish there was more to do there, but the cost of for a great cause so everyone wins!

We drove to the gate and it was closed but I would love to come visit, this is the best cat rescue sanctuary in the country.

I love love love this place! If in the area, please go!

Looks like a great place to visit but you need to be aware of the hours. they are very specific. We were unable to get a tour by no fault of the rescue rather our ignorance of it. Would have loved to been able to get a tour.

Its very educational. Its great what they do for tgesr magnificent animals.

Lots of big cats to see, our tour guide was very engaging and knowledgeable!

Very enjoyable tour, a worthwhile experience, would not hesitate to go again.

Had a great experience here- I remember finding out about this place when I was 14 & I became a loyal follower & tried to fundraiser for them (didn’t go so well lol). Finally 8 years later, for my birthday I just wanted to drive to Tampa and be able to see BCR. My boyfriend made it happen and it was truly amazing to finally see this place. We had a fantastic time on the Day Tour & will definitely be back for one of the private tours.

We come about 2 to 3 times out of the year to Big Cat Rescue and everytime is such an amazing experience. We (my boyfriend and I) absolutely love Big cat rescue and what Carole has made a home to many cats big, med., and small. We cannot wait to come back again. One day we both wanna volunteer here :)

It’s not okay to keep animals in cages unless you’re big cat rescue

I am so grateful that we have a place like big cats rescue, the cats look happy they look healthy and Im glad theyre there to rescue them and give them a good home where they can survive, my daughter had a blast.

This is an amazing place. Go and see the cats, hear their stories and help them live happier lives.

A worthwhile and enjoyable hour and a half. Our guide was knowledgeable and friendly. The conditions these cats had to endure before they got here are truly heartbreaking. Use your gps to find the road/driveway off the main road.. Its a little tricky.