A Wild Adventure in Volunteering

Are you looking for a wild adventure in volunteering?  Many of our Carrollwood Village residents have found just that as they donate their time and efforts to Big Cat Rescue, often referred to as Tampa's best kept secret - only 5 miles from our Village. Big Cat Rescue is unlike any tourist attraction. Here, you can see the behind-the-scenes operation of the world's largest accredited big cat rescue facility in action. This sanctuary is home to over 100 big cats, including lions, tigers, leopards, cougars, bobcats, lynx, ocelots, caracals, servals, and so many more.  Most of you will remember seeing their booth at our Kid’s Day at the Village 2006.

Volunteers and interns come from as far away as Australia, Scotland, Spain, New Zealand, Japan, Brazil, Canada, and the 4 corners of the US in order to be able to work with and provide these animals with great care. The NY Times, Glamour Magazine, Animal Planet, Anderson Cooper 360, Geraldo at Large, Dateline, Today Show, People Magazine, Sports Illustrated have all featured stories on Big Cat Rescue.  Yet we are lucky enough to have a world- renowned facility like this practically in our backyard.

Big Cat Rescue is an “educational sanctuary” with the dual mission of (a) giving the cats the best care possible while (b) educating the public on the plight of these animals so that some day there will be no need for a sanctuary to exist.  On any given day, you will find area school children, summer campers, retirement home residents, civic organizations, Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts, charity groups, legislators, as well as tourists all there to meet the animals up close and to personally hear their individual stories. Big Cat Rescue receives no government funding and relies on the generosity of thousands of individual donors and volunteers to care for and support the cats. 

Big Cat Rescue offers many opportunities as a volunteer.  Whatever your area of expertise, this is a place to share it.  Two of our Carrollwood Village residents volunteer as Senior Keepers there, which involves day-to-day care of each of the species.  Other Village residents volunteer in the administrative area and in the gift shop, where all proceeds go to benefit the cats.  By the way, if you’re looking for a wild gift, Big Cat Rescue features a fantastic gift shop with animal-themed items for babies to adults.  (You can even order online at http://bigcatrescue.org/go_shopping.htm).

For more information on visiting Big Cat Rescue, go to www.bigcatrescue.org.  For information on volunteer opportunities, visit http://bigcatrescue.org/volunteer.htm (minimum age 18 and 4 hours per week).