Video: Big cats find a forever home in Nevada's high desert

Mar. 19, 2014   |  

Rescue zoo in Nevada's high desert: Safe Haven Rescue Zoo provides lifelong care for abandoned and neglected exotic animals.

Written by Guy Clifton

Choi Hu, a Siberian tiger, checks out those on the other side of the fence. She is almost 17 years old and has been at Safe Haven since 2009. She weighs between 300 and 350 pounds and eats about six pounds of chicken and beef a day. / Marilyn Newton/RGJ

 

IF YOU GO

WHEN: Safe Haven Rescue Zoo is open to tours and educational events by appointment. Call 775-538-7093.
WHERE: The facility is located about two hours east of Reno off Interstate 80 between Lovelock and Winnemucca, about four miles south of Unionville.
ANNUAL FUNDRAISER: The seventh annual Safe Haven Rescue Zoo Dinner and Auction will be held at 5 p.m. May 17 at the Winnemucca Convention Center. Amanda Sanchez of KOLO TV will emcee the event. The cost is $35 per person; table sponsorships are available for $350.

GOLF CHARITY EVENT:The Safe Haven Rescue Zoo Charity Golf Event is scheduled for Oct. 17 at Wolf Run Golf Club in Reno. It is a four-man scramble format and includes a dinner, raffle and silent auction. The entry fee (before Sept. 5) is $125 and includes golf, cart, dinners and contests.

DETAILS:775-538-7093, www.safehavenwildlife.com or safehavenwildlife@gmail.com.

Nestled in Nevada’s high desert at the base of the Humboldt Mountains, just a few miles south of Interstate 80 between Lovelock and Winnemucca, is a pretty spectacular retirement enclave. The retirees have it pretty good here with fresh air, games to play, catered dining and even a chance to release their inner artist with a painting now and then. Just don’t expect to see them driving around in golf carts. It’s a little hard to steer without opposable thumbs.

This retirement community is Safe Haven Rescue and its inhabitants range from mountain lions, bobcats and coyotes familiar in Nevada to African lions, Siberian tigers and Canadian lynxes.
“Safe Haven provides interim care for native Nevada wildlife and lifelong care for abandoned or surrendered exotics,” said executive director Lynda Sagusa, who opened the 160-acre preserve in Buena Vista Valley in late 2006, moving it from a 5-acre enclave in a Chicago suburb. Safe Haven recently purchased another 160 acres of adjacent land to bring their total to 320 acres of secluded high desert.


Safe Haven’s 31 animals have come to Nevada in myriad ways. Some were abandoned, some neglected, some surrendered, some the victims of the illegal pet trade. Take, for example, African lions Kovu and Ifaw, who share one of the 10,000-square-feet enclosures at the facility. They both originated from Midwest roadside zoos. They were transferred to a Texas facility that closed its doors in 2010. The two neutered male lions developed a close bond and Safe Haven accepted both lions to keep the friends together.

Siberian tigers Gage and Sybre (pronounced cy-ber) came to Safe Haven in similar fashion. The Ohio sanctuary where they were housed faced financial difficulties and could no long keep their big cats. The transfer to Safe Haven came through the collaboration of the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries with Safe Haven.

Another Siberian tiger, Choi Hu, came to Safe Haven as an exotic pet. Her owners divorced and gave up the property where she was kept. The 16-year-old is a senior citizen in tiger years.

An African serval, Jasper, was discovered roaming the streets of Hollywood, no doubt an exotic pet that was more than its owners bargained for when they first bought it. He shares an enclosure with a family of servals that came from Colorado in 2012 when their owner became ill and could no longer provide for them.

Each animal has its own story, such as Max, a mountain lion who was discovered in a Texas pole barn housed in small horse stalls along with nine other cougars, nine African lions and a tiger. Also a senior citizen, he has a host of medical issues, but will live out his life in the Nevada sunshine. The facility has an on-call veterinarian who cares for all the animals.

Safe Haven is open for tours and educational programs by appointment, but first and foremost, it’s a sanctuary for the animals, Lynda Sagusa said. “The emotional and psychological health of each of our residents is a high priority,” she said.

The facility is run by the Sagusas, their small staff and a cadre of volunteers. The big cats have special small enclosures for feeding, which can be secured from their main enclosures, allowing the staff access to clean and maintain them in safety. The feeding pens, which double as trailers, also can be separated and put into a horse trailer when the animals need to be transported to their veterinarian in Carson City.

Safety is always top of mind, and neither the staff nor any visitors are permitted to touch any of the animals in their enclosures. Visitors are kept behind a pair of safety barriers.

The facility also provides interim care for native Nevada wildlife that can be released back into the wild. That does not include its coyotes because a state law forbids coyotes to be released, so they are permanent residents of the zoo.

Lynda Sagusa said the sanctuary receives calls each month about taking additional animals. She and her husband built the Nevada facility from the ground up, and each enclosure takes a significant amount of time to build.

Safe Haven is a nonprofit and relies on public support to exist. The raw meat fed to the animals comes via donations from the Walmarts in Winnemucca and Elko. A number of corporations and philanthropic foundations also provide essential funding.


The sanctuary also has a pair of public fundraisers each year — a fundraising dinner and auction in Winnemucca and a golf tournament in Reno.

For information, call 775-538-7093 or email safehavenwildlife@gmail.com.

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