A story that has never been told about a place like nowhere else.
Forever Wild, Forever Home celebrates the forty-year anniversary of The Wild Animal Sanctuary, home to more than 600 rescued exotic animals, including over 200 bears, 60 African lions, 100 tigers, and hundreds of other large and small carnivores who thrive amidst the freedom and peace of Western prairie grasslands and stunning canyonlands.
In 1980, Sanctuary founder Pat Craig saved a dying baby jaguar he christened Freckles and embarked on a life-changing journey to combat the growing crisis of exotic animal captivity, abuse, and trafficking - one rescue at a time. Since then, the Sanctuary has saved more than 1,000 wild animals from backyard cages, illicit big cat breeding and cub petting outfits, and seedy private zoos around the world - including 127 from "Tiger King" Joe Exotic's notorious Oklahoma zoo that was the focus of a number one hit on Netflix.
Forever Wild, Forever Home highlights the Sanctuary's bold rescues and groundbreaking rehabilitation programs, as well as the elevated (and Guinness world-record-holding) Mile into the Wild Walkway, which gives more than 200,000 annual visitors a sky-high view of these magnificent survivors in their enormous habitats. Both heartwarming and humorous, this well-researched and timely book with over 100 color photos honors the nobility of the wild animals who call the Sanctuary their "forever home," and the heroic and gratifying labors of those who care for them.
Shellenbarger, Mark: - Melanie and Mark Shellenbarger never set out to become animal welfare advocates working to stop the captive wildlife crisis in its tracks. But on an April morning just a few years ago they gazed across the broad meadows and enormous habitats of The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado and what they saw changed their lives. African lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards, grizzly bears, black bears, and other wild animals had been rescued from a hellish existence to this heaven on earth. Little did they know that the experience would inspire them to embark on an all-encompassing endeavor -- writing this book commemorating the forty-year history of The Wild Animal Sanctuary. Melanie is an architectural historian and retired faculty member of the Department of Architecture at the University of Colorado. Mark is a retired business executive who managed a variety of global operations with a British multinational company. They live in Denver, Colorado with their dog, Reo.
Shellenbarger, Melanie: - Melanie and Mark Shellenbarger never set out to become animal welfare advocates working to stop the captive wildlife crisis in its tracks. But on an April morning a few years ago they gazed across the broad meadows of The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado and saw African lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards, grizzly bears, and black bears who had been rescued from a hellish existence to this heaven on earth. The experience inspired them to write Forever Wild, Forever Home. The authors were given unprecedented access to Sanctuary staff and volunteers, volunteered in education and animal care, and spent two years researching the captive wildlife crisis. Both retired, Melanie taught at the University of Colorado and Mark was an executive with a global engineering company. Melanie's award-winning book, High Country Summers: The Early Second Homes of Colorado, 1880-1940 was published by the University of Arizona Press. The Wild Animal Sanctuary receives no public funding, relying principally on the contributions of supporters to fund the worldwide rescue operations and ongoing care of their hundreds of wild residents (who happily consume more than 70,000 pounds of food per week). The authors are donating the majority of proceeds from the sale of Forever Wild, Forever Home to the Sanctuary.
