Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge

I have wanted to visit  Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge for years!  We finally made the trip on Monday over to Eureka Springs to visit.

The trees were already changing and it was a beautiful drive.

It was a neat, educational trip.  It was so cool to see all of the animals up close, and to see what the refuge is doing to take care of all these wonderful animals.

I highly recommend a trip to see it!

I was leery at first that I would feel sad about animals in an enclosure.  But, when you hear that most of these animals would not be alive or taken care of if they were not here, it puts a whole new perspective on it. These sweet animals are loved and taken care of.

I had never seen a liger until Monday.

The funds to build the enclosures come from admission and private donors. I love how this enclosure was made especially for older cats.

The lockdown area is where they feed the animals.  Most of the time, the animals are roaming the larger parts of the enclosures.

We heard lions roar, we watched tigers play with toys, and lions wrestle with each other.

I was literally 4 feet away from this majestic animal.

Wrestling lions

The food for the animals is donated too.

a resident bear enjoying some strawberries

Feeding time!

You can even sponsor an animal!