Great Cats World Park

Great Cats World Park
Zoo logo
42.141164°N 123.658976°W / 42.141164; -123.658976
Date opened	May 2005
Location	Cave Junction, Oregon, United States
Website	greatcatsworldpark.com

Great Cats World Park is a privately-owned roadside zoo focusing on big cats. It is located a few miles south of Cave Junction, Oregon, United States. It is owned and managed by Craig Wagner, and is not an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

History

Great Cats World Park was built on a 10-acre lot bordering the Redwood Highway. The land was purchased in 2003, and the facility opened to the public in 2005.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service probation

A serval at Great Cats World Park.

In September 2007, Great Cats World Park was sentenced by a federal court to one month probation for violation of the Endangered Species Act and fined $10,000. Owner Craig Wagner pleaded guilty in June 2007 to purchasing the park's ocelot for $3,000. There is a near-total ban on ocelot sales in order to discourage the commercialization of the rare animals.[1] The ocelot was purchased from the Isis Society for Inspirational Studies, who were given two years probation and fined $60,000. The ocelot will continue to live at Great Cats World Park. According to Phil Land, the resident U.S. Fish and Wildlife agent in charge, "Sometimes it's actually better to leave them with the people that care for them. Then we don't have to try to find a place for them."[2]

Safety incidents

In 2016, a park employee was hospitalized after being bitten in the arm by one of the tigers at the facility.[3] A United States Department of Agriculture spokesperson confirmed that federal complaints against the facility had been filed after four reports of animal bites over the years.[4]

Cats

A white tiger and its handler at Great Cats World Park.

As of 2014, Great Cats World Park is home over 50 cats, which includes 17 different species and subspecies, including cougars, leopards, jaguars, African lions, tigers, fishing cats, and an African wild cat.[5][6]

See also

• List of companies based in Oregon

Notes

1. Grube, Nicholas (September 19, 2007). "Officials pounce on Ore. attraction". The Daily Triplicate. Archived from the original on May 30, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
2. Grube, Nicholas (September 21, 2007). "Cat park remains open despite illegal activity". The Daily Triplicate. Retrieved September 29, 2007. ^[dead link‍]
3. Oregonian/OregonLive, Eder Campuzano | The (June 17, 2016). "Tiger bites big cats park employee in Cave Junction". oregonlive. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
4. Rakhshani, Ariana (July 5, 2016). "Great Cats World Park a waiting a hearing after multiple attacks over the years. These charges were later dropped, as the employee did not want to press charges and they were only able to locate one other incident which was not severe". KTVL. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
5. "Some folks are cat people". Illinois Valley News. Archived from the original on August 10, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
6. "Great Cats World Park". Archived from the original on November 18, 2014. Information from official Great Cats World Park website

External links