Lions Tigers & Bears is an Alpine non-profit organization dedicated to providing shelter for abused and abandoned exotic animals.
To find out more, this newspaper’s sister newspaper, the Light of La Jolla, asked founder and director Bobbi Brink the following questions:
Q. When did your establishment begin? Who founded it? What is his mission ?
A. I founded the San Diego Lions Tigers & Bears in 2002 when I received a call about two tigers named Raja and Natasha who were living in a 6-foot by 12-foot wire enclosure in a backyard in Texas. The owner bought the tigers as a gift for his wife, but they were going through a divorce and he didn’t want his wife to have the tigers.
I wanted to create an animal sanctuary…after working with animals since 1990 and witnessing the abuses of the exotic animal trade while living in Texas.
When I got the call, I knew I had to act quickly, and in less than 30 days I secured the permit, funding, transportation and location to bring the cats to Alpine, the same site where the sanctuary is located today. What started with the rescue of Raja and Natasha has now become Lions Tigers & Bears, home to more than 65 animals from 19 species.
Lions Tigers & Bears provides sanctuary for abused and abandoned exotic animals and inspires an educational forum to end the exotic animal trade. As a federally licensed 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Lions Tigers & Bears enables animals in its care to live their lives with dignity in a caring and safe environment.
I also work across the country to coordinate the rescue of big cats, bears and exotic animals and relocating them to reputable sanctuaries where they will live in peace. …To date, the LTB rescue team has saved more than 1,100 big cats, bears, wolves and other animals.
Q. What services do you offer?
A. Lions Tigers & Bears is a sanctuary for retired circus animals, exotic animals once used for photo ops and petting, and abandoned and illegally owned big cats, all of whom have been rescued and given forever a home in large open habitats.
The public is invited to book tours, become a member, host events or stay overnight at White Oak Wild Nights, the two-bedroom private luxury retreat on-site.
On the tours, which run Wednesday through Saturday, guests embark on a two-hour guided tour of the sanctuary to learn about each of the animals and their rescue stories. Guests can even feed the animals as part of their daily diet with a keeper during a “Feed with the Keeper” or “Behind the Scenes” experience for those 18 or older.
At White Oak Wild Nights, guests can enjoy multiple pools and a hot tub, an outdoor kitchen, wander the sanctuary, observe animals, and choose to have a meal prepared by a local private chef.
![Bobbi Brink founded the Lions Tigers & Bears in 2002.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d31c66b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3024x4032+0+0/resize/1200x1600!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff3%2F06%2Fe0b786ac4b248d854906ec1adf7c%2Fbobbi-brink-headshot-2021.jpg)
Bobbi Brink founded the Lions Tigers & Bears in 2002.
(Lions Tigers and Bears)
Q. What makes you and your company unique compared to similar companies?
A. Lions Tigers & Bears is San Diego’s only big cat and bear sanctuary and the first in Southern California. The sanctuary is one of the only ones in the country to be accredited by both the World Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and the American Sanctuary Association. To be accredited, a sanctuary must meet very strict guidelines regarding habitat size, animal care, etc.
All the animals in the sanctuary have been saved. They each have a unique story, but what they have in common is being victims of the exotic animal trade. They were born in captivity, used for profit – for example for petting young, in the entertainment industry or in roadside zoos – and then abandoned. Others have been bred and sold as pets, then their owners abandon them or try to sell them because they don’t have the ability or know-how to care for them.
The sanctuary is nestled on 143 acres on the edge of the Cleveland National Forest and provides a peaceful life for exotic and ranch animals (lions, tigers, black bears, grizzly bears, bobcats, a leopard, a mountain lion, servals , llamas, horses, a donkey, goats, sheep, chickens, peacocks and a macaw).
At Lions Tigers & Bears we do not buy, sell, breed, trade or exploit animals. This is a contactless facility, meaning no visitor or staff member will ever have one-on-one contact with these animals.
Q. What are some recent developments you want everyone to know about?
A. Lions Tigers & Bears has rescued and taken in 15 animals since 2021, including a tiger from an abandoned Oklahoma zoo, a 700-pound grizzly bear removed from the film industry, and two Himalayan black bears neglected for years by a deceased roadside. zoo.
My team and I are often the first call for law enforcement to rescue an animal, as we are one of the only sanctuaries in the country equipped to rescue, transport and provide veterinary care to rescued animals. We have a state-of-the-art 18-wheel self-contained animal rescue transporter that provides a safe space for animals to make them as comfortable as possible on their journey to their new home.
Additionally, there are many opportunities to volunteer – including meal preparation, special events and office help, carpentry or even tour guide training – and each task is important to the operation of the sanctuary .
Learn more about lionstigersandbears.org.
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