Great Cats World Park

About Great Cats World Park

Great Cats World Park is a wild cat park at 27919 Redwood Highway, about 1.2 miles south of Cave Junction, Oregon, on the Redwood Highway, Route 199. The park's website places it in the Siskiyou Mountains in southern Oregon and about 30 miles southwest of Grants Pass. It describes the park as a privately owned facility that opened to the public in 2005, occupying 11 acres with room for future expansion.

According to the website's About page, the park is home to over 50 individual cats representing 17 different species and subspecies. The park describes its purpose as educating the public and advocating conservation, and says it cooperates with the Species Survival Plan program, breeding some of the most endangered cats in the world. Wikipedia describes it as a privately owned roadside zoo focusing on big cats, located a few miles south of Cave Junction.

The park's About page presents its fully guided walking tours under the heading "What Sets Us Apart."

History

The park's website says the idea for the park was conceived in the autumn of 1983, after its founder met a cougar at a roadside game farm. That encounter led to a love and respect for cats of all kinds, and then to research and study and a wish to share the experience so that the public would better understand these animals. The page quotes the founder as saying that the cats are so special that a park devoted to them should exist.

Construction began in 2003 in a vacant field south of Cave Junction, and the park opened to the public in 2005. The website says it has hosted more than 120,000 visitors since opening. Wikipedia likewise gives 2003 as the year the land was purchased and 2005 as the year the park opened to the public.

The About page lists future plans. The park says construction is far from complete and that it hopes to enhance its exhibits, add more of them, and add a restaurant. It also says it intends to support global habitat conservation projects and field research.

Exhibits and habitats

The park's Cats of the World section groups its cats by continent and includes species pages for African wildcats, bobcats, caracals, clouded leopards, Eurasian lynx, fishing cats, Geoffroy's cats, jaguars, leopards, lions, ocelots, pumas, servals, snow leopards and tigers. Its category filters also list black jaguars, black leopards and Bengal tigers. The species pages give information such as conservation status, weight, diet and breeding biology for each kind of cat.

The website's Visitor Experiences page says benches are placed at each exhibit, and that wheelchairs and strollers are available at no cost. The About page states that on the guided tours, guides interact with the cats, bringing out natural behaviors through positive reinforcement, while discussing the habitats and life cycles of cats from around the world. The tours last about an hour and a half, according to the page, and each cat is invited to approach the front of its exhibit so guests can see it up close.

The Other Animals page says the park has more than cats and lists honey bees and peacocks among the other animals a visitor may encounter.

The park has a patio and gift shop. According to the Visitor Info page, the patio offers drinks, snacks and ice cream, and the gift shop stocks artwork, posters, apparel, postcards, magnets, books and calendars, many featuring the park's own cats.

Conservation and programs

The park's stated mission is to raise public awareness and support for cats of all kinds and to help people understand the role of predators in the wild. The website notes that felines are among the most endangered mammal groups, and says the park takes part in captive breeding programs intended to ensure these animals are not lost. The About page links to information on animal trafficking.

The Experiences page lists several programs beyond the standard tour. Field trips are offered for school groups, and the page says the park can be open any day by appointment. Photography sessions last two hours, cover at least five cats, and are accompanied by a keeper, and appointments must be booked at least one week in advance. The page says the enclosures have cutouts designed to fit a camera lens. The park also says it works with videographers and entertainment productions, hosts events such as parties, weddings and a Halloween celebration, and runs an annual Easter egg hunt and a community appreciation day for Illinois Valley residents. A traveling stage show takes some of the cats to outside events, according to the page.

The park runs a seasonal internship program for students and young professionals, described on its Internships page as giving hands-on experience with exotic cat care, USDA standards, husbandry, nutrition, enrichment, safety protocol and public speaking. Interns also serve as tour guides, according to the page.

Planning your visit

As listed on the park's website, the park is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays except Tuesdays, when it is closed, and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. The Visitor Info page also lists hours of 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Wednesday through Monday, from Memorial Weekend through Labor Day week, with 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. hours after Labor Day. The website asks visitors to arrive two hours before closing to see all the cats. Seasonal hours change, so the park's website is the place to confirm them before a trip.

Guided tours start around 11:15 a.m. on open days and rotate continuously. The website asks visitors to arrive by 1:30 p.m. to join the last guided tour of the day. Admission categories on the website cover adults, seniors, children and free entry for the youngest children, with discounts for groups of 15 or more and for school groups. Ticket details are on the park's website.

The park's phone number is 541-592-2957 and its email address is info@greatcatsworldpark.com, both listed on the website. The Visitor Info page also lists area attractions and lodging in the region, including Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve, about 20 miles east of the park.