Mufasa watches us watch him.

I stood just inches away from the tawny lion. His sleek body rippled with the muscles needed to bring down a large prey with just one swipe of his huge paw, or one clamp of his powerful jaws. His eyes were amber flecked with coffee colored specks. I had been to countless zoos but this was as close as I had ever gotten to this proud king of the jungle. I was touring the St. Augustine Wild Reserve, one of Saint Johns County's best-kept secrets.  The lion's name is Mufasa, and like the reserve's founder, Deborah Warrick, he has traveled a long route to Saint John's County from California. 

Mufasa once belonged to Michael Jackson and lived on his Neverland Ranch but when Jackson no longer wanted him, he sent Mufasa along with five Artic wolves to Deborah to care for. Since Deborah has worked with exotic animals since childhood and established her wild life reserve originally in California, then moved it to Florida when she designed a wolf habitat for Busch Gardens; she is eminently qualified to care for Mufasa and the other exotic wild life.  

Not only are Mufasa and the wolves well cared for, they are in very good company,. Saint Augustine Wild Reserve is also home to a menagerie of wonderful wildlife. 

On our tour, Karen, a highly knowledgeable guide led us around the seven-acre compound and introduced us to each of the residents. First to greet us even before we entered the enclosure are the turkeys. Karen warned, "They are friendly but love to peck at any shiny objects."

Natasha munches on her dinner

First we met Natasha, a three-year-old Siberian lynx who came to them about seven months ago. Natasha came to the refuge from the fish and wildlife department. The confiscated her from a woman who had bought her as a "pet" for her children. The big cat had other ideas about her role in life and had been banished to a garage to live out its life in the closed area with no view and only the necessary food to keep her physically healthy. No thought was given her emotional needs. Debbie and some of the other volunteers have been working with Natasha and Karen reports, "The first few months she hid behind her enclosure but now when there is just one of us we can get close and talk to her." 

Onyx and Deborah

 As we approached the next cage, Onyx, an Asian melanistist leopard, greeted us. This huge cat began to purr like a large kitten at the sight of Deborah and the food brigand. Karen informed her, "She loves Deborah and abhors the rest of us. That is not unusual, as leopards tend to be a one-person cat. Deborah has raised her from a kitten." Since Deborah was leaning against the back cage wire and Onyx was rubbing against her like she had just been reunited with a lifelong buddy and rolling on her back like any happy house cat, that statement was pretty obvious.  

Onyx had bone cancer in 2001 and had to have one leg amputated. At the time, the vets gave her just a few months to live. She is now twelve years old and gets around well. She had been featured on Ripley's Believe it or Not Television Show. As "World's Most Unbelievable Animal." 

The reserve is unique in that it has a second three-legged leopard that was given to Deborah.This second leopard lost its leg when it stepped into a leg trap. As Karen pointed out, "What a shame we couldn't take the person who set the trap and put him into it."

There are also many other big cats, panthers, caracals, servals, bobcats and tigers, including a white tiger, Angel. It's not only home to exotic cats. The reserve shelters wolves, squirrels, foxes, lemurs and many more. 

Karen interacts with Angel

 Most of these animals had a sad life before arriving at the refuge. Some like Anubis and Nova, a pair of wolves, were seized by Florida Fish and Wildlife from smugglers who brought the animals into Florida without permits or health certificates. Obviously they were destined to be sold to the highest bidder with no regard to the animal's welfare.  Others have been confiscated from owners who no longer want the animal when they realize the time and expense necessary to properly care for the animals. Some have been physically abused others neglected.  

Savuti is a serval, native to the African savannah. That is his stuffed toy not his dinner.

Here at the Saint Augustine Wild Reserve, they get the chance to live out their lives in comfort surrounded by people who love them, feed them properly and, as much as possible, interact with them.  The upside for you and I is that we can get a rare chance to tour the facility and learn about these wonderful creatures up very close and personal. Deborah is offering a unique attraction that is different from any zoo experience you may have had. What a wonderful way for children to learn that each exotic animal is an individual not just one of a group! 

Sable, one of the older wolves at the reserve

Deborah is totally qualified to provide both the love and care the animals need and the opportunity for a unique learning experience for visitors. She has trained at the Los Angeles Zoo, has degrees in Holistic Nutrition to better care for the animals' nutritional needs and is currently working on her B.S. degree in Biology and plans to continue on to veterinary school. She started the reserve seven years ago but her interest has been lifelong. She stated, "At seven or eight, when most kids had cats and dogs, I had spiders and bugs. I knew I wanted a lion one day but the wolves came first. I guess they are my first love."

To arrange a tour:
phone (904) 940-0664
e-mail, chufff@aol.com
http://www.staugustinewildreserve.org