Advertisement

Big cat refuge seeks better security

A tiger at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, on September 20, 2011. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg
A tiger at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, on September 20, 2011. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg | License Photo

Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter

CALHAN, Colo., Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A Colorado wildlife center with more than 120 big cats says it is raising money for a security system after two recent break-ins.

Nick Sculac, owner of Serenity Springs Wildlife Center in Calhan, said he is worried about what could happen if a trespasser ends up in a confrontation with a tiger or other big cat, The (Colorado Springs) Gazette reported Thursday.

Advertisement

"I don't know if they were high or what," Sculac said of the recent trespassers. "But I'm worried. If these guys had gotten eaten, I would have been the one to be in trouble."

Sculac said the first incident took place in January, when someone scaled a fence and cut a hole in a cage to allow three tigers to escape into the compound.

"Luckily they were the three tigers we raised and they were nice," Sculac said. "We have some other cats that, if they had broken open those cages, that person would have been torn to shreds. He would have been eaten in a heartbeat."

Sculac said the second incident happened Jan. 26, the day after the center was featured on cable TV show "Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy." He said workers found a man and a woman attempting to reach into a cougar cage to pet an animal.

Advertisement

Latest Headlines