Although there are many favorite wildlife & animal websites I like to visit, Shambala Preserve is one of my favorites. You definitely want to check it out at:
Shambala Preserve is run by Tippi Hedrin, who is the mother of Melanie Griffith. She has also an award winning actress & has starred in the award winning thriller “The Birds” by Alfred Hitchcock
THE ROAR FOUNDATION MISSION STATEMENT The Roar Foundation supports The Shambala Preserve and shares its mission: to educate the public about exotic animals and to advocate for legislation to protect them. To provide sanctuary for exotic animals who have suffered from gross mistreatment and neglect so they can regain their physical and mental health and live out their lives in dignity.
In 1981, Hedren produced Roar, a grueling, eleven-year project that ended up costing $17 million and starring dozens of African lions.[9] “This was probably one of the most dangerous films that Hollywood has ever seen”, remarked the actress. “It’s amazing no one was killed.” During the production of Roar, both Hedren and her husband at the time, Noel Marshall, were attacked by lions, and so were her daughter Melanie and Jan de Bont, the director of photography, was scalped. She later co-wrote the book Cats of Shambala (1985) about the experience of filming Roar.
Roar made only $2 million worldwide, and Hedren ended her marriage to Marshall a year later in 1982. But the film also directly led to the 1983 establishment of the non-profit Roar Foundation and Hedren’s Shambala Preserve, located at the edge of the Mojave Desert in Acton, California between the Antelope Valley and the Santa Clarita Valley 40 miles northeast of Los Angeles. A haven for endangered exotic big cats, Shambala currently houses some 70 animals, including African lions, Siberian and Bengal tigers, leopards, servals, mountain lions and bobcats. Hedren lives on the Shambala site and conducts monthly tours of the preserve for the public. She married for the third time to businessman Luis Barrenechea in 1985 but divorced him 10 years later. In 2002, she married veterinarian Dr. Martin Dinnes, who also shares her love for animals.
Hedren took in and cared for Togare, a lion that belonged to Anton LaVey, after he was told by San Francisco officials that he couldn’t keep a fully grown lion as a house pet. More recently, Shambala became the new home for Michael Jackson’s two Bengal tigers after he decided to close his zoo at his Neverland Valley Ranch in Los Olivos, California.
Several documentaries have focused on Shambala Preserve, including the 30-minute Lions: Kings of the Serengeti (1995), narrated by Melanie Griffith, and Animal Planet’s Life with Big Cats (1998), which won the Genesis Award for best documentary in 1999. The animals at the preserve served as the initial inspiration for the life’s work of artist A. E. London, who started her career working for Hedren.
Perched on the edge of the Mojave Desert, forty miles northeast of Los Angeles, California, Shambala is a surprising paradise and the only wild animal preserve of its kind in the United States. Since 1972, this unique eighty acre wildlife habitat has provided a haven for endangered exotic big cats. Currently, almost seventy animals live at Shambala, including African lions, Siberian and Bengal tigers, leopards, servals, mountain lions, bobcats, a lynx, and a Florida panther. Most of these animals were born in captivity, with many of them being orphans or cast-offs from circuses, zoos and private owners who could no longer care for them. None of them has ever been in the wild. All depend upon humans for their needs. With expert veterinary care, carefully planned diets and constant attention by a dedicated staff of professionals, Shambala provides a dignified life for these precious wild animals. Although there is no breeding program at the Preserve, organizations such as the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Fish and Game Departments of numerous states, and various zoos throughout the country have asked the Shambala Preserve to care for animals which have been abandoned or are in need of the unique environment provided only by Shambala. Shambala is maintained by the Roar Foundation, established in 1983 as a 501(C)(3) nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable organization under the laws of the State of California. The Preserve is open to the public.
Actress and conservationist, Tippi Hedren, serving as President of the Roar Foundation, guides the organization’s efforts to increase the public’s knowledge about wildlife in our world, and provides guidance and leadership in maintaining the beautiful Shambala Preserve for the wild beings for whom this haven was established. The Roar Foundation coordinates its efforts with those of other organizations on an international basis, and provides important educational opportunities for the public to appreciate the diversity of life and to increase its knowledge and concern for our world’s wildlife and wild places. An important part of this aspect of The Roar Foundation’s efforts is the series of wildlife programs presented for local children, and other youth groups, in the Southern California region.
Fun Facts:
When a male lion was mated with a female tiger the result is a Liger . When a female lion is mated with a male tiger, the result is a tiglon, or tigon! Be sure to click on Patrick on the Shambala Website to see how beautiful he is! http://www.shambala.org/
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The Liger:
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The Tigon:
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source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tippi_Hedren
There are also many interesting links regarding wildlife and animals on the Shambala website!
I just couldn’t resist this one!!! . . .
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