SAFE HAVEN ACCEPTS COUGARS FOR PERMANENT PLACEMENT ONLY.

Our cougars are available for sponsorship in our Adopt-an-Animal program.

Safe Haven is the permanent home of three cougars: Savannah, Cooper, and Max.

Savannah (left) and her brother Tahoe (d. 2010) were rescued from a roadside zoo that bred animals for profit. The zoo was preparing to close, leaving them without a home. Savannah loves to lounge on top of her den. When anyone is around, look for her to pose luxuriously, expecting to be admired.

Cooper (right), a northern cougar, was born and orphaned in Washington in September 2004. A family raised him for several weeks until before he was placed at Safe Haven. When he arrived, he was a very small spotted cub with blue eyes. He lived in Safe Haven’s clinic building until his first spring, when he was moved outside to share an enclosure with Montana (d. 2010).

MAX'S RESCUE STORY

In a coordinated effort with In-Sync Exotics in Texas and Big Cat Rescue in Florida, Safe Haven accepted a 10-year-old male cougar from Texas in the summer of 2011. A three-member team from Big Cat Rescue drove all the way from Tampa to Texas to Safe Haven, delivering the cougar to us on July 29. The transport team donated their time and the considerable cost of the week-long, 5,500-mile round trip.

The cougar—formerly named "Abel" but now renamed "Max"—was in dire need. He had been housed since birth in a 12 x 12-ft. stall in a pole barn on a private "collector's" property in Poetry, TX. His only source of light—and minimal contact with the outside world—was a pair of windows. Max was never outdoors until his rescue.

Max's tragic history demonstrates the life of cruelty, abuse, and neglect that is led by many "exotic pets." When his owner died, she left behind a "collection" of twenty big cats that had lived for years in appalling conditions. Some of the animals were injured and maimed; others were in stalls with the remains of their deceased predecessors buried only inches below.

In-Sync Exotics, located near Poetry, spearheaded the rescue of these unfortunate animals. We will be forever grateful to our friends at In-Sync Exotics (Vicky Keahey, President & CEO) and Big Cat Rescue (Carole Baskin, Founder & CEO) for the massive effort that they put into rescuing these animals and bringing Max to us.

For press coverage with photos, see Mark Robison's report for the Reno Gazette-Journal. In-Sync Exotics has posted a video showing the heartbreaking conditions in which these animals were living.

Cougars in the Wild (Felis concolor)

• The cougar is also commonly known as the mountain lion, puma, or American lion.
   
• Their habitat extends from the northwestern United State, south through Texas to Mexico and Central America. Once a cougar establishes a home range, he usually remains there for life.
   
• Cougars just like to be left alone! Except during periods of reproduction, cougars are solitary. Cougars avoid territorial confrontations. When encountering signs of another cougars, the animal will simply avoid the area.
   
• Cougars are born blind, with spots that gradually fade. Kits may stay with the mother until two years of age.
   
• Cougar vocalizations include chirping, growling, hissing, whistling and purring.
   
• Their primary food is deer. They rarely hunt ranch animals, unless other prey food sources become unavailable.
   
• Cougars do not usually survive in the wild past the age of 10. They can live up to 20 years in captivity.
   
• The cougar’s worst enemy is man.