A new period of development is in process at a wildlife sanctuary in the Kaufman County area known as PrideRock Wildlife Refuge.

PrideRock is a 10-acre, nonprofit big cat sanctuary founded in 1992 to rescue abandoned, abused, neglected or displaced animals. It is home to lions, tigers, cougars, black bears, hybrid wolves and one lone hyena.

The expansion will include making outdoor bear pens on dirt ground, building large secure pastures for the cats, giving educational presentations to schools and civic organizations to teach the next generation about preserving wildlife and putting webcams in some enclosures so website visitors can watch the animals.

The refuge's mission is to provide permanent homes for animals for the rest of their lives, which includes a final resting place in an onsite cemetery where several are already buried. The animals come from private homes, carnivals and circuses. They cannot be released into the wild after being raised in captivity because they would lack the skills to survive. The only other choice would be euthanasia.

The inhabitants, which include about 33 exotic animals and another 10 domestic dogs, live in the facility in the East Texas woods on the way to Lake Tawakoni.

None of the refuge’s employees are allowed to enter the cages with the animals because they are unpredictable. Even if they meant a human no harm, they might injure someone playing. The big cats are massive. Their paws often are the size of soup bowls. Their strength is unmeasurable.

When it is time for feeding and cleaning cages, the animals are directed into enclosures that ensures the safety of the workers. No one is allowed near the cages during morning hours until after the animals are fed because they are most unpredictable when they are hungry.

The facility’s accommodations include a kitchen for food preparation and a large walk-in freezer storing meat. The freezer is refilled weekly for the animals’ voracious appetites. 

There is a staff of four, including a general manager, a publicist and two grounds maintenance workers. Interns visit the sanctuary, living in onsite housing, to help with the care of the animals.

Refuge operators hope the public will help in ithe expansion because large cats are becoming extinct. Exotic animals in captivity are often living in small cages and mistreated, according to animal rights advocates.

It is estimated by the refuge officials that more large cats exist in Texas than in the wild throughout the world.

The goal of the sanctuary is to allow the animals to live out the rest of their lives in a peaceful environment where they can exhibit natural behavior and not become stressed by being on exhibit as they do in zoos and roadside circuses.

For information about donating to or volunteering at PrideRock, visit www.priderock.org, call 972-345-8544 or email [email protected].