tiger creek wildlife refuge

These animal rescuers have an outstanding facility to spend a couple of hours at. A great place to take out of town guests. They personally escort you thru the facility and entertain you with background of the cats and lions.

This rescue site has nice large confinement areas for the big cats and each has a name and a story. lots of variety for a reasonable donation/fee

This is a wonderful place just 5 minutes off the Interstate. There is a guided tour that gives you a little information on the rescued animals. It's about a 20-30 minute tour & then you can walk on your own. They are growing & adding improved habitats for the animals. Very cool stopover.

My wife and I decided to stop in and give a look, it was well worth the time spent, the staff was pleasant and very knowledgeable about the lions and tigers history that live in the sanctuary, they are making nice upgrades to the facilities. They all seem to be cared for in a loving way. In my opinion it was worth them time to stop and visit. We definitely stop back in the future to see the final upgrades.

My best friend loves cats of all shapes and sizes so for her Fabulous 40 I decided to take her to Tiger Creek in Tyler, Texas. We live south of Fort Worth so the drive took a little over 2 hours. The time we selected to go was in the middle of a work week and it was not a peak travel time so the experience was pretty intimate. The only people on our tour were those that were in our group so that worked out great! The owners were very welcoming and excited to have us which is always a plus and the guide was very enthusiastic and you can tell she loves what she does. The cats do seem to be in small quarters but like others have mentioned they are building new houses for them so I hope they soon do not have to be in such small areas. The cats do not seem to mind, they appeared content with things so that made me feel a lot better about the small quarters. We were given a behind the scenes experience where we watched a training session with Pepe the lion. It was the best part of the entire thing so I recommend requesting an opportunity to watch something like that if it's possible. The cost for that additional experience was pricey compared to the cost to go on the basic tour ( $15 for the tour per person but $150 total for 3 people to have the tour + behind the scenes access ) It's a tax write off so keep your receipt. If you love tigers, lions, or cats of all kinds this is the perfect attraction for you! My friend loved it and even though I'm not as into cats I found it entertaining and worth the drive. The Tyler area is the "pineywoods" of Texas so the scenery is peaceful and gorgeous.

We enjoyed it very much. We printed a worksheet from their website for my daughter to fill out while we were there. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, friendly and patient with all our questions. We would definitely go back again.

We don't like seeing animals in captivity but they look like they really care about the tigers. The enclosures could be larger and they are busy building new ones. There were no proper toilet facilities other than porta-loos. The guide was very knowledgeable and the cats were gorgeous.

The guides are awesome and tell you the histories of each cat...i had no idea that a lion could recognize your sent years later..too cool

Loved this place. Rescue place for big cats: tigers, lions, pumas and wildcats. Guide explains the story behind each. Very touchingh. Clean facility and nice people. Visit takes about an hour, you can stay longer.

My family visited here and enjoyed it. You get a private tour guide when you go here the guides give tell you the animals story and it makes it interesting. This place saves cats they may other be put down if they don't take them in.

Our favorite animal place in Tyler. You are soooooo close to the animals. The tour guides definitely love their animals they care for. On a silly note, we had some little kids in our group with red hair. The tigers and cats loved them. They would walk by and get close to them. Just saying if you are signing up for a tour, go with a group with some little ones and let nature show you.

What a great place. Well kept, clean and plenty of room for the cats. Our guide, I believe Malissa was her name, was Super. This was her passion and it showed. She knew the cats by their roar. This is well worth taking the time to visit. This place is set-up so you can see the animals.

This place is so neat and fun to see! Our tour guide was very knowledge and really made the tour unique by telling us about each cat and their habits. I wanted to snuggle them all (obviously snuggling is not allowed) :). We had a great time!

Our guide was a wonderful intern from Tenessee. She knew each and every tiger and lion and their quirks. We had a wonderful visit. Great to see someone doing so much for these large cats.

Friday was another beautiful day, as we headed to Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge, in Tyler, Texas. Another terrific destination spot a mere 90 minutes or so from Dallas. Tiger Creek is a refuge for over three dozen big cats, the majority of which are various tiger breeds, but they also house a few lions, bobcats, and pumas, as well. We toured the grounds in a small group of 5 people, getting educated about tigers, and hearing the stories of how many of the cats wound up at Tiger Creek. One is an ex-circus cat, and many were raised by owners who didn't seem to really think all the way through the reality of having one of these magnificent creatures as a house pet. The vast majority are older (a few getting close to 20), but there are a couple of youngsters (around 2 years old) on the grounds. The enclosures are being upgraded nicely, and the building of a vet clinic on the grounds is underway. Everyone we encountered was extremely nice, and the executive director, Brian Werner, was extremely generous with his time, offering my wife and I a unique opportunity to hear the Tiger Creek story from one of the founders. Linda at the front desk, and our tour guide, Arielle, were most helpful and informative. We'll be going back, for sure. P.S. - After the tour, you're free to roam the grounds, take pictures, etc.