"Mile into the Wild" Walkway

I spent the day at the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg with Lara and our niece, Tasha. The mile long, raised walk way is truly incredible in terms of offering the public a birds eye view of all the habitats as well as it being non disruptive to the animal who have found sanctuary at this home.

Every time I visit this 720 acre refuge, I am more in awe of the long term vision this organization has for caring for its rescued lions, tigers, bears, and wolves. The facility itself is a testament to quality of care they give these animals. Knowing they could not add stress to the already troubled animals by allowing the public in to view their habitats at ground level, they simply chose to not allow visitors at all for many years. It wasn't until 2002 that the sanctuary was able to build this ingenious, unobtrusive observation system. The animals do not consider the sky part of their territory and could care less about all the strangers that come to see them everyday.

This innovative concept of elevated walkways and viewing decks is such a remarkable breakthrough, it is changing the way other facilities where wild animals are kept in captivity design their observations systems, protecting the dominion and freedom of the animals.