About 1,000 people visited the Carson Springs Wildlife Conservation Foundation for its first Spring Safari.
Cara Vogel said a love for cats brought her to Carson Springs, where tigers, cougars and a cheetah live among a total of 70 animals.
The foundation opens its doors two days each year, and Saturday was the first time it opened in the spring.
“I think it’s an awesome thing that they’re opening it to the public,” said Vogel, a 20-year-old UF animal sciences junior.
The five-hour-long event allowed visitors to roam the grounds without a tour guide. Volunteers stood at each habitat and explained the animals’ personalities and stories.
The resident warthogs, Winnie and Wilfred, raced each other down a dirt path as spectators made bets.
Barry Janks, a co-founder of the foundation, said he lived with his wife, Christine, in South Africa for about four to five years.
They decided to open the sanctuary in 2007 after the commute from South Africa to their second home in Gainesville became too tiring, Barry Janks said.
“At first it was just some endangered animals like older cheetahs,” he said. “All of a sudden it ended up being a whole bunch.”
Barry Janks and his wife now live just yards from many of the animals, including a giraffe named Rory, on the 274-acre sanctuary.
“We try to make (the animals) as happy as possible,” he said.
Money raised Saturday will help pay for the animals’ food and medical expenses, he said. The sanctuary does not receive federal or state funding.
The foundation, Barry Janks said, houses several endangered species such as two red ruffed lemurs named Mara and Sugar Bear.
Carson Springs posted on Facebook on Sunday to congratulate the lemurs on their three new children.
“We just want to make people aware that a lot of animals and species are getting wiped out,” he said.
Jenn Spencer, a volunteer from All Cats Healthcare Clinic, interacts with Scarlett, a 1-year-old spotted hyena, at Carson Springs Wildlife Conservation Foundation on Saturday. The conservation held its first Spring Safari Saturday, an event that allowed visitors to roam the grounds without a tour guide.
