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Lion Habitat Ranch Las Vegas

Local Adventurer Link Up Feature: Lion Habitat Ranch Las Vegas.Pin

Welcome to the Local Adventurer Link Up. This is the third one and I’m thankful for everyone who has participated so far! :) The purpose of this link-up is to foster gratitude for the place you live, show others great local experiences that they might never find as a tourist, and to inspire others to explore and be present wherever they are.


Even though I had been to MGM on numerous occasions for photography conferences, I had never ventured over to the MGM Grand lions exhibit. The exhibit is now closed, but we discovered that you can still see the MGM lions at the Lion Habitat Ranch in Henderson. It’s 10 minutes from the strip and down the street from us!

This is one of the hidden gems of Las Vegas. Although the facility has been operational for over 40 years, it has only been open to the public for about two. Prior to that, the resident lions traveled back and forth to the MGM Casinos.

Lions in the wild live roughly 8-12 years, but in captivity they live 15-20 years. During the summer at the lion habitat, the lions can even enjoy air conditioning in their very own dens! What a life!

Local Adventure: Lion Habitat Las Vegas with MGM Grand Lions.Pin
Local Adventures Feature: Las Vegas Lion Habitat Ranch with MGM lion descendents.Pin

There are 49 lions on a 7 acre property and plenty of opportunities to see these majestic creatures up close.

MGM Lion Descendents at the Lion Habitat Las Vegas.Pin

When we walked towards their newest cubs that are now almost 2 years old, three of them rushed over to greet us rubbing their heads agains the fence for affection. It was really sweet to see how much the trainers and lions love each other. :)
Local Adventure: Visiting the Lion Habitat Las Vegas with MGM Lions.Pin
Local Adventures Feature: MGM Grand Lion Habitat Las Vegas.Pin
Local Adventures Feature: Lion Habitat Ranch Las Vegas with MGM Lions.Pin
MGM Lion Descendents at the Lion Habitat Las Vegas.Pin
Lion Habitat Ranch Las Vegas with MGM Lions.Pin
Local Adventures Feature: Lion Habitat Ranch Las Vegas with MGM Lions.Pin
Lion Habitat Ranch Las Vegas with MGM Grand Lions.Pin

It takes about a month for them to groom all the lions, and then they are back at the beginning of the rotation. These are their shampoo and conditioner bottles. I wonder if we can pick some of these up for ourselves at costco.
Lion Habitat Ranch Las Vegas.Pin

In one day, these lions go through 80 logs (each one is 5 lbs) of food a day. Jacob even got the opportunity to feed a couple lions! They just started the feeding program in June 2014.

Local Adventures: Hand Feeding Lions at the Lion Habitat Ranch Las Vegas.Pin

In addition to the lions, they’ve adopted a few other animals from the now closed Las Vegas Zoo, including ostriches, guinea fowl, and other birds. They are getting a baby giraffe by September 2014.

Lion Habitat Ranch
382 Bruner Ave
Henderson NV 89044
702.595.6666

Lion Habitat Ranch Las Vegas Programs & Activities:

  • General Admission: $20 for adults (+ one child), $10 for children under 14 and free under 3, $50 for families.
  • Las Vegas Local Day: 25% off the last Sunday of the month for locals.
  • Private tour: $100 a person for up to 10 people.
  • Hand Feeding a Lion: $100 per person per 1 lb of food. Additional $50 for second person.
  • Trainer for a day: $800 (learn to prepare a lion’s daily food, feed, water, and bathe a lion, clean a lion cage, and work a adult lion to the “mark” like in the movies).
  • Photos with cubs: $30 (when cubs are available)
  • Swim with cubs: $1000 (when cubs are available).
  • Check the website for current ranch hours and for more information on party rentals and private events.

Now I want a lion so bad!! But I decided if I can’t have a lion, this is the next best thing! I’m getting it!

DISCOVERY CONSISTS NOT OF SEEKING NEW LANDS BUT SEEING WITH NEW EYES.

LOCAL ADVENTURER LINK UP RULES

1. Share your most recent post about a local adventure (i.e., a new area of town or a new food spot you checked out) either in your own hometown or within driving distance. Doesn’t have to be a Thursday post, but mine just happens to be. Unrelated entries or ones linked to your homepage will be deleted.

2. Link back to this site so that others can join in on the fun! Feel free to use the button below if you like!

Local AdventurerPin

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3. MOST IMPORTANTLY you MUST visit the person’s blog linked up directly before you and leave them a comment.

4. If you tweet out your local adventure post with #localadventurer I will retweet your link!


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What’s your must see zoo animal?

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This Post Has 21 Comments

  1. Paige Williams

    This link up is so fun! I might just have to participate sometime soon. You photos of these lions are beautiful.

  2. Leanna Ranieri

    This is great! I am from Vegas and I love the habitat! Such a great linkup! I will have to be sure to link up!

    1. esther julee

      Thank you Leanna! :) I would love for you to link up. Ooh maybe I will have to get some tips from you on where else to go. We’ve only been living here since Feb.

      1. Leanna Ranieri

        Yes I would love to give you some tips! There are so many things to do there! Hope you are enjoying it and that the heat isn’t getting too hot yet!

  3. Mia Myrabev

    Great post, I laughed (in a good way) that affection and lion were in same sentence because the lions I came across affection doesn’t come close but then again they were in the wild x

    1. esther julee

      Thank you! When were you with lions in the wild?? Sounds so cool! The trainer and the lions have great relationships, but I definitely would not want to be on the other side of the fence. :)

  4. Rebekah

    Beautiful photos! I can’t wait to visit Vegas one day!

    1. esther julee

      Thank you @disqus_I17G5UyM9z:disqus! :) You totally should!

  5. Hima

    ohmygosh thisis so fun! I love the idea of having adventures in your own town! :)

    xo, Hima

    Hima Hearts

    1. esther julee

      let me know if you go on one! would love for you to participate in the link up :D

  6. Fun! I’m cheating a little with my link (I don’t live in Madison, WI any more) but I love this link-up!

    1. esther julee

      Not cheating at all! :) I definitely have a bunch from LA that I still need to blog even though we’re no longer locals there. As long as it’s an insider’s view on Madison, it’s all good!

  7. Erika

    This looks so cool! This is awesome that they still give people a chance to see the Lions even though the habitat/shows don’t really exist anymore. Those lions are so big but beautiful! And that’s crazy about the amounts of shampoo they go through. I wonder if some of them are like, “I really want to cut my hair… I’m so tired how frizzy and uncomfortable it gets in this Las Vegas heat.” I also think it’s cool that they live LONGER in captivity!

    1. esther julee

      We got to feel some of the hair.. IT IS FRIZZY and tangled. No wonder it takes so long to groom them. I’m sure it gets hot, but they do have their own AC if they want! haha

  8. Hsiao-Ting

    Haha i never knew MGM had lion exhibits. Did they look happy?? I hope they’re happier than the killer whales at Sea World ><

    1. esther julee

      I think they’re kinda spoiled haha with their own AC! :P Yeah that movie Blackfish makes you think twice. I’m not sure the history on how they got the lions in the first place, but these have been lions in captivity for generations. I don’t think they know much about being out in the wild. They have been getting a lot of the animals from the zoo that was shut down because the animals were so poorly taken care of, and they have to nurse some back to health.. so it appears that the animals are well taken care of. The cubs that are 2 years old.. they act just like Mika!! Super affectionate and cute!!

  9. This is so cool! I want to feed a lion! I always want to see the big cats and the elephants when we go to the zoo.

    1. esther julee

      same!! :) I look for all the exotic cats. Come visit Vegas!

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