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!
There are 49 lions on a 7 acre property and plenty of opportunities to see these majestic creatures up close.
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. :)
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.
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.
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!
<div align="center"><a href="http://estherandjacob.com/tag/local-adventures" title="Local Adventurer" target="_blank"><img src="http://localadventurer.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Local-Adventurer_1x.jpg" width="250" alt="Local Adventurer" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
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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