{"id":840187,"date":"2020-02-24T11:20:09","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T19:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/vegas-with-an-edge\/?p=2394"},"modified":"2020-02-24T11:20:09","modified_gmt":"2020-02-24T19:20:09","slug":"since-you-asked-lion-habitat-ranch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/blog\/since-you-asked-lion-habitat-ranch\/","title":{"rendered":"Since You Asked \u2014 Lion Habitat Ranch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

[Editor\u2019s Note: Our new blogger, Floridian \u201cDapper\u201d Dave Kamsler, is a Vegas veteran, having made more than 50 trips, ranging from three days to three weeks, in his Vegas “career.” He estimates that he’s spent 3% of his life in Las Vegas hotel rooms. He’s a CPA who’s also done some sportscasting on radio and television, and he was one of only 39 winners (out of 206,000 entrants) in FanDuel’s 2019 NFL Survivor Pool, so he’ll have some insight to offer on sports as well. Most of all, he’s stayed at plenty of places and done plenty of things in Vegas that you’ve only heard about \u2014 and many that you haven’t \u2014 so he’ll offer up trip reviews and photos to help you discover and enjoy more of our favorite city. Take it: Dave.]    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hey, remember when the MGM Grand used to have live\nlions? I\u2019m sure you never stopped to think about it, but those lions didn\u2019t\nactually live on the casino floor. The lived off-site and were transported to\nthe MGM Grand every day. (And no, there\u2019s no truth to the rumor that the lions\nwere banned from the casino for counting cards!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The lions still live in Vegas, even though they haven\u2019t been at the MGM in years. \u00a0And you can still see them\u2014at the Lion Habitat Ranch in Henderson, around the corner from the M Resort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you feel like escaping the Strip for half a day,\ntake a little side trip down to Henderson. It\u2019s a quick 20-minute car ride from\nthe south end of the Strip to the M, whose Studio B buffet is one of the best\nin town. Then take a 20-minute walk or a 5-minute ride to the Lion Habitat\nRanch, located at 382 Bruner Avenue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ranch is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides sanctuary and care for the lions and other animals, including birds and even a giraffe named Ozzie (the only giraffe living in the state of Nevada). Their hours vary seasonally, so check the website or call ahead for the most up-to-date information, but they\u2019re usually open Thursday through Monday. Admission options vary, as several \u201cup- close\u201d tours can be booked. I went with the Behind the Scenes Tour, which is a private guided tour with one of their trainers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I learned a lot about these majestic creatures. My wife and I are crazy cat people and it was fun to see the lions behave as larger versions of our cuddly pets \u2013 rolling on the ground and showing their bellies to indicate trust and rubbing up against the trainer to show affection. I even got to help feed Ozzie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Ranch is also home to some beautiful exotic birds, such as parrots and ostriches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019d recommend allocating about two hours for your\nvisit in order to see everything. Bring sunscreen, a hat, and plenty of water,\nsince that\u2019s a long time to be out in the hot Vegas sun if you\u2019re not used to\nit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re a Harry Potter fan, cap off your little\nHenderson adventure with a visit to Bad Owl Coffee (10575 S. Eastern Avenue), a\nHarry Potter-themed coffee shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lions, lunch, and Harry Potter \u2014 and you can be back\nin your hotel room before your friends have even finished sleeping off their\nhangovers. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Editor\u2019s Note: Our new blogger, Floridian \u201cDapper\u201d Dave Kamsler, is a Vegas veteran, having made more than 50 trips, ranging from three days to three weeks, in his Vegas “career.” He estimates that he’s spent 3% of his life in Las Vegas hotel rooms. He’s a CPA who’s also done some sportscasting on radio and television, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10317,"featured_media":2412,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Since You Asked \u2014 Lion Habitat Ranch by Dapper Dave","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1083],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840187"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10317"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=840187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=840187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=840187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=840187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}