A Safe Haven For All Shapes And Sizes

By ELAINE MARKOWITZ Tribune correspondent

Published: May 12, 2007

WIMAUMA - Robin Greenwood leads two lives.

Her job as a Tampa information technologist provides the money for her weekend life - protector of large exotic animals.

That passion began in 1987, when Greenwood and her late husband, Ted, moved from Tampa to Sundance in south Hillsborough County with their slew of cats, dogs, prairie dogs and ferrets.

"We always had an interest in animals," she said one recent morning, "but in Sundance, we discovered people with large animals."

The couple slowly became involved in rescuing large cats and for many years housed them on property owned by David Kitchen off West Lake Road in Wimauma. In 2005, they leased 28 acres of Kitchen's land, incorporated as a nonprofit organization and created a sanctuary for large animals in need of a home. They named their place Elmira's Wildlife Sanctuary in honor of their first acquisition, a North American black bear they named Elmira.

With the help of more than a dozen volunteers, Greenwood, who was widowed last year, feeds and cares for denizens of the jungle, including lions, tigers, leopards, lemurs, black bears and servals, medium-sized cats from Africa. To help others to appreciate the wonder of these creatures, she recently opened the sanctuary to Saturday tours by appointment.

The large cats are kept in roomy cages, as are parrots, cockatoos and macaws, but throughout the property other creatures roam freely. Swans, geese, ducks and peacocks flash bright colors as they swim or waddle by. That morning, several alligators could be seen taking naps on the sunny bank of a pond.

From its inception, the sanctuary filled a need, as people brought more animals to the Wimauma haven. Greenwood said the animals accrued over a period of seven or eight years.

"All of our animals come from legitimate sources who, for one reason or another, couldn't keep them anymore," she said.

She said some of the animals came from other sanctuaries that closed. Others came from private owners who gave them up.

Greenwood said she has no immediate plans to acquire other animals, but she conceded she likely will get some anyway.

"Somebody will call who needs help with an animal, and we'll take it," she said.

Greenwood said she depends on volunteers, five of whom hold a Class I license from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

"That license qualifies us to work with large animals," Greenwood said.

Some 10 other volunteers come to the sanctuary regularly and work with those holding licenses.

"They feed the smaller animals, clean cages and pools and do other chores," Greenwood said.

Some of the work at the sanctuary is challenging, she said, particularly if an animal is ill.

"We have a vet check once a year," she said of routine visits by veterinarians to the sanctuary. "But if the animal is really sick, we have to transport it."

That task involves renting a van or truck and coaxing the animal into a travel cage.

Of all the challenges, the greatest is securing enough money to care for Greenwood's exotic charges.

When she opened the sanctuary, she and her husband footed almost all the bills.

"We housed them and fed them out of our own pockets," she said. More donations have come through in recent years, but Greenwood worries.

"What if a major vet bill comes along?" she asked. Three big bills came in last year to cover care for the animals, and Greenwood and some of her volunteers used their own money to pay them.

Food is also a major expense.

"The cats go through 100 pounds of chicken a day," she said.

Some of the animals eat beef as well, and none goes to waste.

"They eat everything raw - bones and all," she said. "It's important for them to eat the bones because they need the roughage."

Smaller animals rely on fruits and vegetables. Grapes, bananas and apples, Greenwood said, are staples.

The sanctuary also pays $100 to $200 every two weeks for dry food, such as bird food, dry dog food for the bears and grain and corn for the turkeys and geese.

Somehow the bills get paid.

"This is a labor of love," Greenwood said. The sanctuary is "not a money maker."

For information, call (813) 634-4115 or visit www.elmiraswildlife.org.