Despite mistaken identity, Big Cat Habitat in Sarasota is open

After Big Cat Rescue in Tampa closed, Kay Rosier says many people called to ask if Big Cat Habitat is out of business.

By Lesley Dwyer
| 10:00 a.m. April 24, 2023

East County
News

“Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” can now add a story about mistaken identity.

Big Cat Habitat & Gulf Coast Sanctuary on Palmer Boulevard in Sarasota is open for business, but there’s been some confusion since Carole Baskin closed down her Tampa facility known by a similar name, Big Cat Rescue.

“We’re getting tons of people who have been asking about it. Everyone we know is calling us and asking because all their friends are asking them,” said Clayton Rosaire, vice president and COO of Big Cat Habitat & Gulf Coast Sanctuary. “Because the names are so close, they’ve been mistaking our place for her place, for years.”

The confusion started long before the Netflix series began in 2020, making Carole Baskin and Big Cat Rescue household names. And the Rosaires has more than big cats in connection with the Netflix show’s star, Joe Exotica.

“Years ago, (Big Cat Rescue) sent us a cease and desist thing in the mail that said we had stolen their name and blah, blah, blah," Clayton Rosaire said. "Well, nonprofits, you can go online and look it up. Ours has always been the same name. It’s not a big deal. It’s not like we care. We’re animal people. We don’t do this to compete or get involved with any other humans. We do this to help animals.”

A local and less controversial tiger king and queen, Clayton Rosaire and his mother Kay Rosaire, the founder and CEO, run the sanctuary. Kay Rosaire began rescuing animals at the location in 1987 with no intention of opening to the public. She describes the sanctuary as their family farm.

Charging admission to help pay for the animals’ care was a natural response to the growing curiosity. Those who walk the Celery Fields early in the morning can hear the roars of the big cats as distinct as the birds chirping. Neighbors wanted to have a look for themselves, so the Rosaires were running informal tours on Fridays.

Clayton Rosaire gives a black jaguar a neck rub.

Now, Big Cat is open to the public four days a week. For the record, filing dates from the Florida Division of Corporation’s online database date back to June 1996 for Big Cat Habitat and only to Aug. 2003 for Big Cat Rescue.

Big Cat Rescue is now closed and is moving 35 of its cats from Tampa to Eureka Springs, Arkansas per an agreement with Turpentine Creek Wildlife Rescue.

Records and docu-dramas aside, the Rosaires simply want people to know they’re still open because visitors help support the over 300 animals living at the sanctuary.

“We have a small budget, and we work very hard to make everything very nice for our animals,” Clayton Rosaire said. “We depend on people coming out here to fund the place and keep it going.”

Clayton Rosaire’s review

With America locked down in the midst of a pandemic in 2020, Joe Exotica’s feud with Carole Baskin became the guilty pleasure no one was embarrassed to talk about. According to Nielsen, the series had 32 million viewers in the first 10 days and that doesn’t include views from phones, tablets and laptops.

As an insider in the world of what he calls “the crazy animal people,” here are a few of Clayton Rosaire's thoughts on the series.

“The only good thing that came from that show, I feel because we dealt with it for so long, is that part of the world finally realized how terrible Carole Baskin really is.”

“They never, ever talked about conservation. They never talked about good animal care. Carole Baskin didn’t say anything about that stuff. It was all about who had more boyfriends, who had more girlfriends, who’s husband was missing, never to be found.”

“If you just put on a show about a crazy guy and a weird lady and a bunch of weirdos, nobody would’ve wanted to watch — well, a couple people would have. But as soon as you put tigers and lions in, people love these animals, and they want to see good things. It was so sad that, at that time, nothing good came from that show.”

“It hurt the animal world all over our country. It made people doubt facilities that have been working for years and years to do the right thing. And then because of one TV show, suddenly, people think that everybody’s the bad guy.”

“(Baskin) bullied (Exotica) until he went crazy, but she did it to me, and she did it to a lot of other people, too. Some of us are just a little stronger than others, and some of us care so much about the animals that we’re willing to carry that burden.”

author

Lesley Dwyer

Lesley Dwyer is a staff writer for East County and a graduate of the University of South Florida. After earning a bachelor’s degree in professional and technical writing, she freelanced for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Lesley has lived in the Sarasota area for over 25 years.