![]() ![]() and the sanctuary will be open to the public until 3 p.m. The event will have animal activities, food trucks, craft vendors, the mini-petting zoo, a nature trail and more. I love it,” Moore said.įor more information visit: Want to go to the grand opening? "It's just a really cool thing to look into the actual animal (which gives) just a different angle. They have done smaller public events such as going to schools, the Pensacola Arts Market, birthday parties and churches, and would eventually like to create an event pavilion where people can get married or hold other events on the property.ĭocumentaries like Netflix’s Tiger King or Blackfish have exposed people to the unethical ways of caring for animals, which Johnson and Moore see Sunset Wildlife Connection as a positive venue to help people understand the critters of all stripes need love, protection and a place to call home. Their open land will be used for on-property tours and events, camps and more. When Johnson graduated from UWF in December of 2020, the women joined forces the create the Sunset Wildlife Connection and to promote responsible pet ownership and wildlife conservation, and to give guests a unique connection with the small animals they house. Moore became a zookeeper at the Gulf Breeze Zoo. The two met each other in 2016 when they were both working in Orlando at Joel Slaven’s Professional Animals, an animal training company that did shows in Busch Gardens and SeaWorld Orlando.Įventually, both moved to the Pensacola area where Johnson attended the University of West Florida and received a bachelor's in legal studies with a minor in environmental science. Her love of animals and working with children helped lead her into a career of taking care of animals and educating people about them. Moore grew up on an alpaca farm in Tampa Bay where her parents often brought home exotic animals for her to play with. The women's journeys to launching the sanctuary both started when they were young. Most of all, they hope their animals are viewed as ambassadors to their species to let people experience what they bring to the world look and how it feels to be in their presence. Johnson and Moore hope to expand their sanctuary by adding more enclosures for animals like owls, hawks and foxes. The sanctuary does not rehabilitate injured animals, but does provide permanent homes for animals that have been rehabilitated by other organizations like the Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida in Pensacola or the Alchemy Rescue & Sanctuary in Mobile, Alabama. For instance, military families deploying to a new location might drop off an exotic pet like a snake, or people might find abandoned pets in the wild that aren't a good fit for a traditional animal shelter. Often the animals in the sanctuary are handed over by members of the public. 28 is also World Geoffrey's Cat Day - a celebration of a species of small wild cat native to South America - and the sanctuary will show off its Geoffroy's cat Capt. ![]() During the grand opening, the public will be able to see rabbits, chinchillas, guinea pigs, chickens, tarantulas, scorpions and more. Sunset Wildlife Connection, located at 997 Cotton Lake Road in Molino, is a nonprofit sanctuary dedicated to animal conservation and educating the public about the importance of wildlife and wild places.Ĭurrently, on their 6 acres land, they house over 25 species of animals including a white bald python, a prairie dog and many reptiles. 28, Johnson and Moore will expand that mission with the grand opening of their new wildlife sanctuary, Sunset Wildlife Connection. She started off at a petting zoo and went to Sante Fe College in Gainesville where she received an associates degree in zoo animal technology. Some of Johnson's first words as a toddler were animal names, and from early on her family knew she was going to work with animals as a career. Gulf Breeze Zoo: How the Gulf Breeze Zoo is expanding beyond animals (hint: think fossils and gems) Humane Society shutdown: Pensacola Humane Society has been closed 'until further notice'
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