Haven on Earth

Nestled in the great Northwest of San Antonio sits a sprawling wild animal sanctuary, called the (WAO) Wild Animal Orphanage. It is located on Leslie Rd. and 1604. It is an ideal location with easy access. It was established in 1983 through the efforts of Carol Asvestas. It started with her nursing a bird back to health. She saw the crucial need for an animal sanctuary in the area. It is through her determination and great efforts that this sanctuary was made possible. She is the founder and is still the acting director. This facility houses 150 animals at this time. Guided tours are offered to schools in an effort to educate children that wild animals do not make good pets.



This is an excellent facility. On my arrival, I was impressed with the openness of it. My granddaughter and I took a late tour on an ideal day. Terry Minchew, our friendly tour guide, was very informative as she walked us through our tour. I told our guide that I am from Palo Alto college and I am writing a story for my Humanities class. She was open to any question that we had. On this day there were many lemons in the various cages. Our guide explained that Whole Foods grocery had donated the lemons. I asked her who they received many of the donations from and she said occasionally they receive donations from various agencies and from Target, HEB, and Wal-Mart. We saw that one of the monkeys was hitting a water spigot and would hold the lemon under the running water. He would then proceed to suck on it. The bears were also wetting the lemons then sucking the fruit. Terry said, “They are making lemonade”. The monkeys loved the attention and were putting on a show for us. We met a red tiger Trina, and Senura, a white bear. Two brown bears Boris, from Washington and Natasha were paired off. We saw many exotic birds, lions, panthers, cougars, sugar gliders, and domestic cats, up for adoption. There were so many more that I can’t even list.


The most unusual were the ligers. This is a cross between a lion and a tiger. The mother was a tiger. The two there were referred to as Beauty and the Beast. They had a lion's head with a stripped body. I was able to take a few pictures that I hope will show this. Terry said that this is not a normal occurrence in the wild. This was done in captivity, and intentionally. Another practice that has occurred is when a cross between a lion and a tiger results in a tigon. The mother was a lion. They didn’t have any of those at the refuge.


I interviewed Carol Asvestas and she told me that there are two facilities. The other location on Tally Rd., houses 450 wild animals. She said that they do not have any volunteers due to liability issues. They do however, use court appointed community service volunteers. These workers help maintain the grounds under supervision and instruction and also build structures as needed. The organization relies solely on donations. The veterinarians do not donate their time but do offer their services at a reduced rate and are on call 24/7.



I asked her if there has ever been an escape. She said there was a tiger cub about five years ago who got out. It wasn’t officially an “escapee” because a visitor let it out. It was eventually recovered. I asked her if there was a danger of any infected animals escaping since their location is in close proximity to a residential area. She said that there wasn’t a possibility of that ever occurring.



I asked her if any animals are ever rehabilitated for release to the wild. She said none of the animals are ever released back to the wild because their defense mechanism has become unlearned. They would perish. They become lifetime residents to live out the remainder of their life. The organization is contacted by agencies who have come in possession of wild animals and need to find a home for them. The rescue facility has to pay for expenses for retrieval of these wild animals. They are called from many states. Some of the animals have been rescued from abusive situations, the entertainment industry, roadside zoos, and some have been involved in breeding and rescued. Some have been used in labs and are retired from lab/research testing facilities or are old pets. Most (80%) are in critical condition and in poor health upon arrival and fortunately have a remarkable recovery rate.



I posed the delicate question about the horrible allegations brought up by their organization's former vice president Kristina Brunner. Carol Asvestas said that this disgruntled employee went after people that had had animals formerly confiscated from their abusive or negligent care. She conspired with these people and formed a website to personally attack her. Carol Asvestas said, “What led to her dismissal on this particular occasion, was Ms. Brunners entered an infected area without protective equipment. I told her to get out and she became confrontational, and was dismissed“. Further more she stated,” If we’re such a bad organization, people wouldn’t be coming to this so called Hell Hole”.

According to an article on the website, US Animal Protection .ORG., Ms. Brunner states that the poor conditions and negligence of monkeys, resulting with at least five of them consequently freezing to death, was her reason for leaving. Since leaving her position, Ms. Brunner has filed numerous complaints against the WAO.

Reportedly both the state (TCEQ) Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the (USDA) United States Department of Agriculture have the (WAO) under pending- investigation charges. The TCEQ has two sites under investigation concerning the burial remains of potentially infected animals, without proper permits. A trouble shooter for WOAI, Tanji Patton , obtained a letter from WAO to the state that the orphanage had relocated remains from a site that had been in a"potential flood plain", to a permitted landfill. Still other allegations from the San Antonio Lightning are allegations of pot- bellied pigs gone missing and the burial of pit-bulls who although euthanized, and bodies still warm, may have been buried alive. These proposed charges are still under investigation. You draw your own conclusions.


I recommend that if you get a chance to visit this fine refuge, you will find it enjoyable, memorable and well worth your time. For those of you who do not know, they do have house cats up for adoption.