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 Lions, tigers, monkeys and more: helping hands within u.s. bordersSo you want to spend your holiday working with lions, tigers, monkeys and other exotic animals, but you don’t want to fly about the world to the savannahs of United Republic of Tanzania or the jungles of kalimantan? No job.  [Tiger mount at Keepers of the Wild Nature Park] (Photo: Keepers of the Wild) Keepers of the Wild is a sanctuary for abused and abandoned wildlife, located in the Grand Canyon State town of Valentine. Created in 1995 by former Las Vegas animate being showman Jonathon Kraft, Keepers of the Wild is ever looking for military volunteer to help feed, care for and clean up after more than 150 wild animate being. They range from Max, a tufted capuchin monkey whose owner could no thirster care for him; to Sebastian, a five-year old Bengal Tiger who was donated to the sanctuary after workings in a travel show as a photo prop. Among the other animate being at the sanctuary are leopards, wolfs, llamas, baboons, ostriches, cougars, pythons, cockatoos and even a few cows. Kraft started his calling as a prestidigitator with tigers working the Las Vegas strip. He bought a lion cub that had grown too large to be displayed at state fairs any thirster. He later bought two tigers that a zoo no thirster wanted. He then came across a puma that had belonged to a convicted drug trader, and an ostrich that had been person’s house pet. He rapidly realized that there were a huge figure of wild animate being that were being abandoned or abused across the United States. That’s when he decided to leave show concern and open up the non-profit sanctuary. Along with pickings care of the animate being, Keepers of the Wild has educational and research facilities that teach people about endangered animals and menace to natural habitat. Military volunteer opportunities range from lovingness for the animals to working in the sanctuary’s gift shop to giving presentations to visitors. The sanctuary does not have facilities where volunteers can live, but there are hotels and apartments that can be rented a short drive from the sanctuary. Not So Wild For those who want to volunteer with animals, but prefer the kind you can play fetch with, the Best Friends animal sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, may be more to your liking.  [Horse Haven at Best Friends Animal Park](Photo: Best Friends) About 2,000 domestic animals, from horses to rabbits, parrots, cats and dogs, live on the sanctuary’s 33,000-acre ranch. The animals are in need of medical treatment and special care, coming from shelters that didn’t have the resources to rehabilitate them. Many of the animals stay at the sanctuary for just a few weeks until they recover from their illnesses or injuries and are then adopted by private homes. Other animals, however, are disabled or too emotionally traumatized to ever live with a family, so stay permanently at the sanctuary. Volunteers are constantly needed to care for the animals, and you can volunteer from one day to several weeks or more. Volunteer opportunities can be customized to fit individual needs, and everyone from singles to entire families with children can find opportunities to work at the sanctuary. There are some on-site accommodations for volunteers, and the sanctuary is not far from a town with hotels and apartments to rent. The sanctuary also is not far from a number of beautiful vacations spots including the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon, so you can combine volunteering with a more traditional site-seeing vacation. Experience At-a-GlanceVolunteers for Animals
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