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More Big Cat Encounters

Ranch Itinerary

The Big Cat Encounters Ranch is located in Pahrump, Nevada, a short distance from Las Vegas.

You will be picked up at your hotel between noon and 12:30 in a 4-wheel drive suburban.

In approximately 1 hour, you will arrive at the big cat reserve in rustic Pahrump, Nevada.

You will spend about an hour exploring the reserve and have your picture taken with a noble Bengal tiger.

You will be safely returned to your point of origin at approximately 4:00 p.m., with proof of your great adventure suitable for framing.

Casual attire is recommended; dress appropriately to accommodate the outside temperature of Las Vegas. Remember, the big cat reserve is a rustic, desert ranch inhabited by wild Bengal tigers.

Children

Children welcome when accompanied by an adult.




Press Room

PawsAbilities writes:

"You oughta be a star... Okay, so you don't have beauty, brains, or the talent it takes to be a star. But wait, maybe your dog is a star just waiting to be born. In case you have haven't noticed lately. almost every commercial on television has a dog in it. How do those dogs get on television or in the movies."

Karl's Ranch in Pahrump resembles a zoo where he keeps 5 rare tigers, both white and tabby hetrozigous species. Almost all of them have been featured in movies, commercials, or fashion magazines.

"Every animal has the potential to act" says Karl Mitchell, owner of All Acting Animals. Karl has been supplying exotioc and domestic animals for film and stage for 20 years.

Donation Receipt

Trainer teaches animals how to act naturally
- Las Vegas Review Journal

Began with his cat

Karl began animal communication with his cat, "Mitten". She would ride on the handlebars of his motorcycle which caught the attention of Hollywood's top animal trainer, Ray Berwick. An apprenticeship followed, with Karl Working at Universal Studios, training and presenting animal stars for major feature films and TV shows. Shows include "Omen II", "High Anxiety", "Baretta", and "Circus of the Stars".



Karl Mitchell & Buk

Karl Mitchell, owner and operator of Big Cat Encounters Ranch, started in the animal world 25 years ago when he trained his house cat to ride on his motorcycle with him. A veteran animal trainer was impressed and invited Karl to help him in his business. Eventually Mitchell became a sort of animal guru, able to train animals ranging from antelope to zebra. His real passion has become the big cats of Africa and tigers from India.

Mitchell is dedicated to the preservation of rare animals. "The tigers are much more rare than the lions," he says," though they are more difficult animal to work with since they are lone individualists, not family- oriented like lions." Tigers are also bigger. A mature lion can weigh 500 pounds, but a full-grown Bengal tiger can tip the scales at 700 pounds.

Mitchell does not believe in surrounding his tigers and lions with concrete. His animals are often roaming the fenced-in ranch, and are leashed only when visitors arrive. He trains the animals using love and positive reinforcement, techniques he learned from the trainers he was apprenticed to in Hollywood. He has worked on numerous television shows including Barretta and Emergency. His trained lions and tigers have appeared in many movies, television shows and in photo layouts in such prominent magazines such as Vogue and Elle. Las Vegas convention delegates sometimes see the animals making appearances at various conventions and trade shows on the Strip. The Ranch is often used as a location for international magazine and rock video shoots.

Return to India

Show business is one thing but Karl Mitchell's long-range goal is to take some of his Nevada-born tigers back to India. "There are 23 wildwife sanctuaries in India cooperating with Project Tiger, a program with the express goal of repopulating these areas with tigers to make up for those illegally poached before there were parks established," says Mitchell. "I'm contacting them to see what their needs are so that enventually one of my tigers can grow up in what should be his native land."