LORI ENSIGN SCROGGINS, OWNER OF SAFARI’S SANCTUARY, FREQUENTLY BRED, TRADED, AND PURCHASED EXOTIC ANIMALS FOR THE PARK

Lori Ensign-Scroggins is a fraud who has lied to the public about Safari’s, time and time again. Many supporters and some volunteers will be shocked to learn that all the while Lori was proudly insisting that all exotic animals at the park were rescued from owners who could no longer care for them, or from abusive situations, or from zoos that over bred their animals, she was actively contributing to the very problems she condemned.  While many of the animals at Safari’s (past and present) had been rescued, there were many who were not.  Since the beginning, Lori has intentionally bred exotic animals for sale and trade and also purchased animals for exhibition at Safari’s—to add to the park’s appeal by having a larger selection, including many baby animals that would draw the public in to visit.  She’s played the public for fools, unnecessarily adding to the burden of mouths to feed at the park, at the same time begging for donations to help her in the noble cause of feeding animals who would be homeless otherwise.  She pretends to be a victim and martyr, who has sacrificed her life and well-being while deceiving so many and keeping her secrets with the help of her family and some of the staff and volunteers who have repeated the lies, knowingly participating in the subterfuge.

It’s past time for her lies to be exposed to the public.  This post is the second of a series on this important subject.  (The first post was about litters of wolves/dogs born at Safari’s, published Nov. 23, 2012, on this page.  Here is a link to the blog article that provided evidence of that:  http://www.freedomssong.org/about-us/ )

In this photo album are photos of Lori Ensign-Scroggins and Kurt Beckelman (park manager and supervisor of the big cats) with Mirage, one of Safari’s melanistic (black) African leopards, and two of her cubs from the first litter produced, from the intentional breeding of Mirage with Oscar, another black leopard at Safari’s. Amadeus was one cub Safari’s kept from this first litter.  He is now owned by and lives with Kurt Beckelman, after Kurt’s wrestling and rough housing with Amadeus when he was a young cub made him (Amadeus) difficult to control and deal with. (Not the only exotic cat from Safari’s to end up living with Kurt, for the very same reason.  He also owns Aziza, the caracal, who used to belong to Safari’s—more to come on that subject on this page soon.)  The other leopard cub (Bagheera) born on December 2004 went to Tiger Haven in Tuttle, Oklahoma.  A photo of Lori, Kurt, Mirage, and the cubs–taken the day the cubs were born, stated “The babies were planned and have already been spoken for by licensed zoos.”  She neglected to mention that one of those zoos was Safari’s itself.  The second cub from that first litter was sold/traded to Bill Meadows at Tiger Safari in Tuttle, OK, and named Bagheera.

When facts are gathered on the second and third litters of leopard cubs from Mirage and Oscar, we will post that information on the page.
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From Lori’s/Safari’s press release on Nov. 7, 2008 (one week after the fatal liger attack on Safari’s intern Peter Getz): “Does Safari’s breed our animals to sell ? NO! Unregulated breeding and selling is the problem that makes our sanctuaries exist! Many sanctuaries breed in the name of “re-establishing endangered populations” this is a terrible untruth designed to keep and use exotic babies (tiger cubs, etc.) on their park property to increase visitors, and thus, increase facility funds. There is no captive program for releasing endangered big cats. There are more poachers and less land for them to live on. THAT is part of our educational mission.”

http://safarissanctuary.deviantart.com/journal/

http://www.myspace.com/safarikurbe/blog/448866849
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Reference information about the leopards:

Mirage
http://www.safarizoo.com/categories/bigcats/mirage.html

Oscar
http://www.safarizoo.com/categories/bigcats/oscar.html

Amadeus at 3 months:
http://thefiretigress.deviantart.com/art/Amadeus-3-months-30391254

adult Amadeus (now owned by Kurt Beckelman)https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1482731160935&set=a.1482729800901.61686.1613537209&type=3&theater

and

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1482731160935&set=a.1482729800901.61686.1613537209&type=3&theater

Photo and info. about Bagheera at Tiger Safari in Tuttle, OK:

http://www.tigersafari.us/animal_view.asp?animalID=35

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Click on the link below to view the other photos and screen caps of articles, and comments/posts that demonstrate Lori made statements to the public that all animals at the park are rescued, that Safari’s does not breed animals, and one news article that specifically states that all of the exotic animals at the park were rescued.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.425523460858679.93542.375092402568452&type=1

For the record, here are excerpts from those pages and the links to them:

Published April 15, 2009:

“Lori says that all of the animals at Safari’s are rescued—some from zoos that closed or over bred, but most from people who once thought it would be “neat” to own an exotic animal but quickly found out they were ill-equipped.”

http://www.tulsapetsmagazine.com/2009/04/a-safari—in-broken-arrow/
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Published March 2010

“We rescue all kinds of wildlife – big cats, wolves, bears, primates, hoof stock, birds, reptiles – and they all come from either private individuals who could not keep them or from zoos that overbreed.”

http://www.valuenews.com/issues/story.php?view=1478
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Published April 2011

“I’ve always had an intense love for animals, and that love drove me to start Safari’s,” says Lori Ensign, founder of Safari’s Sanctuary. Every exotic animal at Safari’s is a rescue: some were abused, some were unwanted, and others were misplaced. Many came from people who had them as pets; some came from overcrowded zoos. “Safari’s is here not only to give the animals a safe home, but also to educate the public on what it takes to own an exotic animal,” says Ensign.

http://www.valuenews.com/issues/story.php?view=1955
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Published July 26, 2012

“Ensign says some of the animals could be absorbed by other facilities, but she doesn’t want them in situations where they could be locked in cages for the rest of their lives. “None of them have ever been free. They are all rescues,” she said.”

http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/news/local_news/safaris-will-close-to-the-public-after-this-weekend#ixzz2LrG6ZccE
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from previous “About us” page on former website:

“Safari’s Sanctuary in Broken Arrow was founded in 1995 to do just that. We rescue all kinds of wildlife, from big cats, wolves, bears, primates, hoof stock, birds, reptiles..etc. Currently housing over 200 animals. All from either private individuals who could not keep or from zoo’s that over breed.”

http://safari.stlgo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10&Itemid=2
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SAME PARAGRAPH IS FOUND ON CURRENT WEBSITE “OUR STORY” PAGE: http://www.safarizoo.com/our-story.html