Editor Charmaine here. Let me tell you about my latest adventure not too far from home.

I hopped on 69 Highway and drove 40 minutes south until I arrived at one of the metro’s lesser-known attractions: Cedar Cove Sanctuary, a big cat rescue + education center.

After parking my car on the gravel lot, out came head cat wrangler, Steve Klein. He ushered me across a short bridge + small building until I was face to face with the ferocious felines.

Twin sisters Olivia and Sundari pose for their ninth birthday. | Photo couresty of Cedar Cove Conservatory

These cats didn’t care much for my psps psps psps, instead they paid close attention to Klein, their caretaker and advocate for more than a decade.

“I came out here with a friend of mine in 2001 and just took a tour,” Klein said. That tour eventually turned into weekends volunteering under Billy Pottorff, the sanctuary's then-owner. After serving in Vietnam + seeing the plight of these wild animals, Pottorff opened the sanctuary in 2000. When he died in 2012, Klein became the leader of the pride.

Every animal at Cedar Cove has been rescued from precarious situations — like 19-year-old retired circus tiger Jai, or twin tigers Olivia and Sundari, former petting zoo attractions. Others were surrendered to the center after they grew too big to be pets.

Here at the sanctuary, the cats relax and play, without being entertainment.

“If the animals are there to enhance somebody's persona, that is entirely the wrong reason,” Klein said. “We are their family. We don't trade them. We don't breed them. We don't sell them. They're here for the rest of their lives.”

Just *lion* around in the football field-sized playground. | Photo courtesy of Cedar Cove Conservatory

Klein, who’s previous life included being an aerospace engineer, has big plans for the sanctuary's 25th anniversary in 2025.

“There’s new things coming that can be used to change how we live on this planet, to give these animals a chance,” Klein said.

He wants to make the sanctuary an example of how technology can help us live in tune with the ecosystem. To give you the Cliff Notes, some of his plans include:

Crafting an Earth dome rainforest
Paving a parking lot with solar panel coverings
Adding cabins to the campus for overnight stays
Building an amphitheater/outdoor education center to use as a classroom

Zoom in to see the full site plan for the future Cedar Cove. | Photo courtesy of Cedar Cove Conservatory

Klein envisions a big cat sanctuary version of Jurassic Park, complete with tiger striped jeeps — and minus the animal breakouts — so that he can best educate the public while helping the animals.

Editor Charm was riding around in style. | Photo by KCtoday

All that stands between him and this vision is the planning commission who he’s scheduled to meet with next month.

“There's a whole world of opportunity and awareness here. And it would be great for the [KC] metro to be able to do that,” Klein said.

The sanctuary is always accepting donations — of both the meat and monetary variety. They’re also open to adult volunteers, especially someone passionate about social media.