Did you know that there are only four tigers left...

...In Butte County, California?

The Barry R. Kirshner Wildlife Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1994. It is conveniently located just minutes south of Chico, in Durham. It is the only organization of its kind in California, from the San Francisco Bay Area to the Oregon border. The mission of the Foundation is to educate the public about the care and preservation of all wildlife and their habitats, both locally and globally. Part of our mission is to teach responsible ownership of companion and exotic animals and for all people to realize that love is not enough. It is our belief that through hands-on experience with the animals of the Foundation, and through our educational programs, the public will become more enlightened about the importance of our wildlife and their habitats.

Sign at the Entrance of the Foundation

The Wildlife Foundation is home to a remarkable variety of non-releasable, endangered, and exotic live animals. Each animal is housed in an enclosure that far exceeds State and Federal regulations. To promote awareness on a local scale, the Foundation houses a Mountain Lion and two Bobcats. Global representatives include a black Leopard, a spotted Leopard, a Bengal Tiger, a Sumatran Tiger, two white Bengal Tigers, two African Lions, two Servals, a Caracal, a Snow Leopard, two Clouded Leopards, two Lynxes and two Ocelots. The Foundation is also home to a Coatimundi, two Fennec Foxes, a Wallaby and an assortment of exotic birds and reptiles, including a Giant Burmese Python and Desert Tortoises. A priority of the Foundation is to provide these animals with all they need to keep them not only healthy, but contented as well. This involves giving them the best quality care, including daily exercise, attention, and the highest quality foods. In return, these animals allow the public the awe-inspiring opportunity to witness first-hand their beauty and value as a natural part of the world's ecosystems.

Driveway to the Facility

The Barry R. Kirshner Wildlife Foundation provides the community and Northern California with a valuable educational resource about our natural world and its varied inhabitants. Our non-profit organization is dedicated to education and conservation. We provide opportunity and resources for students from many colleges to receive units towards their degree. To further the mission of the Foundation, the organization offers both on-site and outreach educational programs lead by one of our trained animal handlers and wildlife experts. Our Foundation offers eight levels of education in nine languages on exotic and companion animals, including ASL for the hearing impaired. We are the first facility to provide this benefit to our community. The staff of the Foundation shares our wild animals with classrooms, assemblies, churches, 4-H, scouts, senior citizens, at-risk youth, hospitals and special functions. Our animals have the potential to inspire minds and to change lives! They are but a few of the natural wonders that we are close to losing forever.