Keepers of the Wild Nature Park is a nonprofit animal sanctuary on about 175 acres of canyon land beside Route 66 at Valentine, roughly 30 miles northeast of Kingman. Every animal in it was rescued, by the sanctuary's own account, and in 2025 Sedona Monthly counted more than 50 species there, from tigers and other big cats, bears and coyotes to camels, llamas, alpacas, deer, tropical birds and tortoises. Its founder, Jonathan Kraft, is a former Las Vegas illusionist whose stage acts used big cats; by his own account he put his Vegas production on hiatus in 1995 and gave up show business to start the sanctuary. It moved to its present site on Route 66 at Valentine in 2006, and it offers guided safari tours of the grounds.
The park drew national attention in May 2021, when federal authorities seized 68 big cats from Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe's Tiger King Park in Thackerville, Oklahoma, under a court-approved agreement that resolved a Justice Department civil complaint over the animals' care. Keepers of the Wild took in seven of them, a lion and six tigers, by KJZZ's account. KTAR put the sanctuary's population at that time at about 150 animals, including wolves, bears, leopards and primates.
The sanctuary's own count has since put the population at more than 140 rescued wild animals. Its guided safari tours, by its own account, run about an hour and a quarter.
Getting there
35.4096, -113.6505
Locations are approximate and may be inaccurate, on private land, or otherwise inaccessible. Check before you travel.
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