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| - Lions and tigers and dolphins?! Oh, my?!
Secret Garden is not the dark and eerie forest that surrounded the Yellow Brick Road in the Wizard of Oz, but is rather, a habitat created by Las Vegas legends Siegfried and Roy. The duo opened The Secret Garden in 1990 as part of their campaign to protect endangered species and more specifically the rare white tiger and white lion. In addition, the habitat holds six leopards, a snow leopard and a black panther. The first part of the habitat is occupied by a 2.5 million gallon aquarium and several Bottlenose dolphins. There are hourly education sessions / demonstrations (no shows) in different parts of the aquarium and packages can be purchase for several interactive experiences with these intelligent mammals.
The entrance ( http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/secret-garden-las-vegas-2?select=nscTN5Dn7mZAh5qqULMz8w ) inside The Mirage isn't too hard to find and there are posters ( http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/secret-garden-las-vegas-2?select=8S-9Q_1N1FNN3x5DL90PFw ) with additional experiences offered at Secret Garden. The line for tickets ( http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/secret-garden-las-vegas-2?select=S1CWb7EctXs5BK8v_I8-jw ) wasn't very long and after a short walk you end up at the aquarium ( http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/secret-garden-las-vegas-2?select=ZWFgG6dSVhd3YuedDDT3sA ) for the Bottlenose dolphins. We have done multiple interactions with dolphins over the years in various parts of the world, so after lingering for a short period of time we were off to see ( http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/secret-garden-las-vegas-2?select=wAVqjrV8TlfMNIlhBDNdIA ) the tigers and lions habitats.
Before you can actually see these awesome cats, the staff have you take a few souvenir photos in front of a green screen. I am going to assume these photos have tigers and lions inserted into the green screen background, but I didn't go to the gift shop to view the photos. After your faux photo, you can walk into ( http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/secret-garden-las-vegas-2?select=O3vKcSptz6pQGZJLnsqr5w ) the habitat.
The habit is home four species of big cat: Royal White Tigers of Nevada, White Lions of Timbavati, heterozygous Bengal tigers (possessing both tawny and white genes), a black panther and a leopard dynasty.
The habitat is broken up into six different enclosures with three enclosures for tigers ( http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/secret-garden-las-vegas-2?select=dJf4le6YiE4X5jXJhj7TXQ ), two for lions ( http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/secret-garden-las-vegas-2?select=7e1dVRq7PkV996_VApd4Hw ) and one that alternates between a leopard ( http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/secret-garden-las-vegas-2?select=Bz7au7-N00P8El4JL-3XfA ) and panther.
Note: There are two videos of tiger cubs playing with a keeper, three video of the adult tigers in their enclosures and one video of three adolescent lions for viewing via the Yelp application.
The main attraction is definitely the cubs, but keep in mind even though the cub hours are posted from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, there is a chance they may not be in their enclosure on a given day. On the day we visited, the cubs were out and in a playful mood with a keeper shaking a branch around for the cubs to chase, which attracted a lot of attention for the guests and the other inhabitants as well. One of the adolescent lions seemed particularly riled up by their presence while one of the male tigers seemed more inquisitive.
In addition to the interaction with these big cats, there is a chance to run into Siegfried Fischbacher, who apparently frequents the habitat from time to time. The better half and I had multiple opportunities to see Siegfried and Roy and always had some excuse for not going ... the tickets were too expensive or there will always be next time.
Rohlinism: In life there isn't always a "next time!"
On October 2, 2003, Roy Horn suffered a stroke on stage during a performance at The Mirage and one of the tigers in the show named Mantecore dragged Horn offstage and severed his artery causing excessive bleeding. The result of the blood loss and stroke left Horn partially paralyzed to this day and brought an end to their show at The Mirage.
If you are on an extended stay in Las Vegas or are a local resident, the season pass is only $55.00 (regular adult admission is $22.00) and includes 10 percent off at all the stores inside Secret Garden. There are also several interaction packages you can buy that include "Painting With The Dolphins" and "Yoga With The Dolphins" ... who knew they were so flexible?!
I felt the interaction was worth the price of admission and would come back to Secret Garden on future visits to Vegas.
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