Lisa Browder

It amuses me to see something called Big Cat Habitat where, judging by the title, you’d think it would be filled to capacity with nothing but cats, right? And yes, there were lots of cats. But then there were also birds and monkeys, a bison, giraffe, tortoises, donkeys, lemurs, bears . . . well, zoo animals.

I must say I liked this a whole lot better than Tampa’s Big Cat Rescue (not surprisingly now permanently closed) but I found myself a little disappointed. I’m not quite sure why. I may have simply been to one too many zoos. It was much smaller than I anticipated, and I often feel like large animals such as bears and lions seem bored and need acres and acres of space to flourish.

However, they did have toys and it was midday when we were allowed inside. Perhaps they were just sleeping off breakfast. I must say, I’m a little envious of this tiger’s capacity to snooze that comfortably in the sun.

Speaking of sun, there’s a nice, shaded outdoor bistro that serves hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken strips, nachos and various other finger foods.

If you stick around, there are afternoon tours you can add on. They offer things like an experience of “up to 4 people” for half an hour with a wallaby ($300), sloth ($400), lemur ($350) or fox ($350).

If I’d never been to Chase Sanctuary, I might’ve splurged. But at Chase, you can spend time in a barn filled with lemurs that take great pleasure in jumping from one person’s shoulder (or head) to another. It’s only $75. You can add on the sloth/lemur experience (my favorite part) for $50 more.

If you’re in Sarasota anyway (maybe you had breakfast at Yoder’s Amish Restaurant), Big Cat Habitat might be something you’d like to add on to your day. But as much as I love animals, I think I’d have enjoyed the Ringling Museum or Marie Selby Botanical Gardens more.

• 7101 Palmer Blvd., Sarasota, Florida
• 941-371-6377
• http://www.bigcathabitat.org
• Hours: Wednesday-Sunday Noon-4:00 PM / Closed Mondays & Tuesdays
• $25 for adults
• Free parking / Wheelchair accessible