Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Lagoon Amusement Park is closing its zoo, relocating big cats to Colorado.
- Animal rights activists for years have raised concerns over the zoo's animal conditions, prompting public scrutiny.
- Park officials claim the closure is unrelated to protests, focusing on park expansion plans.
FARMINGTON — Lagoon Amusement Park has announced Thursday it will be shutting down its zoo, following animal activist groups' release of public records showing it had relocated six large cats out of state already.
Critics have voiced concern for the conditions of the animals — including lions, tigers, zebras, camels, a golden eagle and others — that have been part of the park's Wild Kingdom train ride and zoo. The park's Facebook page is full of commenters calling out what they believe are unfit environments for animals.
Park spokesperson Adam Leishman told KSL NewsRadio the move is not related to the protests and petitions the company has been subject to over the years.
In 2018, after what Leishman called "a freak occurrence" where a new bull elk was attacked by a bison cow and had to be euthanized, the spokesperson told KSL.com the park has "an excellent record with the (U.S. Department of Agriculture). The animals have received excellent care. Many of the animals here come from pretty deplorable situations, and they are rescue animals, essentially."
Relocating the animals is part of Lagoon's plans to expand to other parts of the park, Leishman said, and preparing new attractions. "That happened toward the end of last year. The plan is to phase out the remainder of the exhibits through this year," Leishman said.
The animal rights nonprofit People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals recently obtained through public records requests a veterinary inspection of six large cats they say are from Lagoon, conducted by the USDA.
The inspection shows the following animals were driven to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado, in December 2024:
- Denahi, a male African lion, 15
- Athena, a female white bengal tiger, age undecipherable
- Edwina, a black leopard, 14
- Pru, a female black leopard, 14
- Oliver, a male cougar, 10
- Phoebe, a cougar, 11
Some of these animals are at the tail end of the average lifespans for their species when in captivity. Male lions in captivity, for example, "rarely live past the age of 12," according to the National Zoo website. The median lifespan of a cougar is about 13 years for males and 16 for females, the San Diego Zoo reports.
The Keenesburg facility where the six cats were transported has over 33,000 acres of natural habitat, home to over 950 rehabilitated animals, including almost 150 lions, tigers, bears and wolves relocated from the zoo featured on the Netflix show Tiger King, as well a number of lions from a zoo in Odesa, Ukraine.
"For the first time in years—perhaps ever—these big cats will be able to engage in their natural instinctual behaviors and live a life where their home is measured in square acres, not square feet," said Alex Wilde, Utah Animal Rights Coalition campaigner, in a press release. "This win speaks to the power of grassroots activism and the unwavering commitment of Utahns who advocated for these animals."
