Judah

Judah Lion at Big Cat Rescue

Male Lion

Born 1996 - Died 2005?

When Juday was three months old, the woman who bought him as a pet couldn’t hide him in her parent’s apartment in Carrollwood, Florida any more and she asked if she could keep him at Big Cat Rescue, then known as Wildlife on Easy Street. When it was discovered that she was sneaking people onto the grounds so they could hand feed the adult lion, somewhere around 1999 she was asked to quit coming on site. She moved the lion to Vernon Yate’s back yard menagerie until she married later and moved him to Plant City, FL which is the last I heard about him when a neighbor contacted me to complain about the conditions there.

The 2002 article below is the only remaining evidence I can find of his life. https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2002/08/04/future-dynasty/

By MELIA BOWIE Published Aug. 4, 2002|Updated Sept. 3, 2005

Underneath the summer sun, Judah lazily eyes his ladies.

Separated by a sturdy fence, lion cubs Sadja and Elsa ignore him and show more interest in the small plastic children's pool doubling as their water bowl.

Once, Judah's ancestors roamed the Barbary Coast in Africa. The thick-maned predators became famous battling gladiators in Roman coliseums.

Now, the 600-pound lion roams in preservationist Susan Aronoff's back yard and makes his home on 5 acres of donated scrub land. She is working to turn it into a top-notch animal habitat and education center called Preservation Station.

Some day, said Aronoff, Judah's offspring might run free again. She is working with Oxford University and WildLink International, a species survival organization, to determine whether his DNA matches that of the officially extinct subspecies.

WildLink officials have identified a handful of lions in captivity they believe to be descended from the original Barbary.

If Judah's DNA fits the bill, the goal is to one day breed him with 8-month-old Elsa, who also shows Barbary traits, and reintroduce the species in Africa.

For now, though, Aronoff's time is consumed with carving out a habitat for her lions and about two dozen rescued birds and marsupials on a tree-shrouded patch of land east of Quail Hollow.

"This is what happens when you watch Born Free at age 3," said Aronoff, 39. "You never lose your dream. You just build a reality."

These days, reality is a cacophony of rescued cockatoos, parrots and other exotic birds cawing for breakfast and attention at decibels worthy of a rock band.

Along the residential road and inside Aronoff's white mobile home, bird cages are perched in bedrooms, bathrooms, the living room and a back office.

Five sugar gliders, nocturnal marsupials the size of flying squirrels, nest near the bathtub. Domestic house cats curl up for a nap on the sofa as two dogs stand sentry at the front door.

"There is no room in this house that does not have an animal," Aronoff declares after feeding time one afternoon.

In the front yard, a 22-year-old horse, a miniature stallion and an aging donkey peer at visitors from their newly fashioned barn.

A green Chevrolet van with the license plate: LIONLDY is parked in the dirt drive.

The rules

As far as animal refuges go in Hillsborough and Pasco counties, "there's still a few mainstays," said Lt. Steve DeLacure with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Some are retiring; some are just getting started. But you still won't see them on every street corner.

"Florida is one of the most restrictive states when it comes to captive wildlife requirements," said DeLacure, an inspection officer with the agency that permitted Aronoff's facility three months ago.

Potential lion owners (the species is designated as a Class I carnivore) must meet certain requirements to comply with state law.

Among them are having at least 5 contiguous acres and cages at least 10 feet wide, 20 feet long and 8 feet high.

"That's what I'm building for my parrots," Aronoff said.

Phase One of Judah's cage is considerably bigger, about 4,000 square feet.

Over the course of a year, an owner must complete 1,000 hours of training in handling the animals, documented by affidavit.

"There also has to be a commercial purpose," DeLacure said, referring to the big cats. "People can't just have them as pets in the back yard."

Aronoff, who purchased Judah from a divorcing couple, put in her training hours at a breeding facility. She later bought Elsa for her bloodlines. Sadja, who faces orthopedic surgery when she is old enough, was donated.

A United States Department of Agriculture permit is pending, Aronoff said.

Before this, Aronoff had a career in marketing. She left her job to do preservation work full time.

"Now I'm just a beggar," she joked.

Everything, including the fencing, plumbing and the land to build the sanctuary, is donated. So is the food and some veterinary care (Dr. Deborah Drake of Northwest Pet Vet in Tampa is on the sanctuary's board of directors.)

Her neighbors, said Aronoff, are a blessing and often stop by to offer food, labor, equipment and support.

"People complain more about dogs barking than lions roaring," said Kevin Hausf, an electrician who lives two doors down and volunteers in exchange for a look at the lions.

If not for the donations, the grocery bills for the lions alone would be enough to break her.

About 200 pounds of meat each week: $800.

Three troughs of fresh water a day, plus the plastic pools (they've eaten three so far).

About $100 a month for vitamins and supplements.

The perimeter fence surrounding the lions and protecting neighbors is another $8,000, plus $10,000 for the sheds and equipment housing the animals' food and supplies.

Operating expenses are $2,000 a month.

Dream delayed

"I had hoped to be open to the public by now," Aronoff said. She began setting up shop in Wesley Chapel a year ago.

Instead, brown patches of grass and hot gray sand remain where palmettos once stood.

Still, she is not deterred.

"Just close your eyes and picture it," she said as she walked along the edge of the compound's perimeter fence. "You come in and there's nicely lit walkways, tropical fauna, a jogging path."

Her back office with its growing collection of animal literature might one day offer a comprehensive library on animal biology and behavioral science.

The birds (some of which mimic Metallica tunes sung by her volunteers) will no longer live in bedrooms but could form flocks in a sprawling aviary.

"We still hope to have a gift shop," she said. "And we still hope to build an animal hospital."

But education will remain her primary goal.

"Most animal rescues are a change of lifestyle," Aronoff said. "A new wife, new kids, a job transfer. People just get tired of them."

Already she has begun giving talks to different New Tampa and Pasco County groups about the species survival program and the danger of falling for a trendy exotic pet like her parrots, which can live for 50 years to more than 80 years.

Visitors are welcome to call and make an appointment to tour Preservation Station, she said. But the facility is not a zoo, a theme park or a cat sanctuary. The lions were obtained specifically for the species survival effort.

"We do take in other small animals," she said. Exotic birds are her passion, and anyone interested in buying one as a pet is encouraged to first visit them at the station.

"We hope people will come and learn," Aronoff said. "You have the right to own an animal but you have to earn the privilege."

To arrange an appointment at Preservation Station call (813) 690-9696. For more information visit www.fortheanimals.com. This website seems to have shut down in 2004.