Walk on the wild side as you come face to face with a 200 lb. male Jaguar looking back at you through safety glass. By reading our educational signage you will discover interesting facts about most of the species of wild felines found in the tropical Americas. Our friendly cats leap around their habitat and often come to greet our visitors. Many of them are together with their offspring and enjoy playing games with each other in their beautifully designed habitats.

The center that previously housed these animals lost funding and had to close. The MINAE (the Costa Rican Ministry of the Environment) did not have the resources to care for the 35 felines so they were placed under the care of La Paz Waterfall Gardens. The cats were either very old, injured, or had been exposed to humans for too long to be released back into the wild. Our mission is to preserve the genetics of these tropical species of felines.

Please note that we are completely against the capture or trade of illegally confiscated animals and we will one day seek to release the offspring of our cats into protected zones if a safe and reliable training program can be developed to do so.