Yahtok'ya Animal Sanctuary was founded in 1999 by Bruce and Erika Capin. Their mission is to provide abandoned, neglected, abused, and orphaned big cats with a loving, permanent home. 

They are a non-profit facility and permitted by the state of Florida. They do not receive any government funding and rely on their own money and the donations of others to help maintain their facilities. 100% of all donations made to the sanctuary go straight to the animals.

  The Independent Alligator article:

YATOK’YA ANIMAL SANCTUARY

Lurking in the overgrown grass, he carefully watches each step. His jade-green eyes are unflinching, and the muscles underneath his golden fur are tense. Tanka, a cougar, seems ready to pounce. Instead, a slight tug on the purple leash around his neck sends the feline slinking back to Bruce Capin.

Capin, a fencing and tai chi instructor in the College of Health and Human Performance and a coach for the UF Fencing Team, cares for Tanka and four other cougars. Capin and his wife, Erika, opened Yahtok'ya Animal Sanctuary in 1999. But Capin, who follows spiritual and cultural teachings of the Lakota, Creek and Cherokee Native Americans, said the Great Spirit has been leading him down this path since age 7.

The cougars come from different regions in the United States, where they are known by different names: mountain lions, pumas or panthers. But no matter where they're from, they usually have stories of abuse or neglect in their past, he said. Meesha, 11, came from owners in South Carolina, who, Capin said, thought a pet cougar would be cute.  "It is (cute) at 12 weeks old, not 5 years," Capin said. "This is a way of life. If you're going to do it, you have to be prepared for the cost and the time and the commitment."

Dressed in baggy black sweatpants and a T-shirt, Capin sat in the dirt and held Tanka close to his chest as the cat purred and made bird-like chirping noises. Capin said he paid $700 to have the 1-year-old cougar flown from Minnesota, where breeders wanted to get rid of a cat they couldn't sell. Raising the cats is costly but worth it, he said. Each cat eats about 2 pounds of red meat, chicken and liver six days a week. He said he spends about $4,100 a year on them aside from medical bills, which can add thousands to his expenses. Tanka had a $1,600 emergency surgery Saturday to remove a blockage he received from eating something indigestible.

-by Charles Roop, The Independent Alligator

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Yahtok'ya Animal Sanctuary

PO Box 92, LaCrosse FL 32658

phone: 386-462-9688

"Bruce opened his nonprofit organization Yahtok’ya, meaning sunlight in the Native American language of Zuni, to rescue abused and neglected animals.

Capin currently cares for one wolf and four cougars, and he considers these animals as ambassadors for their species. They help conservation by making people care about cougars and wolves. People simply aren’t passionate for animals they can’t see or touch, he said.

And in his experiences, the cougars, which he has cared for longer than the wolf, have been successful ambassadors. By seeing these animals, people develop respect, care and concern for them and become more willing to protect and preserve them.

“There are many where [the cougars have] captured their hearts,” he said. “They’ve never had an experience like that before and they never will again. You can’t leave the sanctuary the same person.” "