The lions that appeared in the MGM Grand's lion habitat on the Strip lived out here between shifts, and when that exhibit closed in 2012 the ranch became their permanent home. It sits on eight acres in Henderson, about twenty minutes from the Strip, and it is a sanctuary rather than a zoo: no shows, no performing, just a self-guided walk among the enclosures.
Dozens of lions live here, along with an ostrich, tortoises, parrots and Ozzie, a giraffe who paints — the canvases are sold to help fund his upkeep, which is the sort of detail that explains the place. Keepers run enrichment sessions through the morning, and paid add-ons let you feed a lion through the fence or go behind the scenes.
It is small, it is unpolished, and it shuts at two in the afternoon. Go in the morning.