A reptile-guy for sure, Mark McCarthy started his love of animals with snakes. Barbara Drury recalled. “He was unconscious for three or four days. All that time, we were still giving him medicine and treatment, so we were thrilled he pulled through. Eventually, he recovered and grew up enough to be released back into the wild.” A reptile-guy for sure, McCarthy started his love of animals with snakes. When he was just 16, he moved to Florida by hitchhiking from Michigan to Miami with a backpack full of snakes and a dream to work at the Miami Serpentarium. Some dreams come true. He was hired on the spot. Throughout his 30-year career working with animals, McCarthy also spent a significant amount of time in the television, film and print production business, during which he collected more exotic species, including birds and big cats. These animals often came to him under scary circumstances. “I came back from Africa and had just brought back my wife, Aneth, and I get a phone call at 3 o’ clock in the morning from Officer Rick Brown from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission,” McCarthy recalled. “He does the Orlando area, and said, ‘Mark, I’ve got a problem. I just seized a tiger and a cougar out of a Motel 6 up here in Orlando, and I have nowhere to put them.’ We go up there, and sure enough there was
Mark McCarthy visits with Lola the tiger.
this magician who was wanted in Minnesota for abandoning his facility, and he was literally doing magic shows out of his van on International Drive.” Animals needing to be rehomed is a big concern, as the exotic pet industry often finds uneducated owners in deep trouble dealing with more than they expected. For example, nearly 30 large African spur-thighed tortoises, who grow to weigh well over 100 pounds, lived at McCarthy’s at one time. “I built this place on birthday parties, and those parties turned into teachers seeing me, and eventually all these
school programs on top of the production jobs,” McCarthy said. “I really enjoyed the school shows — it was probably my favorite thing to do. I mostly focused on elementary schools, but this grew so big, I don’t do them anymore.” Now that McCarthy no longer travels to schools, guests are able to come in person to visit the animals at the sanctuary by calling and reserving a spot in one of the available tours. Guided tours run multiple times a day, Tuesday through Saturday. Aside from getting the chance to see some rare creatures such as ligers (yes, that wellington the magazine | september 2019
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