The ranch was founded in 1979 in Murchison, Texas by author and animal advocate Cleveland Amory. Its residents were saved from research laboratories, law enforcement seizures and cruelty cases. Others have been rescued from roadside zoos or were former victims of the exotic pet trade. Still others came from public lands where they were threatened with extermination by the federal government. Bison and cattle, horses and burros, antelope and apes, reptiles and tigers: all have permanent, safe homes at the ranch.