Exotic animals at Kona ranch find loving care
By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
KAILUA-KONA, Hawai'i — A former nurse has turned her caring ways toward injured and abandoned exotic animals, operating the Three-Ring Ranch in Kona.
Photo by Charla
For some members of this eclectic "collection of critters," as ranch founder Ann Goody describes them, it is a temporary home until they are strong enough to return to the wild or to another suitable facility. For others, that have no hope of living without human help, it is a permanent sanctuary.
Zoe, a white zebra with gold stripes, is the star of the Kona ranch. Zoe lives there with her mother and sibling.
The star attraction is Zoe, a white zebra with golden stripes and blue eyes, a rare animal born at the old wildlife park on Moloka'i.
Zoe's mom and sibling also are under Goody's care, along with about 60 other animals, including owls and llamas.
The resident nene — Hawaiian goose that is the state bird — is blind.
Flamingos were moved there from the too-damp Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo in Hilo.
Many of the animals at the ranch on the slopes above Kailua were quietly surrendered to state agriculture officials or animal welfare agencies through a program giving amnesty to owners of illegal animals.
Betsy Lyons, a U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinarian in Hawai'i, said that during her three announced visits, she found the ranch in full compliance with federal regulations for exotic animals.
Photo by Charla
Goody, 41, said she left nursing to fulfill her lifelong love of animals. Before moving to Kona, she worked 14 years as director of a humane society in Southern California, where she was on-call to tend to injured eagles and owls or care for orphaned bobcats.
Animal lover Ann Goody gave up her job in nursing to care for animals.
Although the rehabilitation of injured animals is her primary mission, Goody believes that wildlife education is important, too. She runs a program offering schoolchildren the opportunity to visit to the sanctuary.
Goody and her husband, Dr. Norman Goody, an anesthesiologist at Kona Community Hospital, run the nonprofit ranch with their own money as well as donations.
