Nathalie “Tippi” Hedren got her big break when she appeared in the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds. In fact, she was filming Satan’s Harvest in 1969 when she became keenly interested in wild animals, especially the big cats.

Hedren went on to found and preside over the Roar Foundation. This non-profit organization’s property includes the Shambala Preserve, a sanctuary for exotic animals that have been cast off and/or mistreated. The Shambala Preserve was first established as a stand-in set for Africa for the 1981 film Roar, starring Tippi and her daughter, actress Melanie Griffith. When the filming ended, the area built for the set — located about an hour northeast of Los Angeles — became the Shambala Preserve.

Shambala is currently home to nearly 70 animals, primarily big cats (but also including an African Elephant). For those who might be inclined to do so, you can “adopt” one of the animals at the Preserve in order to help pay for its care. All of the animals there were captive-born and are entirely dependent on human care. The Shambala Preserve has been featured in the documentary films Lions: Kings of the Serengeti by the Richard Diercks Company, and Life with Big Cats, made for Animal Planet television.

While Tippi Hedren continues to work regularly in film and television, a very large part of her life is devoted to the Roar Foundation and the Shambala Preserve. Rather a big change from being attacked by thousands of birds for no apparent reason, huh?