Lion cub bites tourist in the face

A five-week-old lion cub. File picture
Image by: JAMAL SAIDI / REUTERS

A tourist from Singapore received 60 stitches after she was bitten in the face by a lion cub near Hoedspruit, according to a report.

The animal narrowly missed an artery in her neck, Beeld reported.

Madelein Querk, 28, and her husband had been touring the country for two weeks, and would have returned home on Sunday.

They were among a group of tourists who visited the Tshukudu game lodge near Hoedspruit, where members of the group posed for pictures with the cubs.

Querk was apparently posing with a one-year-old cub when it bit her, leaving her with four deep cuts of between four and eight cm on the left side of her face, and lacerations on her left arm and leg, where the lion clawed her. Querk’s husband attempted to distract the lion by hitting it with his camera.

The injured woman was treated at the Nelspruit Mediclinic, and was scheduled to fly home on Thursday.

Tshukudu lodge manager Eric Gander said on Monday night that a decision would be taken about the lion cub’s future after an investigation into the incident.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2012/05/15/lion-cub-bite-tourist-in-the-face

Ligers and Tigons are hybrids of Lion and Tiger Matings

The tigon is a hybrid of a male tiger and a female lion, and is less common than the liger, a hybrid of a male lion and a female tiger.

For all the tigon’s rarity, the first citation of that word in the Oxford English Dictionary dates from 1927, while the first citation of a liger dates from 1938.

A cross between a tiger and a stuffed toy is, according to The House at Pooh Corner, a Tigger, and dates from 1928.

The only reason that ligers, tigons, white lions or white tigers exist at all is because stupid people will pay to see them.  They serve no conservation value and breeding them only results in these huge and majestic cats spending 10-20 years behind bars.

New Games as Ecards

**NEW** “Games As eCards” eCards Section

Some of our ‘play online’ games were posted on our eCards site last year, but we have now created a new section on the eCards System collecting the games into a better organized fashion and have added several new games that you can send as eCards.  You can send a free eCard to your friends and family that will be a game for them to play online right there in the eCard.  You can add your own text, choose a saying from ours, add music, as emoticons, and more.

1. - Games as eCards: Christmas
2. - Games as eCards: Thanksgiving
3. - Games as eCards: Halloween
4. - Games as eCards: Easter
5. - Games as eCards: Mother’s Day
6. - Games as eCards: Valentine’s Day
7. - Games as eCards: St. Patrick’s
8. - Games as eCards: Birthday
9. - Games as eCards: Fun With Words
10. - Games as eCards:Math Practice
11. - Games as eCards: Dressup Fun
12. - Games as eCards: Jigsaw Fun
13. - Games as eCards: Memory Match Fun
14. - Games as eCards: Misc Interests
15. - Games as eCards: Sports Lovers
16. - Games as eCards: Swap & Drop Games
17. - Games as eCards: Tic-Tac-Toe Fun

New Winner in Big Cat Week

Christi won again on Dec 8 by sending 208 of her fans to see the Big Cat Week trailer on her special link that she created by signing up for free herehttp://bcw.bigcatrescue.org/start/?c=133 The highest promoter each day gets a $20 gift certificate to use at BigCatRescue.biz

New Photos of the Big Cats

Thanksgiving Big Cat Love Story

Take our poll here about what you love most about cats:  http://www.facebook.com/bigcatrescue

Check Out Hundreds of These Big Cat Thanksgiving E Cards

Mark your calendars!

Fun Fur All Ball at Skipper’s

Join us for a benefit concert at Skipper’s Smoke House in Tampa on Sunday December 11th. Enjoy musical entertainment from Juanjamon Band, Skull and Bone Band, The Human Condition, and Sunset Bridge while perusing the raffle and auction items, including original paintings created live during the show by local artists.

The Fun Fur All Ball is from 4-9 PM. Tickets are a $10 minimum suggested donation. Check out  Skipper’s facebook page and Like them.

Shere Khan and China Doll the tigers snuggling

Beautiful flowers blooming down Easy Street entrance to BCR

Jamie Veronica lets Windstar the bobcat into his new room addition

Rosie recycling elephant ears that were culled for cage painting

Big Cat Rescue staff photographer out gathering SandCat photos

Carole Baskin cutting door into Windstar bobcat's new room addition

Windstar the bobcat raced in circles around his new Cat-a-tat

Regina giving Simba the tigress her evening meds

Alex the tiger enjoying his dinner after a long day of lake gazing

Raindance the Bobcat 2011 Nov 22

Save Wild Tigers

PETITION PRESSES CHINA TO END ALL TIGER TRADE

Zero tolerance is the only way to preserve the last wild tigers

LONDON: The Environmental Investigation Agency today endorses a new petition calling on Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to adopt a zero-tolerance policy on tiger trade.

The petition has been organised by TigerTime, an initiative of the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation which has garnered mass public and celebrity support to raise awareness of the plight of the world’s last remaining wild tigers and campaign to reverse its decline.

The petition urges: “I appeal to Premier Wen Jiabao to send a clear message to his government, calling for an end to all tiger trade within China. This is to include a call for a zero tolerance policy applied to all trade of all parts and derivatives of tiger and other protected Asian big cats, from all sources.”

It has been launched almost a year to the day since Wen Jiabao, at the 2010 International Tiger Conservation Forum in St Petersburg, promised the world his country would “vigorously combat poaching, trade and smuggling of tiger products”.

However, China has refused to answer questions about the implementation of its controversial 2007 Skin Registration Scheme, allowing tiger and leopard skins from ‘legal origins’, including those from captive-bred big cats, to be registered, labelled and sold.

A lack of transparency as to how authorities determine the legality of skins, coupled with inadequate enforcement and growing corruption, is creating a smokescreen for the illegal trade in tiger and leopard skins and derivatives in China.

“EIA has often worked with the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation as a fellow member of the Species Survival Network and is pleased to wholeheartedly endorse its TigerTime petition,” said EIA Lead Campaigner Debbie Banks.

“China has had more than enough time to begin putting its house in order along the lines of Wen Jiabao’s promises in Russia, but instead of shutting down the tiger farms and embracing a zero-tolerance policy on the trade in tiger and big cat skins and derivatives, it instead seems dead set on heading in the wrong direction.”

The TigerTime initiative has secured the support of a large number of household names since launching in June, including Samantha Fox, Sir Paul McCartney, Joanna Lumley, Stephen Fry, Ricky Gervais, Sir Roger Moore, Sir Michael Parkinson, Susan Sarandon, Anjelica Huston, Jeremy Irons, Paula Abdul, Neil Gaiman and

Joan Jett.

The TigerTime ‘Ban the Tiger Trade’ petition can be found at www.bantigertrade.com.

Interviews, footage and stills are available on request: please contact Debbie Banks, at debbiebanks@eia-international.org or telephone 020 7354 7960.

EDITORS’ NOTES

1. The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) is a UK-based Non Governmental Organisation and charitable trust (registered charity number 1040615) that investigates and campaigns against a wide range of environmental crimes, including illegal wildlife trade, illegal logging, hazardous waste, and trade in climate and ozone-altering chemicals.

2. The EIA report Enforcement not Extinction: Zero Tolerance on Tiger Trade outlines EIA’s recommendations for urgent actions to reverse the tiger’s decline http://www.eia-international.org/enforcement-not-extinction.

3. EIA has written to China seeking clarification over the 2007 Skin Registration Scheme and raised questions about it from the floor at UN meetings, but China has failed to respond. Read our briefings at http://www.eia-international.org/leopards-losing-out-at-cites-as-parties-let-reporting-slide & http://www.eia-international.org/enforcement-and-asian-big-cats

4. The International Tiger Forum in St Petersburg in November 2010 resulted in the adoption of the Global Tiger Recovery Program (GTRP) and the goal of doubling the wild tiger population by 2022; see http://www.globaltigerinitiative.org/download/St_Petersburg/GTRP_Nov11_Final_Version_Eng.pdf

5. It is estimated there are between 3,200-3,500 wild tigers remaining in the world.

6. The Species Survival Network (SSN), founded in 1992, is an international coalition of more than 80 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) committed to the promotion, enhancement and strict enforcement of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Visit the SSN website here www.ssn.org.

Environmental Investigation Agency

62-63 Upper Street

London N1 0NY

UK

www.eia-international.org

Tel: +44 207 354 7960

Fax: +44 207 354 7961

ALERT – UPDATE

The County went in this morning and removed all shelters and dismantled feeding stations at Saddle Creek Park. The County has the opportunity to take the most effective and humane action now, but they are not. They have begun their plan to try to starve the cats to death. They have created this problem by not enforcing Parks Ordinance preventing “dumping” of animals and now want to enforce ordinances against citizens being humane to these animals. The bottom line is that removal of the cats or attempted starvation of the cats will not solve the issue. Properly managed TNR programs, like the one being run by Feral Fanciers, will solve the issue at no expense to the taxpayers of Polk County. If you are angry about this now is the time toSPEAK UP. The County will listen to the protests of the citizens more than they are listening to us. Contact the people below and tell them how you feel. Forward this email to others and encourage them to speak up to. THE ONLY WAY TO SAVE THESE CATS IS TO SPEAK UP.
It is time for all of us to contribute our time and voice to helping the cats. TNR IS THE ONLY HUMANE SOLUTION

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Let these people know that you want the only effective and humane solution for feral cats in Polk County:

Letter to the Editor:voice@theledger.com
Tom Palmer:tom.palmer@theledger.com
Tom Palmer Blog: Cat Colonies on Public Lands
Parks and Recreation
Jeff Spence, Director
JeffSpence@polk-county.net
Phone: 863-534-7377
4177 Ben Durrance Road · Bartow, FL 33830
Michael Callender, Parks and Recreation Manager
mikecallender@polk-county.net
Phone: 863-534-4340
General Office: 863-534-4340 · Fax:863-534-7006
515 Boulevard St. · Bartow, FL 33831
County Manager
Jim Freeman, County Manager
jimfreeman@polk-county.net”
Phone: 863-534-6444

County Commissioners:
Bob English, Commissioner
Phone: 863-534-6450
bobenglish@polk-county.net
Melony Bell, Commissioner
Phone: 863-534-6434
melonybell@polk-county.net
Edwin V. Smith, Commissioner and Chairman
Phone: 863-534-6050
Ed.Smith@polk-county.net
Todd Dantzler, Commissioner
Phone: 863-534-6422
todddantzler@polk-county.net
Sam Johnson, Commissioner and Vice Chairman
Phone: 863-534-6434
samjohnson@polk-county.net
ALL: Office Address: 330 W. Church Street, Bartow
Mailing Address: Drawer BC01, P.O. Box 9005, Bartow, Florida 33831-9005

Tigers Unleashed on Fatal Attractions

Nov 18 at 9 PM EST watch the premier of Animal Planet’s Fatal Attractions – Tigers Unleashed! On a compound in Florida one man is killed and another fights for his life when a tiger breaks free and attacks. Carole Baskin is interviewed and TJ and Bella star in the show.  I think Alex and Modnic may have had a cameo role as well, but need to watch it again to see.  In Kansas, a young and innocent girl lies broken and dead when her dream photo shoot with a tiger goes badly wrong.

If you missed Tigers Unleashed on Friday Nov. 18, you can see it Sat. Nov. 19 at 7 PM EST.

You can see one of the deleted scenes here:  http://animal.discovery.com/videos/fatal-attractions-tigers-rescued-deleted-scene.html 

Woo Hoo!

A big shout out to Allison for signing up with Online Shopping to help support the cats with her shopping dollars.  Big Cat Rescue got its first residual check yesterday for $138.00 after just the first month of Allison, Jamie, Barbara Stairs, Gale, Honey, Edith and Lisa switching to online purchases of stuff they use every day.

Also a big thank you to the work group who showed up yesterday to help with landscaping and cage building!

Jennifer and Jamie open up the tunnel & repair doors for bobcats

"Be the Bobcat" Jennifer tells Jamie

100+ cages mean 200+ doors that always need maintenance

Cameron the lion and Zabu the white tiger wait for dinner to be served

Jarred helps Katy the intern feed cats after a day of painting cages.

The feeding tour watches Sundari the leopard eat her meal

Do LIONS cough up Hairballs?

Big cats cough up BIG cat hairballs just like their domestic cousins! Joseph our male lion recently produced a specimen so we thought we’d show our viewers!

*WARNING* You may not want to watch this video if you’re squeamish :)