Big Cat Updates
Happy Easter
Happy Easter! Watch as the tigers and lioness turn into the Easter bunny with our Easter face boards. Also some other big cats joined in on the fun! BigCatTV.com
Call of the Wild Update
It would be a GREAT Easter Gift for the cats if YOU would make the Call of the Wild at BigCatAct.com
What is the Call of the wild & How do I make it? CLICK HERE to find out
Facebook Live Video Replays
Tigers Swim and play in their own lakeside habitat at Big Cat Rescue. Watch more at http://bigcatrescue.org/tigerlake
Keeper Spotlight – Jocelin
Hi, my name is Jocelin and I am a senior keeper at Big Cat Rescue. I first heard about BCR when I was a junior in high school. It was spotlighted on some Animal Planet show, and I simply knew that I had to visit. I lived in NH but was planning a visit to what would eventually be my college of choice, Eckerd College, in St Pete, and Tampa was so close that it just seemed meant to be. After my freshman year I did the Level 1 internship and then became a volunteer keeper, and then intern, then keeper and finally senior keeper.
It took me awhile to go from keeper to senior keeper, much longer than most I would say. Keepers can clean and enrich the cougars and smaller, and feed and do operant with the Siberian Lynx and smaller, and senior keepers, once trained, can feed, clean, enrich, and do operant with everybody. Even though BCR is called Big Cat Rescue, it has many more smaller cats than big cats, and I was, and still am, enchanted by the smaller cats, that despite their size, can still be quite intimidating.
The first time Pretender the bobcat, barked at me, I literally fell onto my butt in shock. I had crouched down a safe distance from his cage as he walked over to me, thinking “Wow, he likes me!,” and then he barked at me and gave me a stare that seemed to say “I am still a wild cat, don’t mess with me.”
The small cats are the real toughies, because in the wild they are still not the top of the food chain or the biggest, and need to be able to defend their place in the wild. These are some of the reason I fell in love with ‘the littles,’ as we often call them. Servals are my favorite, I think because of how direct they are; they hiss at you and there is little question about how they feel, even though there are many levels to the serval hiss.
One thing that I took the time to do at BCR is try to really get to know each of the cats that I work with, and I train other volunteers to do the same. Knowing what is normal behavior for each cat can be very important for their health, and, I believe, allows keepers to form a respect for the cats on a deeper level.
My favorite cat at the sanctuary is Jojo, a caracal/serval hybrid from a failed sanctuary in Florida. We were certainly were not a love at first site pair though; Jojo was extremely aggressive when he came to the sanctuary, and quickly became one of the small cats that we needed to loc-out for feeding time (something usually reserved for our cougars and larger).
Everyday, we walk around each cage of sanctuary at least twice, once for regular cleaning (clean food plates, water bowls, pick up feces and enrichment, etc.) and a second time by a separate person as a double-check to make sure everything was done right the first time. Jojo used to chase me around his enclosure every time I walked around reaching his legs out to try and hit me or my cleaning bucket (which is why we always walk a safe distance from the cage) and hissing and spitting at me the whole time. One day I decided I had had enough of it, and sat down with Jojo (again a safe distance) and at first he continued to hiss and reach, but eventually he layed down facing me, not knowing what to do with himself. Eventually, it became our pattern to sit together after cleaning or double-checking, and he learned to be comfortable with me, roll over, show me his belly, get comfy. Now he mostly stays sleeping where he is when I come over. He half opens his eyes, half hisses, and rubs his head on whatever is near, showing his true contentedness.
A lot of cats come to the sanctuary from boring neglectful places, and they don’t know how to act once they get to BCR, so it is the volunteers that introduce them to love and attention, and show them that they will never have to be hungry or scared again.
Being a volunteer with so many wonderful people at Big Cat Rescue has changed my life in ways that I know I cannot fully comprehend yet, and has taught me lessons in friendship, compassion, heartbreak, and resilience that I will always carry with me.
Senior Keeper Jocelin
Keeper Corner
Babycakes loves getting blood’sticles’ as much as our cat residents!
JoJo is purrfect as always!
I made Babycakes a fun house a couple of weeks ago, and had lots of fun doing it!
Zabu and Cameron were very happy for last weekend’s Florida version of a cold front.
Big Cat Wedding
Here at Big Cat Rescue we also have weddings! On April 12, 2017, Jennifer and Oscar started their new life together! Officiating is Volunteer Partner Barb – Wedding Coordinator/Volunteer Partner Sherry was in attendance and BCR Staff Afton the photographer.
After their ceremony they had a private tour of the sanctuary – that is Priya tiger and Sundari leopard in pics with the happy couple.
We also have a party house at the back of the sanctuary for receptions. If you are interested please email the office at info@bigcatrescue.org
BigCatTV.com
Big Cat Rescue’s Easter videos from previous years.
Easter 2016
Celebrate Easter with our big cats as they enjoy some Easter goodies!! Watch them tear into their Easter baskets and other fun enrichment!!
Easter 2015
Celebrate Easter with our big cats and watch them have fun with their Easter enrichment.
Easter 2013
Big Cat Easter Egg Hunt! Watch tigers, lions, leopards hunting and attackng their Easter Eggs!
Easter 2012
Big Cat Rescue makes Easter egg enrichment for our tigers, lions, leopards and more every year, check out the egg-cellent action!
Easter 2012 B-Roll Footage
Residents at Big Cat Rescue in Tampa Florida enjoying their Easter egg enrichment!
Easter 2010
TIGERS, LIONS, LEOPARDS, SERVALS, they all like easter eggs too! Watch our cats destroy extra large easter eggs!
Easter 2011
TIGERS & LIONS LIKE EASTER TREATS TOO! Watch Zabu the white tiger destroy her Easter egg filled with catnip and leave the mess for Cameron the lion to investigate!
Easter 2009
We are always thinking of new ways to keep our cats entertained at the sanctuary, this year we decided to give them easter eggs to see how they’d react!
Foster Kitten Program
Guess who got dropped off for Kitten Daycare? After this segment ends you can continue watching these cuties at http://explore.org/bigcatrescue
Want to protect kittens and cubs? Your purr-chases at BigCatRescue.biz and CatRescue.biz do just that. Check out the new items in both stores!
Easter Photos To Share
Sayy “Happy Easter” to your friends on Social Media, like Facebook, Instagram, with a big cat smile. These are for YOU to share.
Get more at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154354672341957.1073741921.122174836956&type=3
Nirvana’s Tribute Photo – Finally 😉
If you requested an 8″x10″ Hi-Res Tribute Photo of Nirvana, they were emailed out last night, however, three came back as undeliverable. If you did not get yours, email me at lawanna.mitchell@bigcatrescue.org so I can resend it. Here is a low-res version of it, the hi-res version looks better.
Viewer Videos From Explore.org/bigcatrescue
Here is a list of YouTube channels that feature videos of the cats here:
- Jamie Veronica: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsY6X3rUv8UlIUbrxNeu-Aw
- Susann https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUFOZiTvzKRvj-oVbzdByvg
- Ruxandra https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvCsjKptd1gM9BhfDkGQGNg
- Donna P: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcFbhMc8Sqr-8MreWuYr4Bg
- Shawna https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfl9S-vDPJIgjl8QpM6Aypw
- Cathy S https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6ynHBFLKj0BVnK5jo2gTnw
- Janie M https://www.youtube.com/user/donutgirl100
WANTED – Graphic Artists
Carole is looking for a graphic artist who really gets what we are all about and would would like to help us with some graphics for shirts. If that is you or if you know someone like that, please have them email Carole at cat@bigcatrescue.org
Quick Links
As per viewer suggestions, Quick Links now has it’s very own page http://bigcatrescue.org/quick-links/
Bookmarking it will help you find things quickly. That will come in handy for:
- Helping us answer questions on social media
- Finding answers to some of Carole’s Facebook Live questions
