Big Cat Updates
- King Tut’s biopsy results came back for his mass and it was a benign cyst.
- The Inaugural Big Cat Rescue Giving Day is May 2, 2019! And early donations started yesterday.
- Cats were moved on Thursday. Check below to see who moved where.
- One cat found, Zed, found his furever family at the AR ZOO Adoption day, today.
- Carole, Afton, & Lauren are back with awesome new video skills.
- Three promotions are announced.
- The Texas Tiger digital download book was announced.
Alexa Flash Briefing
Thank you, everyone, at YouTube and VR Scout for making VR Creator Lab 2019 so awesome! #VRCreatorLab
If you watch nothing else today you will want to watch this video. WOW, about halfway through Carole starts talking about the direction we are going with the video work and saving big cats in the wild. WOW, I had to watch this a 2nd time and a 3rd time, too. DON’T MISS OUT!! Check this out!!
In case you have missed previous days’ news briefings you can find them all at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCPv8ivo6o4CZHFifkfRYDw
AR Zoo – Adoption Day
From Holly Kopacz: Another successful adoption day at the AR Zoo in Citrus Park Mall! We have teamed up with Chris Poole and Jen Fortheanimals Tate to help find forever homes for these beautiful balls of fur! Adoption #6 was Zed 😻 This handsome boy found his forever home today and we couldn’t be more thrilled!
Promotions
The Volunteer Committee is pleased to announce the following Promotions.
- Fred Pagan to Level 5 Intern
- Mariyam Amirat to Level 3 Intern
- Barbara Brooks to Senior Keeper
Please join us in congratulating them on their promotion.
Big Cat Rescue Merchandise
BRAND NEW DESIGN! BCR President Jamie Veronica designed this Lion Sunset Graphic now available on Tee Shirts, Tanks, and 3/4 Sleeve Shirts! https://big-cat-rescue.myshopify.com/search?q=lion+sunset
Your purchase helps Big Cat Rescue provide rehab care of native bobcats and permanent care of nearly 60 abandoned and abused Big Cats.
Coordinator Reports
April 18, 2019 – Lauren Grant: Warm good day today!
A tiger and the Cougar Cubs were moved back into their enclosures. Armani Leopard is now in the Funcation. Connie Cohen, Tanya Chute, & Ashley Tait weed-eated the Funcation between moves.
Connie Cohen also swept and mopped the Windsong Memorial Hospital. The interns weed-eated, raked (inside and out) and grass seeded a tiger enclosure so that hopefully the grass seed will grow after the rain tomorrow.
Candy Couser and Victoria DiGiacomo knocked out food prep. Hoover is locked in his roofed sections for the storm tomorrow. We need to still get Nikki though.
Thanks, everyone for a great day!
The Inaugural Big Cat Rescue Giving Day is May 2, 2019! And early donations started yesterday!
With $30,000 Match!
For the past five years, Big Cat Rescue has participated each May in an annual fundraising day in our community called Give Day Tampa Bay. It quickly became one of the sanctuary’s most significant fundraisers of the year – thanks to generous donors like YOU we raised over $105,000 for our cats in 2018!
This year the organizers of the community-wide day decided to apply their resources elsewhere. We were initially disappointed the cats would lose the vital financial support we’d come to rely upon each year. Then the idea hit us: Let’s continue the tradition with our own fundraising day and hold the first-ever Big Cat Rescue Giving Day on May 2nd!
Our inaugural Big Cat Rescue Giving Day will be even more special because the first $30,000 in donations will be matched dollar-for-dollar thanks to generous donations by Pilot Bank, Pam & Larry Trissel and a donor who wishes to remain anonymous. Our goal is to raise $120,000.
Donate Securely Here: https://bigcatrescue.salsalabs.org/2019givingday/index.html
Big Cat Rescue’s mission is first to provide the best possible home to the cats in our care. But the second part of our mission — to stop the abuse of these magnificent animals in captivity — is what can enable us to improve the lives of THOUSANDS of big cats beyond those we can care for at the sanctuary. That broader mission is where we would like to use the donations received during Big Cat Rescue Giving Day.
The single biggest cause of mistreatment of big cats is cub petting. The cubs used in this despicable trade are typically torn from their mother shortly after birth so they don’t bond to the mother, deprived of their mother’s milk which has antibodies to prevent disease, deprived of sleep which further weakens their immune systems, and physically punished to discourage their natural behaviors. Then, when they are a few months old and too big to pet, there is no tracking of where they end up or how many die or are slaughtered to sell their parts into the international trade. Some end up as pets in backyards. Many are sold to roadside zoos where they are kept as breeding pairs in tiny, barren cages and are “speed bred” as fast as possible, which is not natural and a miserable, unhealthy life for the mother tigers. Our tigress Priya came to us from suffering this fate for years. Because these exploiters need a constant supply of infant cubs, this cruel industry is responsible for the vast majority of tiger breeding.
What caused Ringling to close and SeaWorld to stop their orca shows? As public awareness of the mistreatment of the animals grew, fewer and fewer people attended the shows. The same thing can happen with cub petting! It looks innocent and adorable on its face, but if knowledge of the abusive and cruel back story of this industry becomes widely known enough, together we can stop it!
Digital marketing allows us to target people visiting areas of the country that offer cub petting and arm them with the real story by drawing them to our cubtruth.com page with intriguing online ads. This kind of internet marketing makes it possible to reach people for a tiny fraction of the per-person cost of traditional advertising. With the help of PPK, the Tampa ad agency that has generously created award-winning pro bono work for us for years, and with YOUR help to fund this effort, we have the opportunity to stop this horrible trade by diminishing demand for it through public awareness. Our initial five-month campaign is expected to educate about half a million potential cub petting customers so they know not to support this despicable trade!
Will you help us in our fight to stop the mistreatment of these helpless cubs? Can we count on your donation to help us reach our goal of $120,000 to raise awareness about cub petting and finally end the abuse of so many big cats?
Thank You!!
Videos of the Day
Cougars Ares, Orion, and Artemis are going home from Funcation and getting some Enrichment!
Armani Leopard is going on Funcation!
What does a lion do on a lazy Friday afternoon? Nikita demonstrates that for you! Watch Nikita every day, and night, on her LIVE Streaming webcam at Explore.org/bigcatrescue or find all the direct webcam links at BigCatCams.com
REMINDER: Giving Day for Big Cat Rescue is May 2nd and this year there is a matching fund of $30,000. Any donations made at https://bigcatrescue.salsalabs.org/2019givingday/index.html between now and May 2nd will be matched. This means whatever amount you donate the matching fund will donate the same amount at no extra cost to you.
Keeper Bridget Sardone, is us how to do a vegan holiday ratatouille. Leap on her and join the fun.
Watching the baby bobcat kittens grow up with their mom and as little human intervention as possible should cause people to see just how amazing bobcats are and why we desperately need to protect them in the wild where they belong. CLICK HERE to see the video –> https://www.facebook.com/groups/BigCatRescueUnits/permalink/460217641382948/
Merchandise of the Day
Keisha Tiger has such a Fighting Spirit! Support Keisha with this custom design by Jessica Marks available on Amazon.com/bigcatrescue
Learn her story at BigCatRescue.org/keisha/
Our Official designs here:
https://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Spirit-Keisha-Tiger-Shirt/dp/B07DPMGF7M
https://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Spirit-Keisha-Tiger-Premium/dp/B07DPMQ9LC
https://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Spirit-Keisha-Tiger-Sleeve/dp/B07MNBB6JV
https://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Spirit-Keisha-Tiger-Sweatshirt/dp/B07MGK86QY
https://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Spirit-Keisha-Tiger-Hoodie/dp/B07L5G1H2W
Please make sure you check the Size Chart for Amazon because sizes may run differently than you are used too.
You can donate to the cats at NO COST TO YOU when you select BCR as your charity on Amazon Smile and shop Smile.Amazon.com instead of Amazon.com. It is exactly the same as regular Amazon EXCEPT when you use the Smile URL Amazon donates .5% of your purchase to BCR. It’s added up to over $100,000 for the cats!
NEW BOOK – Texas Tigers
Meet the “Texas Tigers,” Amanda, Andre, and Arthur. Three tigers, born to be ripped from their mother and pimped out in the harmful pay-to-play schemes. Thanks to a wonderful couple these three tigers got lucky and found their way to paradise at Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida where they were loved and pampered.
Enjoy 116 pages of photos, stories, educational information, and of course the bios of these three amazing tigers. Their life stories teach us all lessons that can change the way society thinks about how America uses and misuses these sentient beings. Learn about how the pay-to-play schemes hurt true conservation in the wild and what you can do to make a difference. Enjoy MANY full-page photos of Amanda, Andre, & Arthur as well as lots of photos of them enjoying Enrichment goodies.
There are also 8 photos in the back of the book that will spring to life when you use the VidPic App and point your phone at them.
- Get the Digital Download
- Get the Printed Book
Photos for the Day
Andi Bobcat gets morning and evening supplements to help with kidney function since she is almost 22 years old!
Orion Cougar is looking for a nice spot to have a good long cat nap.
Pharaoh Serval loves to run around his tree and chase lizards in the morning!
Pretty Princess Priya Tigress wishes everyone a Happy CATurday!
Smalls bobcat waking up from her nap to groom!
I just love watching the cats bathe after a meal or snack. This is Priya Tiger getting all cleaned up breakfast yesterday.
Sundari Leopard has her own line of Merchandise designed by Jessica Marks available on Teespring! Shop Clothing, Totes, Stickers, Mugs, Blankets and more! https://teespring.com/sundari-leopard-drawing
Gilligan, Canadian Lynx, is losing his winter fur and sliming down for summer! I wish it were that easy for humans to lose the winter fluff!
Amanda Tigress
Cute little Bailey bobcat and her adorable pink nose!
Goodnight from Miss Kali Tiger!
Beautiful Miss Smalls Bobcat has had a busy day of chasing lizards 🦎 and frogs 🐸
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