Jan 28 2017

Cat Updates

Hoover Tiger has been eating between 7-14 lbs of food per day since his procedure. His Tramadol and Gabepentin both ended on Tuesday. Thursday he ate less than 2 lbs. The vets are discussing a change to his meds to see if that helps him eat better. The Enrichment Committee has been asked to step up enrichment for him and/or have someone read to him.

Keeper Babs brought in hot apple cider for the volunteers. Sorry kitties…you wouldn’t like it.

Reise Cougar is pretty old but she loves life and lives it to the fullest. She LOVES her toys and gets super excited over Enrichment goodies. She is so funny. She will work half an afternoon playing with her balls. The before she takes a nap she works hard gathering them all up and rolling them into her den. Or she can sometimes be seen laying on top of her balls like a hen would on a nest of eggs. Hmmmm…. there is an old photo of that somewhere. i’ll see if I can find that. Anyway, look at the Live Facebook Video Replays below to see Reeise enjoying her FunCation.

Gabrielle, a.k.a. Gabby is really enjoying her first vacation in the Vacation Rotation enclosure. She has patrolled the perimeter, marked everything. She has been in and out of the pond, up in the platforms, in and out of the dens, inside and on top of the earth covered tunnel. Several times she has been seen just standing the looking all around and up at the sky as if she is in total bliss. Given the over crowded cages shared with other tigers at the place she recently came from having 2.5 acres and a pond all to herself must seem like living in a fairy tale. If you check the “Viewer Videos” from Susann and Ruxandra below you can see videos of Gabrielle enjoying her first vacation.

It has been about 50 degrees and the cats are absolutely loving the cooler weather, the keepers not so much 😉 Poor Carole is freezing. Lets have a shout out in the comments. What is the outside temperature where YOU are at?

Facebook Live Video Replays

VIDEO: Afternoon Walkabout with Carole 1/27/2017

VIDEO: 22 yr old Reise Cougar Playing Like a Cub

I just love watching her play with her ball, swatting it, chasing it, etc. She was even digging when she knocked it under the platform ramp. That was interesting to see.

Valspar Tournament / Contest Update

Thanks to all of you who voted we exceeded the first 10,000 vote milestone last night!

We got 8896 of the first 10,000 votes earning us a for sure $8,896! Compares to $7254 last year. Nice work all!!

Going forward, each vote is worth over $3 as our pro rata share of the $55,000 prize if our tournament wins, so let’s keep the pressure on!

If you could share this video and ask your friends to vote, it could really help the cats.

Link for Social Media like Facebook: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzsXAqRHdis

Embed Code for Blogs & Website: <iframe src=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fbigcatrescue%2Fvideos%2F10154147809556957%2F&show_text=0&width=560″ width=”560″ height=”315″ style=”border:none;overflow:hidden” scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ allowTransparency=”true” allowFullScreen=”true”></iframe>

YOUR Vote and YOUR SHARES are enabling us to rescue, rehab, and release wild bobcat orphans like Captiva. How many of you remember watching her grow up with Phoenix in the Bobcat Rehab enclosures, learning to hunt, and finally, when they were ready, be released back into the wild? Watching them sprint across the field to the woods and a life of freedom is a scene I’ll never forget. Again, YOUR VOTE and YOUR SHARES can help us rescue, rehab, and release more wild bobcats like Captiva.

Announcing Facebook Live Winner

Each day that Carole does a Facebook Live video she asks a question and someone who answers it correctly wins a prize. So, go to Facebook and Like our Facebook Page and choose to get notifications of our live videos. Then participate in the contests, join in conversations in the comments area, too. Be sure to book mark BigCatRescue.org/win which is where you will post your answer to qualify for a future prize if you are the first one to get the correct answer.

1/27/2017 Contest

Question: What page on our website would you send someone to to find ways to help that cats that do not cost money?

Winner: Rachael Cullins

Answer: https://bigcatrescue.org/help-free

How to Find the Answer: Go to our website, BigCatRescue.org and in the website menu click on “Get Involved” then click on the big blue button labels “Help Cats” that will get you to a page that has several ways to help the cats many of which do not cost.

You guys are AMAZING!! Several of you chose the “Get Involved” page, some chose Smile.Amazon, Some of you chose the donate unwanted gift cards. ALL of those were good choices. Boy this was a very very close contest!

Winner’s Chosen Prize: Shirt – I Heart Big Cats (Also available in navy, white, pink, blue, & black)

The PURR-ticipation photo was a hi-resolution digital photo of Amanda Tiger. Those will be email out today.

Viewer Videos From Explore.org/bigcatrescue

We are going to try something different today. One of our amazing viewers mentioned that while they really enjoy to “Viewer Videos” It is a lot of scrolling on her phone to get to the comments below. So today I will post one Viewer Video from each of the viewers who normally submit videos along with a link to go see more of their videos.

Note to Viewers: YOUR feedback on this change is welcome. We want to know what YOU prefer.

VIEWER VIDEO: Nikita’s Yoga Session With Her Big Yellow Ball

By Susann

To see more Explore.org/bigcatrescue videos from Susann, CLICK HERE

VIDEO: Gabby Getting Treats 1/27/2017

By Ruxandra

To see more Explore.org/bigcatrescue videos from Ruxandra, CLICK HERE

Global Cat News

1/26/17 Japan: A lion bit the heads and legs of two animal keepers while they were bathing him inside a cage in preparation for a photo shoot. The lion, reportedly a 10-year-old male, was chained and did not escape. The keepers, a man in his 20s, and a female in her 50s, remain conscious but were severely injured. The two employees were bathing the the lion owned by Shonan Animal Production, a company that rears animals for television productions and film projects. While it’s tragic that two people suffered injuries, this is just another story that shows what happens when wild animals are kept captive: they fight back. And it’s a lose-lose situation for both the animals and people http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11789160

Tiger cub killed by ‘bison’ in Madhya Pradesh; Toll hits 35 in 13 months. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/tiger-cub-killed-by-bison-in-madhya-pradesh-toll-hits-35-in-13-months/articleshow/56801910.cms

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus to perform one last time in Tampa and Big Cat Rescuers, along with Florida Voices for Animals are there protesting. Why? Because we want them to end the tiger acts NOW and send the big cats to accredited sanctuaries, rather than off to other circus acts or zoos. http://www.mysuncoast.com/news/state/ringling-brothers-and-barnum-bailey-circus-to-perform-one-last/article_d8471d9a-e410-11e6-a772-b71f486cf85a.html

‘If we don’t act now to protect nature, nothing will be left’ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/if-we-dont-act-now-to-protect-nature-nothing-will-be-left/articleshow/56800307.cms

Wildlife officials are asking residents who live north of Boulder to keep an eye out for a family of mountain lions and do their part to help keep them safe. http://www.denverpost.com/2017/01/27/wildlife-officials-hope-boulder-mountain-lion-cubs-dont-get-too-comfortable/

Lion Farmers May Get Skeleton Export Quota in South Africa. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-27/south-africa-plans-export-quota-for-farm-bred-lion-skeletons

How We’re Working to End Human-Snow Leopard Conflict to Bring This Species Back From the Brink. http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/how-were-working-to-end-human-snow-leopard-conflict-to-bring-this-species-back-from-the-brink/

Mizpah Shrine Circus vows to continue wild animal acts. News that some circuses have stopped using elephants and that the iconic Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will close in May — in part because of ticket sales drops following its decision to stop using elephants in shows — appears to have no effect on animal acts at the Shrine Circus. “We just go ahead with what we have planned,” Trump said. “It doesn’t affect us.” http://www.news-sentinel.com/entertainment/Mizpah-Shrine-Circus-helps-children-have-fun

Humans Almost Drove These 6 Animals To Extinction. But We Saved Them Instead. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/animals-saved-from-extinction_us_58807961e4b02c1837e9cf7f

Omaha zoo officials say a mountain lion that was shot and captured at one of Omaha’s busiest intersections in 2003 has died in captivity. Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium says the puma, named “Omaha,” died Wednesday morning after a long battle with kidney disease. http://krvn.com/regional-news/mountain-lion-captured-in-2003-at-omaha-intersection-dies/

Experts say it is a ‘miracle’ the Siberian tiger survived after a bullet went through its head. One of only 600 or so tigers remaining in their natural habitat in eastern Russia, the 7 month old cub appeared on the brink of death. But rehabilitation and the surgery to ‘restore the integrity of the facial part of the skull’ – seen here in the pictures – has been successful, and the tiger has a chance to return to the wild. http://siberiantimes.com/ecology/others/news/n0849-tiger-shot-in-the-head-by-poachers-may-go-back-to-wild-after-surgery/

How a Three-Legged Lion Inspired Efforts to End Deadly Snare Hunting. http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/three-legged-lionness-snares/

As Asian Luxury Market Grows, a Surge in Tiger Killings in India. https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2017/01/asian-luxury-market-grows-surge-tiger-killings-india/

Climate change brings rival cats to the snow leopard’s neighbourhood. http://www.earthtouchnews.com/conservation/human-impact/climate-change-brings-rival-cats-to-the-snow-leopards-neighbourhood

MELBOURNE Zoo today confirmed the death of its last surviving lion Harare. The 16 year old “king” of the cats was put down after suffering renal failure, a common but often fatal condition for ageing lions. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/melbourne-zoo-lion-harare-dies/news-story/0a21410ac74b416466dc6cf3c538465c

People were shocked by recent viral footage of a trainer repeatedly whipping a tiger in the face during a circus-style performance at Hangzhou Safari Park in China. In the video, a white tiger can be seen trying to take a stick from a trainer, who appears to be antagonizing the animal among a group of the big cats. Once another trainer sees what the tiger is up to, the whipping begins. In an attempt to escape the blows, the tiger falls into a pool and struggles frantically to climb out via an unsecured ladder. As the video ends, one tiger is shown with a bloody face wound, and according to reports, the animal’s fangs had also been removed. http://www.peta.org/blog/safari-park-faces-online-backlash-tiger-whipping-video-surfaces/

Idiots! Family Buys Lion Cubs for Their Kids – Only to Discover the Animals are … Well, Wild. http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/family-buys-lion-cubs-for-their-kids-only-to-discover-the-animals-are-wild/