Advances The biggest advance in our history was this year when we went from “Tampabay’s Best Kept Secret” to a Household Name in the local area. This was due largely to the great media exposure donated by six local Cox Radio Stations. Hillsborough County gave us big green directional signs in 5 locations to direct visitors to…
Elsa Bobcat Female Northern Bobcat Date of Birth: 4/88 – 10/19/04 Elsa was purchased at an auction in 1992 and brought to Big Cat Rescue. She originally came from South Dakota, where she had been kept outside in a pen with no shelter from the freezing temperatures. Her ears were so badly frost bitten that…
The more I learn about people…the more I like my cat. I’ve said that more than once. It’s been my experience that “animal people” prefer the company of non human animals. We tend to avoid that which makes us uncomfortable, including each other. The problem is that the animals in our care cannot support themselves,…
Thunder Male Jungle Cat D.O.B. 9/13/98 – 10/12/04 Thunder arrived at Big Cat Rescue on 6/13/00 as an unwanted pet. His former owner was assured that they could make a fortune breeding hybrid Chausies and have the pleasure of a perfect pet in this wild cat. What they weren’t told is that all exotic cats spray…
Casper Cougar Male Cougar DOB unknown – 7/14/04 Casper , a male western cougar, found refuge at Big Cat Rescue in 1996. He had been seized in a drug raid by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission and taken to Lion Country Safari, who in turn went on a search to place the cougar as…
Hunted to extinction in the U.S. by 1940, the Jaguar is in trouble world wide, and two in particular are barely escaping death due to the rescue efforts of Big Cat Rescue. There are only 300 such cats registered with the International species Information Service and only 22 of those are considered sufficiently pedigreed to…
Sierra Male Caracal 1990 – 4/22/04 Sierra came to Big Cat Rescue on 5/1/93 from an Alabama Research Center. It is disturbing to contemplate what type of research would possibly be needed of African cats in the U.S. and why it made Sierra so fearful of people. He came with a general dislike for…
Tabitha Female Ocelot born in 1983 – 2/2/04 Arrived here 6/17/97 Her story is repeated all too often by greedy people looking to make a profit off an animal. She supplied kittens to the pet trade until she was 13 and quit producing. She was unceremoniously dumped at an auction where she was in the…
Ninja Male Lynx Hybrid 4/29/96 – 2004 Ninja was born here before we knew any better. We didn’t think a bobcat / lynx hybrid could reproduce, but his father did. Ninja was never friendly toward people. He has a favorite spit to hiss at people from and the photographer’s love his beauty and fearlessness. TRIBUTES…
Cheyenne Serval Female Serval Date of Birth: 1/23/90 (more likely 1980) Cheyenne arrived to live on Easy Street as a zoo reject. She was sold at auction because she was fat and sway backed and not the perfect representation of the sleek Serval she was supposed to be. She looks much older than her paperwork…
