May 12 2017

Big Cat Updates

Amanda, Andre, & Arthur went home from vacation.

Zeus is next door to Joseph and the Texas Three.  So far is appears they will all be comfortable with the change in their neighborhood.

Heads Up

Another Keeper Spotlight will be posted tomorrow!

We LOVE Our Explorers!!!!!

Getting to meet that amazing group was a real treat for all of us at Big Cat Rescue!  This group does so much for the cats and for the sanctuary.

What a FUN Group!!   I wish we could keep this whole group right here and never let them go.  Hmmmm…. they are inside the recovery cage, I wonder if we could lock them in there and never let them go!!

Look at the precious BEAUTIFUL Gift they made for Carole!!

Facebook Live Video Replays

Sioux Lakota Rescue Recap Release & Zeus in the pool.

Enjoy Zeus Tiger in the pool. You’ve seen the rescue video of Sioux and Lakota Bobcats from the Mobile Zoo, but here is the behind the scenes action of them being released into their new enclosures at Big Cat Rescue. Laugh along with Jamie and Afton as they recount the rescue trip (after no sleep for two days) that includes peacock attacks, swarms of bees and what it’s like to go into a raid and net bobcats you’ve never met before.

Moving Amanda, Andre, and Arthur Tigers back home from vacation.

Get outdoors and take a play break with the big cats. Watch more at http://explore.org/bigcatrescue

Project Day and snack cats

Working on Tiger Lake

The mother cats in our Foster Kitten Program are the total package when it comes to making the purr-fect pets, but most commonly get looked over at the shelter. Make a mother’s day by adopting a mommy cat from your local shelter. BigCatTV.com

S.A.V.E. Award

For outstanding volunteer service, the June 2016 SAVE Award went to Jennifer Rusczcyk! Jen goes above and beyond to train and mentor fellow volunteers, if friendly to guests, and dedicated to providing the best care possible to our resident felines. Thank you so much and congratulations!

A donation of $1000 has been made in your honor to the Fishing Cat Working Group to fund the ongoing research needed to conserve Fishing Cats in Sri Lanka.

The conservation status of fishing cats according to the IUCN Red List is Endangered. Despite being an endangered species, fishing cats in Sri Lanka, and in most parts of Asia, are a poorly studied species. In Sri Lanka they are most commonly seen inhabiting marshes and other wetlands, including in urban areas. However, with rapid urban development taking place, these wetlands are being filled. Therefore, it is now crucial to understand the ecology and behaviour of fishing cats in these urban wetlands, and integrate the conservation of these wetland habitats into urban development plans, as green areas.

In 2006, a pilot study was conducted to confirm and establish the presence of fishing cats in Colombo’s urban wetlands. The study was conducted over a year, during which fishing cats were caught on camera, in several of these wetlands. However, the study had to be concluded due to security issues in Colombo and suburbs, as this was during the last stages of the country’s civil war. In 2013, four years after the war ended, Colombo saw rapid development and many of the urban wetlands were cleared or filled with complete disregard for the importance of these habitats, and their biodiversity. It was therefore decided to reconfirm the presence of cats in the wetlands, and understand if the cats still reside within these wetlands or if they had been pushed out of these habitats due to development practices.

The aims of this study will be:

1. Estimate current fishing cat presence in Colombo’s Urban wetlands while urban development is being carried out, using camera traps.
2. Understand if development has affected fishing cat numbers in Colombo.
3. Understand fishing cat displacement within urban wetlands.

More info at: http://www.fishing-cat.wild-cat.org/

Look What YOU Have Done!

Carole got an email today from Amazon.  Big Cat Rescue has been issued a $6,296.30 donation from the AmazonSmile Foundation as a result of AmazonSmile program activity between January 1 and March 31, 2017.  YOU have raised $6,296.30 for the cats in the first quarter of 2017 by choosing Big Cat Rescue. Corp. as your chosen charity for Smile.Amazon.com.

People Often Ask:  What is Amazon Smile?

Answer:  It is a wonderful way to support the cats at no cost to you is to go to your Amazon.com account and sign up for Amazon Smile to have .5% of your purchases donated to Big Cat Rescue.

It is easy to set up. Once you do, instead of going to Amazon.com to shop, in the future you go to Smile.Amazon.com. Everything at Smile is exactly the same as you are used to at Amazon, same products, same prices. If you have a Prime account, it will still be there in Smile. The ONLY difference is that .5% of your purchases are donated by Amazon to Big Cat Rescue – ZERO cost to you, but it sure adds up for the cats.

To sign up for Smile just go to https://smile.amazon.com/ch/59-3330495 and log in with your usual Amazon ID and password.

Once you have signed up, you should go to Smile.Amazon.com to make your purchases instead of Amazon.com. Just typing Smile into your browser instead of Amazon should take you there, or bookmark the URL, or, after you select Big Cat Rescue, you may see a screen like the one below inviting you to download a shortcut to Smile.Amazon.com.

Want to access your Smile account from an iPhone or iPad? Easy!

• Open Safari and go to Smile.Amazon.com
• Log in with your Amazon login
• Hit the SHARE icon at the bottom of the screen (the square with the arrow pointing up)

Hit the Add to Home Screen icon (the square with rounded edges with the + sign in it)

You will see an icon direct to your Smile account (including Prime if you have it) on your phone’s home screen.

If you have the regular Amazon app on your phone, it is a good idea to delete it so you do not forget and go there.

Smile.Amazon.com works the same as Amazon.com and has all the same products. The only difference is that it sends a half percent of your purchase to Big Cat Rescue. This has become a meaningful source of support that you can add to at no cost to you. Please sign up and urge people you know to do so.

THANK YOU to EVERYONE who has chosen to support the cats through their normal Smile.Amazon purr-chases!!  YOU ARE Making A Difference!!

 Viewer Videos From Explore.org/bigcatrescue

Here are some recent videos from Viewer Jamie T:

Joseph’s After Breakfast Morning Roar

Joseph Morning Roar – Part II

Evenings with Hoover – 04-26-2017

Big Cat Rescue Snapshots – 04-14-2017

Evenings in the lake with Hoover – 04-26-2017

Hoover’s Evening Swim – 04-28-2017

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
• Jaime T: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsY_oF0NhXc5OS8CcTaUi2A/videos

  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