May 17 2017

Big Cat Updates

Amanda, Andre, & Arthur are back on vacation.  They had to go home for a few days while work was being done in the vacation enclosure.

Apache Bobcat had a dental, a small mass removed from his shoulder and was shaved to remove mats. He will be in the recovery hospital for three days.

Andi was spayed and a mat removed. She will be in the recovery hospital for 10 days.

Nova Bobcat Update

Reposting this for those who missed it yesterday.

International Tiger Day Is Coming

You can now take TJ tiger with you to the beach!

We have designed a unique line of merchandise, including this TJ tiger beach towel, for International Tiger Day — July 29th! Learn more and check it all out here: Tigers911.com

Big Cat Rescue will donate the profit from all purchases of our International Tiger Day merchandise — and any donations you make on the ITD merchandise page — plus we will MATCH THE PROFIT DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR up to $5000. The funds will be donated to the Corbett Foundation’s work to protect wild tigers, leopards and other animals in India from falling into open farm wells. The money will be used to construct chain-link fences around the wells, keeping the big cats from falling into these very deep wells and drowning.

Currently about 2500 of these open farm wells exist, many in the core zone of the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. It costs approximately $100 to fence one well. We hope to send the Corbett Foundation a check for $10,000, which will fence 100 wells! Endangered wild tigers and leopards in India already face enormous challenges to their survival…please help us fence in wells while you enjoy your TJ tiger items!

New Web Cam

Check out the new, updated webcam in Vacation Rotation at http://explore.org/live-cams/player/big-cat-rescue-vacation-rotation

 Foster Kitten Program

The P kittens are recovering nicely from their kitten colds. I’m hoping they can be back in the Cabana by the end of the week.

There will be a major deep clean of the Cabana on Thursday morning, then keep your eyes out for an adorable black kitten named Frankie to appear that afternoon (provided his SNAP test is negative).

Thank you everyone for your patience. I’m hoping to get more little ones soon!

Karma L. Hurworth
Assistant Manager/Master Keeper, Big Cat Rescue

Keeper Corner

Keeper Afton:  Making sure Cameron eats his lunch. Crunch Crunch!!

Keeper Afton:  Joseph eating his dinner Monday night. Crunch Crunch!!

Keeper Afton:  This is how I get to end my day. ❤️Seth

Viewer Pix

Viewer Scotti Cohn:  Evening in Tampa, Florida at Big Cat Rescue. I don’t know who this gorgeous one is, but he or she is enjoying being in the vacation rotation enclosure.

Viewer Heather G: I LOVE my paw painting by my love, Joseph! Mothers day gift from my son and mother! Hopefully one day I can make the trip to meet him and the rest!

Viewer Barb Colvin:  LOVE MY AMANDA TIGER NECKLACE. ITS BEAUTIFUL

Viewer Carol B:  Thank you Carole for taking a photo with us. Emma enjoyed herself immensely.

Viewer Carol B:  Had a wonderful time on our private tour today. Nancy was a wonderful guide and it was great meeting Jen, Afton and Carole besides all the cats. I can share these couple photos now and next week when we get home from Disney I can post some photos we took. Hope the cats enjoy the paper rolls we brought for them

Viewer Lesa Stratton (May 15):  Zabu of Big Cat Rescue is 17 today!

Viewer Diane Buckler:  Happy Birthday beautiful Zabu!

S.A.V.E Award

Scratch’s Award for Volunteer Excellence, the SAVE Award

For outstanding volunteer service, the October 2016 SAVE Award went to Michelle Baker! Michelle Baker has been volunteering at Big Cat Rescue for one year. She has moved her way through each level to her current Keeper status with big smiles along the way. Michelle is very outgoing and is always looking for ways she can pitch in. Her recent help with the Wildcat Walkabout was a true blessing. She reached out and booked a variety of awesome food trucks for the event.

To celebrate a $1,000 donation was given to the Small Wild Cat Conservation Foundation to aid conservation efforts for the Pampas cat.

The Pampas cat (Leopardus colocolo) is a small cat that has been poorly studied despite its wide distribution range in South America. It is distributed from northern Ecuador to southern Argentina, including Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil. The Pampas cat is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN and is listed as Appendix II by CITES. The threats that this species faces along its distribution range are habitat fragmentation, disturbance and habitat loss, pasture burning, hunting, and presence of pets and livestock.

Even though this species is listed as Vulnerable and Data Deficient by the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Governments; distributional and ecological research has been focused on the Andes and Cerrado almost entirely excluding its desert and dry forest populations. The first phase of this project was initiated with a distribution assessment to confirm Pampas cat presence and evaluate if human-­cat conflict exists in the Sechura Desert and seasonal dry forest of northwestern Peru and southwestern Ecuador. The Sechura Desert and the dry forest are listed among the Global 200 priority ecoregions that harbor exceptional biodiversity. Sadly both are at risk. The Sechura Desert is considered Vulnerable due to serious threats of development of rural and urban areas. The dry forest is listed as Critically Endangered however only 5% of it is legally protected.

Based on the results of the first phase of the project the second phase will focus on investigating Pampas cat movements to identify key areas for its survival as well as compare its home range, movement patterns and habitat use in two differing habitat types and finally to conduct environmental education workshops for local people highlighting the importance of the Pampas cat in this ecosystem.

Smallwildcats.com

 Viewer Videos From Explore.org/bigcatrescue

The Texans taking a morning bath

Nikita and her log

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