May 25 2019

Big Cat Updates

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From Carole

I Sleep With One Ear Open

Last night I got a call at 9:45 pm from the Sheriff of a county nearly 2 hours away, saying, “We are responding to a call from a motorist who said she struck a Florida Panther.  We just want to know, if the cat is still alive, would you be willing to respond.”  My answer was that whether it was a Florida Panther (highly unlikely) or a Bobcat, we would respond immediately upon confirmation that it was indeed a cat.  Thus began the waiting.

I called Jamie to let her know that we might be making a late evening dash across the state.  The good news was that because of the rescue of Illithia today, the van was already packed and ready to go with more than our usual bobcat rescue gear.  All we had to do was wait.  Since the vast majority of these calls turn out to be coyotes, raccoons or no animal found at all, we just don’t start driving without some sort of confirmation that a cat was involved.  The police were on it, so they could control the situation if a cat was found.

By 10:02 police had scoured the scene with the woman who said the cat had done down into a drain pipe.  There was no blood at the scene and no sign of a cat, but the police called the FWC who, rather remarkably, dispatched an officer to help rip out the drain to see if there was indeed a cat involved.  I reminded the officer again, that whether it was a Florida Panther or a Bobcat, we would still like to know, even if the cat was found dead. He promised to call and let me know if they found a cat, dead or alive.  Now all there was to do was wait, and wait and wait for the phone to ring.

When Pearlie woke me up this morning, I realized that no call had come, despite feeling like I’d slept with one ear listening for that call all night.  I can only presume no cat was found.  Not knowing for sure will haunt me for days.  It always does, and then another similar call will come a few days later. – Carole

Alexa Flash Briefing

In case you have missed previous days’ news briefings you can find them all at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCPv8ivo6o4CZHFifkfRYDw

WELCOMING a New African Serval

Exotic cats never work out long term as pets…even if you do everything right. Two men decided to make their fantasy come true by buying a precious baby serval. They did everything right from the beginning, including getting a Class II permit from the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission and permission from their Home Owner’s Association. They provided proper vet care, microchipped her and even made sure she was on an all raw meat diet. That’s not easy to do for a private pet owner, but it’s vital to the health and vitality of the wild cat. Read the whole story and see more photos at http://bigcatrescue.org/illithia/

Coordinator Report – Angie Gabor

It was a very busy day today! We started the day helping an injured dog found outside of our property. It was taken to the vet for care.

I want to thank Tanya, Maureen, Rich, Barbara, Amanda, Kristen, Candice, and Nicole for being a great team and cleaning the sanctuary today in this fun heat!!

Our project today, of cleaning, Cyrus and Chaos’ old enclosure to get it ready for our new serval, was completed by the awesome project group of Tanya, Mazz, Barbara, Amanda, Maureen, Nico, and Elizabeth. They did a great job and shortly after they finished we moved Illithia into her new home. She will need a few days to get used to her new home.

Big Thank You to all the volunteers that came in today, to help with tours. Also thanks to Maureen and Becky for doing the specialty tours today.

Like all great days, we ended the day with an intern sandwich!!!

Videos of the Day

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to Servie the Serval! She is celebrating her 9 year rescue anniversary today!

Learn about Servie:
http://bigcatrescue.org/servie/

Sponsor Servie:
https://big-cat-rescue.myshopify.com/products/serval-sponsorship

Explore.org/bigcatrescue Webcam Highlights

Watch the LIVE Streaming webcams at Explore.org/bigcatrescue or find all the webcams’ direct links at BigCatCams.com

CATurdays are made for rolling on the soft grass!

Priya Tiger is LOVING her vacation!

Keeping those paws dry!!

Big Cat Rescue Merchandise

Be a Big Cat’s Best Friend! You’re contributing to protecting endangered tigers and other big cats. Show you care by sporting real semi-precious cat’s-eye and lava rock beads from Big Cat Rescue!! https://www.amazon.com/Big-Cat-Rescue-Bracelets-Friendship/dp/B076Z2KDHX?th=1

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

Big Cat Rescue’s AR ZOO Helps Furbabies Find Furever Homes

These furbabies found their furever families! Chickie (top right) and Peep (bottom right) have found their furever home with the Bailey family ???

St Francis Animal Rescue has set up shop at the Big Cat Rescue AR Zoo in Citrus Park Mall located in Tampa! There will be kittens and cats of all ages and sizes available for adoption to loving homes on Friday evenings, and Saturday and Sunday 12-4.

You can also check out the Big Cat Rescue Augmented and Virtual Reality experience and learn all about how you can make a difference for ALL big cats by making the Call of the Wild!

Photos of the Day

Jinx is a VERY SNEAKY boy!

Happy CATurday

Good morning Big Cat Rescue Friends! ☀️
Pretty Princess Priya Tiger is ready to celebrate the long holiday weekend! ??
Have a great CATurday everyone! ?

Meet the Flat-headed Cat

Meet the Flat-headed cat! Panthera is featuring this rare and endangered small cat in their first entry of the new blog series, #SmallCatSpotlight.

This elusive feline, which earned its name from its flattened forehead, has rarely been observed in the wild. They are at risk from habitat loss and illegal trade and are considered Southeast Asia’s most threatened small felid. In partnership with local NGOs, Panthera is currently conducting flat-headed cat surveys in Borneo to understand their population numbers and how they are responding to threats like logging, poaching, and agricultural development.

Read more about this wildcat and how Panthera is working to protect their populations with new research and conservation efforts: http://bit.ly/2EqYMZy