Oct 18 2016

Four Tigers Coming to Big Cat Rescue

Big Cat Rescue is participating in a significant cross-country rescue spearheaded by Tigers in America and Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge with the participation and support of the larger community of Tigers in America Sanctuaries.

We expect to give new lifetime homes to 4 new tigers. Because of the sensitive nature of this project, we have been asked to keep further details under wraps until the safety of all the cats at risk can be assured. There are many challenges because of the size and scope of this effort.

We are pleased to be a major part of such an important and ground-breaking mission!  Help fund their rescue, the cage modifications we are doing to accommodate them and their ongoing care here:

https://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/51389/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=9319

Or purchase one of these tees that proclaims:  All I want to do is drink beer and rescue tigers.  Check the store out for similar tees that say: Drink wine and rescue tigers.

Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge is partnering with Tigers in America to rescue 110 animals from a facility in Colorado. The facility’s owner has cancer and contacted TCWR to take over the facility. TIA is coordinating a massive rescue effort between TCWR and many of the accredited sanctuaries that they work with.

Turpentine Creek Takes on Biggest Big Cat Rescue in U.S. History

Multiple Accredited Sanctuaries Collaborate to Rescue 110 Big Cats and Bears in Colorado

Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (TCWR) is accredited but the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and is a non-profit big cat and exotic animal refuge. Founded in 1992, the same year as Big Cat Rescue, TCWR has a long-standing history of working to not only save big cats, but also educate the public about the struggles of big cats in captivity. Their mission is to provide a lifetime refuge for abandoned, abused, and neglected big cats with an emphasis on tigers, lions, leopards, and cougars. TCWR has over 100 animals on their 450-acre property located seven miles south of Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

On September 21, TCWR, in partnership with Tigers in America (TIA), purchased the property and equipment of a Colorado based animal facility, who’s owner was in ill health. He donated the animals, which included more than 70 tigers, to TCWR with the understanding that they would put the welfare of the animals first. This was a daunting challenge but TCWR’s founder and president, Tanya Smith, senior management, and board decided to take it on.

On that day, the number of animals in TCWR’s care more than doubled. Many of the animals from Colorado are in need of veterinary care and an enormous amount of work needs to be done before winter comes to Colorado in earnest.

So far, TCWR has moved 27 big cats to their facility in Arkansas and TIA has committed to placing and transporting the remainder of the animals who need new forever homes to the best big cat sanctuaries in the U.S.

TCWR has assembled a team of TCWR keepers and former TCWR interns to care for the cats in Colorado, while they perform safety improvements and emergency veterinary care. TCWR’s goal is to downsize the facility as fast as possible to be able to manage the animals as winter sets in, in Colorado.

This is an enormous undertaking and the cooperation and generosity of the animal sanctuary community cannot be overstated. This is an unprecedented showing of sanctuaries working together to make sure no big cat or exotic animal will be left behind.

Big Cat Rescue has agreed to take on four of those tigers, but we need your help!

In order to take on more tigers we have to modify a lot of the bobcat cages to accommodate bigger cats. Then we can move our cougars to that section of the property and renovate the cougar cages to accommodate tigers. That includes having to rebuild all of the feeding lockouts for cats who are much taller. It means making bigger door ways, larger tunnels and tiger size guillotine doors. It means having to tear out all of the ramps, platforms and jungle gyms that were built for 25 lb cats and replace them with accouterments that will handle 500 lb cats.

Help fund their rescue, the cage modifications we are doing to accommodate them and their ongoing care here:

https://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/51389/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=9319

 

More About our friends at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge

Founded in 1992, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization operating one of America’s largest big cat sanctuaries. The 450-acre refuge, located 7 miles south of Eureka Springs, is America’s premier big cat and other endangered wildlife refuge. The refuge has been voted one of Arkansas’ Top 10 Destinations and is rated the #1 Attraction in Eureka Springs by TripAdvisor.com. Admission prices are $20 for adults, $15 for teenagers, $10 for children 12-under, seniors, and military. Children under 3 are free.  Additional Information Sources & Photos

http://www.TurpentineCreek.org

https://www.facebook.com/TurpentineCreekWildlifeRefuge/photos_stream

Book Your Halloween Hayride

Come join Big Cat Rescue for their 1st ever Halloween Hayride!

This is about a 20 minute leisurely ride thru the Sanctuary. It is an abbreviated Children’s tour. This will be a nonstop ride.
Children must be accompanied by a parent.

Cost per person is $20.00 Space is limited get your tickets now here: Halloween Hayride

 

Facebook LIVE Contest Winners on Sat. 10/15/2016

Kym Bennett Lewis · 4:51 Keisha

Karen Harris · 4:51 keisha

Big Cat Rescue Updates

More info on the new rescues:

I sent this to Mike, the founder of Spirit of the Hills where our 4 bobcats and 2 cougars just came from:

Hi Mike,

I think I met you at the big cat conference in 2013. Bobbi just delivered:

Sassy Cougar
Josie Cougar
Dryden Bobcat
Kewlona Bobcat
Nabisco Bobcat
Smalls Bobcat

Can you tell me anything about them?

Favorite foods, favorite enrichment, ages, spayed or neutered, where they came from, etc?

We love them already and want to give them a stress free transition.

Lanny responded for Mike this morning, saying:

“Hi Carole,

Sassy Cougar- she came to us in 2001 from Jim and Judy Morrow of Wildcat Valley Sanctuary of the Black Hills, Keystone South Dakota. She’s 17+ estimate. She is spayed. Sassy had already had the tips of her ears frozen off by the time she came to live Jim & Judy in 1999.  Judy Penland Morrow died of cancer in July 2009. The last mention I found of Jim Morrow was in an April 2011 interview: at that time, he still owned six large cats, but he had transferred them to Spirit of the Hills Sanctuary in the Northern Hills for safe-keeping. He was having health issues of his own; and without Judy, he told the interviewer, his heart just wasn’t in Wildcat Valley anymore.

Josie Cougar-in 2004 Josie came to SOTH from Ken and Nancy Kraft in Minnesota. estimated 14 years of age. Josie is spayed.  Keith Kraft, who had owned BEARCAT Hollow in Racine, Minn., had pleaded guilty to falsifying records and conspiracy and was convicted of two counts of witness tampering in connection with the case. Kraft and eight others, including his wife, Nancy Kraft, were accused of illegally trafficking animals, including 17 tigers, seven leopards, five grizzly bears and dead animals and animal skins between 1999 and 2003.  The Krafts became infamous for their part in Operation Snow Plow and for selling the Tiger to the Harlem apartment owner, who made news when the police had to scale the side of the building to tranquilize the tiger after it bit the owner.

Dryden Bobcat-surrendered by the public in 2015. A year and a half old max

Kewlona Bobcat- surrendered. 18 months not spayed

Nabisco Bobcat- (the small bobcat)  He’s about 6-7 months old.  Nick name is baby one. He is not neutered and is microchipped. Was dropped off during the crow peak of fire.

Smalls Bobcat-not spayed. 2yrs plus (she was living with Nabisco) Dropped off by people that found her.

Favorite food are ground buffalo, deer carcasses and rabbit in the winter. Otherwise chicken like quarters in the warmer months and fresh butchered beef. For enrichment we put essential oils in paper bags , bowling balls, and they always had beef bones or wild game bones.”

Then Bobbi Brink calls me just now and said she’s going to talk w/ Mike on Thursday, but that his keepers said that the crates were marked wrong.  The tiny little cat we’ve been calling Smalls, is actually Nabisco, and may have been rescued from a forest fire.  The bigger cat he was living with was a female named BSmall and she is three years old.  That makes more sense, given their size, but Bobbi will try to suss out more details later this week.

Keeper Notes:

Cricket Vet Issue: acting weird Notes: Meowing a lot more than usual then hissing inbetween meows, pacing a lot and following me whilst cleaning which has never happened. Found some rat insides buried next to lockout.
Reported By: Rachel Salt

The new kittens in the Kitten Cabana are from the ASPCA.  Green Level Keeper, Rebecca Williams, lives on site at Big Cat Rescue and fosters kittens for them.  While our foster kittens are still too small for the Kitten Cabana, Rebecca is sharing her little furry fosters with us LIVE at http://explore.org/live-cams/player/big-cat-rescue-kitten-cabana

Jumanji Leopard was Euthanized

We were all so upset yesterday over losing Jumanji that I updated his page, but didn’t proof read it before leaving.  This morning people pointed out that I hadn’t said what happened yesterday, which was:

Oct. 17, 2016 his blood work was even worse. The medications were not helping and Jumanji was clearly ready to go. Jamie asked that the hospital cage be taken out by the lake where she and Dr. Justin could spend some last moments with him before helping him cross over to his next big adventure. Gale, Lauren and Afton helped drive him out there.  Under the shade of the Grandfather oak on Tiger Lake Jamie and Jumanji spent their last few precious moments together. Jumanji was euthanized by Dr. Justin and a warm, soothing breeze ruffled the air for a few minutes before he was gone.  He may have left his cage on Easy Street yesterday, but he will always be with us.

 

Zanesville Massacre Marks 5 Year Anniversary

Today, October 18, 2016 marks the fifth anniversary of a nightmare: a private owner of exotic animals in Zanesville, Ohio named Terry Thompson opened the cages of his 56 tigers, lions, cougars, bears and wolves and let them loose.
When sheriff deputies arrived at Thompson’s facility, they saw lions and tigers drifting toward the highway and town. Recognizing that the animals were a serious public safety risk as dusk approached, deputies had no choice but to shoot most of the animals before they scattered into the night and threatened lives.
When the dust had settled, 18 tigers, 17 lions, 3 cougars and many other animals were killed. Also dead was Terry Thompson, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

But the biggest tragedy that day? That the incident happened at all.
Big cats like tigers and lions should not be owned by private citizens. Zanesville could happen anywhere in the United States. It’s estimated that between 10,000 to 20,000 big cats are owned as pets or maintained in ill-equipped roadside zoos and traveling exhibits.
These predators pose a serious risk to public safety. Cats possessed by private owners in the U.S. are frequently housed in dilapidated cages that are unlikely to hold and contain them during natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes and tornadoes.
The solution is Federal legislation – the Big Cat Public Safety Act (H3546 / S 2541) – which Big Cat Rescue and a coalition of animal welfare groups has been working to pass for several years. This bill is a common sense and urgently needed bipartisan solution to the problem of dangerous big cats kept in unsafe circumstances. The bill amends the Captive Wildlife Safety Act to prohibit breeding and phase out the private possession of lions, tigers and other big cats.
Please take action and ask your Senators and House Rep to co-sponsor and support the Big Cat Public Safety Act at BigCatAct.com.
Let’s not let the 56 wild animals that died 5 years ago be forgotten or have died in vain.

Love Nature Videos?

Check out these videos that Susann Mesna captured from our explore.org/bigcatrescue LIVE web cams:

New York City Residents Can Roar Out Against Circus

On Thursday at 9:00 AM at City Hall, there will be a rally and a hearing on a bill, Intro 1233, to ban circuses from exploiting wild and exotic animals by forcing them to perform.

Elephants, tigers, and other animals are abused so that they will perform on cue and then neglected in narrow cages that barely allow room for the animals to turn around. Circuses frequently violate even the extremely lax requirements of the federal Animal Welfare Act.

Ringling Bros is showing up to fight this bill and we need to be there in force to match them. Can you be at City Hall on Thursday at 9:00 AM?

Whether you can be there or not, we need to make our voices heard. Call your City Council Member today and tell them to stand against circuses’ animal abuse!

 

P.S. Don’t live in New York City? Sign our petition calling on an end to animal exploitation in the circus so we can present it to the City Council.

On Thursday at 9:00 AM at City Hall, there will be a rally and a hearing on a bill, Intro 1233, to ban circuses from exploiting wild and exotic animals by forcing them to perform.

Elephants, tigers, and other animals are abused so that they will perform on cue and then neglected in narrow cages that barely allow room for the animals to turn around. Circuses frequently violate even the extremely lax requirements of the federal Animal Welfare Act.

Ringling Bros is showing up to fight this bill and we need to be there in force to match them. Can you be at City Hall on Thursday at 9:00 AM?

Whether you can be there or not, we need to make our voices heard. Call your City Council Member today and tell them to stand against circuses’ animal abuse!  http://www.nyclass.org/voter_voice?vvsrc=%2fcampaigns%2f48165%2frespond

P.S. Don’t live in New York City? Sign our petition calling on an end to animal exploitation in the circus so we can present it to the City Council.  http://www.nyclass.org/tell_the_city_council_to_ban_circuses

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