2011-12-24 Carole Diary

Carole Baskins Diary

Cats We Saved That We Might Never Meet

The following are a few wild cats who you helped save, but that you may never meet. Because of the collaborative efforts of all of you, Big Cat Rescue is known far and wide as THE resource for all things wild cat related. About month ago a desperate bobcat owner contacted us. He had been keeping a bobcat named Maggie in a back yard dog kennel for 15 years before the NC authorities found him out. It is extremely rare for people to keep wild cats after they reach adulthood and are no longer fun or safe to play with, but this guy did and it was obvious that he wanted Maggie to go someplace good. He had researched us and felt like we could give her the best home. His only problem was that the man was 79 and would never be able to see Maggie again if she came to Florida.

We suggested that he try Carolina Tiger Rescue because they would be close enough that he could visit. The only holdup was that CTR didn't have a permit for bobcats even though they have worked with almost every type of wild cat there. Bobcats are native and required something like our Rehab permit, even though Maggie (pictured at left) had never lived in the wild. The state was threatening to confiscate and euthanize Maggie, so we jumped in and endorsed CTR, but also told the state that we were standing by, ready and able to pick Maggie up if it turned out that they would not allow her to go to CTR. Last week, all went well and Maggie went to her forever home at CTR.

Meanwhile, a rehab bobcat kitten named Rufus, who is only four pounds, and thus probably only a few months old, was turned in to another Carolina wildlife center. You may remember that they had three bobcat kittens back at the same time we did and Jamie walked the center through the proper rehab techniques, since they had never raised orphaned bobcat kittens for release. The rehab center said it was the hardest work they had ever done because bobcats are much harder to rehab and release than other wildlife. If not for the fact that there were three of them to practice their hunting and fighting skills on, they felt that they would not have succeeded.

With Rufus being a lone bobcat, who already shows no natural fear of humans, they don't think they can give him the space nor training he needs and asked if we would take him as a permanent resident if they fail. They are pretty sure that Rufus will never be able to go free because he is blind. This may just be from the impact that broke his jaw and landed him in their hospital, so we are hoping that he recovers his sight, but if not we have offered to take him in if the state of NC will let him go. We will keep you posted.

We were asked to take an Asian Leopard Cat who appears to be illegally possessed in FL and we advised the owner that they would have to get approval from FWC for us to take the cat as we cannot accept a cat from someone inside the state if they do not have a permit. It is against the law. They decided instead to send the cat to an un-named "rescue group" and we advised them to seek a permit so that the animal is not confiscated and euthanized. His name is Skye and he had been bought as a pet and then bounced from home to home because ALC's make awful pets, despite being about as cute as they come.

And we got a call from a rescue center in Central America this week asking if it is OK to house adult, female ocelots together. We advised them against doing that as ocelots are notorious for latching on and NEVER letting go. Wild cats are solitary and do not want to share space; especially the tiny, barren quarters of most rescue center cages.

Thanks to those who wrote emails, made phone calls and helped promote the issue on facebook the Centerpointe Mall agreed to send the animal abusers home. (I didn’t call him out by name at the time, but this was Joe Schreibvogel) The outfit was due to be at the Grand Rapids mall for 10 days, up until Christmas, which would be the busiest holiday traffic, pimping out tiger cubs for photos. When the mall saw that a protest was springing up on facebook and was planned to arrive the next day, they sent the animal act home. The mall said they would never allow this kind of display and that applies to their other 17 malls too. More than 70 malls have barred this kind of abuse in the last year thanks to all of YOU!

Also, thanks to letters, calls and emails the NJ Senate passed a landmark bill that would require tiger owners to microchip, photograph and track where their tigers come from and where they go. This bill will be going before the Assembly next month and we will need your help then to make sure it becomes law and a template for other states.

One cat you may be able to help is Nala the Canada Lynx. Her owner Kristy says, "She is declawed & fixed. Located in MI. Has been kept outside in 10x30x5'6" cage. The lynx "belongs" to my ex boyfriend. He purchased her from a breeder in 03 or 05. He up and left. Took a job in China and I believe he is currently working in Thailand. I have not seen him since March 2008. He has since married. I have since married. He was sending me money to pay for her care but has quit. I'm currently in possession of the lynx but the permits are in his name. I really can not afford to keep her and care for her properly. I'm scared to contact the DNR as I'm afraid they will put her down :( I never wanted him to get her in the first place, tried to convince him not to. I'd be happy to sign a contract to never own anything exotic!" She said she will contact DNR after the holidays to see if they will allow her to send Nala here.

Sadly, any of you who are on the Wildlife Waystation's mailing list have seen that they are in deep trouble financially. They were prohibited from allowing guests on property several years ago so they cannot fund themselves through tours like we do. It costs Big Cat Rescue 1.7 million dollars per year to keep our sanctuary going. We do that with 10 paid staff and more than 100 volunteers. Wildlife Waystation had 400 lions, tigers and chimps and 52 staff and a 3 million dollar a year budget to meet. They have announced that they are having to lay off people. Their newsletters have been reporting dire circumstances since 2007. With the economy continuing to worsen, it will be very difficult for the Wildlife Waystation to fund themselves just through donations and grants.

After the Wild Animal Orphanage went bankrupt in 2010 and 400+ lions, tigers, bears, wolves and chimps were dispersed out into every possible nook and cranny of existing sanctuaries there just aren't any open cages out there. A Nat Geo production team has spent months just trying to find a place that would rescue a single tiger, with the promise of it being a TV episode featuring the facility and no one has been able to take even one tiger, much less the huge numbers of big cats at WW. The best hope for survival that those big cats have is if the Wildlife Waystation could duplicate the volunteer and intern program of Big Cat Rescue. Having all of the animal care done for free would ensure the animals are not neglected and donors would be more likely to step up for food costs than staff paychecks.

We are always trying to tweak our volunteer program here so that it can be replicated successfully anywhere in the world. Sometimes it may feel like Big Cat Bootcamp but it takes commitment and discipline to achieve great results. We are constantly being asked for help by other major sanctuaries because they all have the same problem: too many animals and too few people to care for them. We have made a conscious decision here to NOT rescue more cats than we can care for and we counsel others to make sure they can provide for the animals they already have before bringing in more. We have also made our entire BigCat.me site a template that can be used by other sanctuaries and we train them in how to set it up for their staff and volunteers. We share all of our training documents with them as well so that all they have to do is modify bits and pieces to fit their routines. We will do that for any facility that is not breeding, buying, selling, trading or allowing contact with the animals.

The systems only work if the people do. Every time you schedule yourself on a calendar and show up it makes it possible for us to get the work here done and illustrate to other facilities that it can be done. Every time you log your hours and keep up your shirt level commitments, it lets your fellow rescuers know that we are all working as a team and inspires others, who's names you might not even know. Every time you give a tour, send a thank you note, write a letter, get a purchase out in the mail right away or join a work project you are setting the example for others here and in every good sanctuary in the world. YOU are making a difference for animals you will never meet and changing the world for better in ways that are just astounding.

We are able to help cats all around the world because YOU are here taking care of our 119 animals and because YOU are making us the model for all other sanctuaries to follow. We always have work that needs to be done and can always use more cleaners, feeders, tour guides and admin help. Here are a few new projects that almost anyone can join: https://sites.google.com/a/bigcatrescue.org/volunteer/to-do-list

I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views. If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story. The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story. My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.

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Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.