2012-02-14 Carole Diary

Carole Baskins Diary

Jumanji Leopard and Our Evolution of Thought

I suspect that our tour guides just don’t know what to say about Jumanji the black leopard because I often overhear people saying, or I read in some article that Jumanji came from the pet trade. His story online and in the Safari Guide is below and does not say that, even though it is true in a sense. Jumanji’s parents, Sabre and Lola were pets who were rescued by Big Cat Rescue but Jumanji was born here on 2/23/96. Back then we didn’t know any better and the people who advised us were breeders who said these were endangered species (true) and that they should be bred for conservation purposes (false). By 1997 we had figured out that none of the wild cats in private hands were part of the Species Survival Plans (SSP) and thus could never be used for any legitimate conservation breeding program. That is why we stopped breeding cats in 1997.

We had a few accidents in the first couple of years after that as we were trying to get all of the cats separated, spayed and neutered. Like TrickE and MrE the Amur Leopard Cats whose parents were in their late teens and thought too old to breed, Windstar Bobcat who was born to a hybrid father, who should have been sterile as the result of being a lynx hybrid, and the bearcats Mocha, Bean and Thing whose parents had been separated. We later discovered that binturongs are delayed ovulators meaning they can get pregnant but not have the babies until conditions are optimal. (Thank goodness, because we thought they might be the result of immaculate conception and that would have really messed with some of our religious beliefs.)

I use Jumanji’s stop as a way to introduce guests to our evolution of thought. While people are captivated by his beauty I say, “Big Cat Rescue was not always what it is today. Jumanji was born here in ‘96 because in the early years we were told that these were rare and endangered species that should be bred for future generations. What we learned was that none of the wild cats in private hands will ever be bred for return to the wild. In fact, the more we came to learn about these magnificent cats, the more we realized that they don’t belong in cages at all. They were designed to roam hundreds of square miles and it is cruel to confine them to cages measured in square feet. As a result, we stopped breeding in 1997 and began working on ways to end the abuses that cause so many beautiful cats like Jumanji to end up in cages.”

This helps you set the stage for later questions when people ask about cats on the tour path who were born here. We don’t post on their signs or on the website that they were born here because if a person only lands on that page, or only notices that sign, they may come away with the belief that it is OK to breed cats for lives of confinement. We need to be sure they get the whole answer.

I have also heard people say that he was Jamie's pet, but in 1996 when he was born, Jamie was 16 and was feverishly working to complete high school two years early because she was needed so badly at the sanctuary to help with all of the cats. The kittens had to be fed every two hours for weeks, then every four hours, then every six.

Jumanji and Black Magic were litter mates and Magic was a stargazer and very ill and hard to feed. Auroara the tiger was a cub (not born here) at that time as were some servals, caracals and bobcats. Jamie was feeding all of them around the clock.

There were some high profile cases where Jamie walked Jumanji on a leash, including the People Magazine article, one in the Palm Beach Post and then at a fundraiser in Chicago for the Cheetah Conservation Fund. We used to tell the story, which is pretty funny, about the latter, but don't any more because we don't want people to think that they too could walk a leopard on a leash. It was a bad idea then and we know better now.

This was the story that we don’t share on tours but I kept in my diary:

It had to be late 1997 or 1998 (maybe even as late as 1999) that we were invited to bring Jumanji Leopard, Hercules the Snow Leopard and Jayla Cougar to a fundraiser in Chicago for Laurie Marker Kraus’ Cheetah Conservation Fund. Later I would come to hate that she unwittingly promotes the extinction of cheetahs by promoting images of herself treating cheetahs as if they could be pets.

The event was at the Imperial Hotel and Mel Gibson was there filming a movie (Maybe What Women Want?) and staying at the Imperial. Jamie spent most of the night walking Jumanji up and down the hallways hoping for a glimpse of the actor. One funny moment happened when a man, clearly drunk, saw Jumanji and yelled to his wife that there was a black panther in the hall. The wife called him a drunk and told him to go to bed. He kept insisting so Jamie moved to the next floor.

The event was a black tie gala where Jim Fowler wanted an array of wild animals to be brought on stage where he would pontificate on them and the need for funding the Cheetah Conservation Fund. Our cats were NOT trained my the methods others used (such as starvation, beating, cattle prods and such). Our cats were allowed to pretty much be cats and we were just happy if they didn’t bite anyone. We get to the event room to practice and are told that Jumanji has to be walked down a spiral staircase, then across the ballroom floor, past a grand piano and huge, velvet theater drapes to a table. Then he’s supposed to jump up onto the table, stand there while Jim Fowler talks, and when dismissed, the cat is to hop off the table and exit stage right.

Jamie decides right then that she’s going to have to wear her hiking boots under her flowing, full length gown, because Jumanji is going to see all of this as a huge playground. Sure enough, during practice, he’s leaping off the spiral staircase, dragging Jamie by the leash. He jumps on the piano, leaps into the velvet curtains before taking her practically skiing behind him all over the room. All of this while it’s just Jamie, Judy Watson and me in the room. We know that adding a couple hundred people, in sparkly attire and bird feathers boas and hats is going to make matters even worse.

Hercules and Jayla are far less rowdy, and we go through the motions with them, except they aren’t going to do the staircase thing. They will have to enter from stage left. That’s OK. Jamie will make the grand entry meant to awe the audience into silent check writing. We practice for hours. Jumanji is having the time of his life, as are Hercules and Jayla. We are wondering if we should bow out or take the chance of the evening being an utter fiasco.

The event time comes and we are all sweating bullets. I’m watching from stage right, as Jamie and Jumanji descend that spiral staircase as if the cat were computer generated to do exactly what was requested. He passed by the previously undeniable call of the piano and curtains, walks right up to the table and hops to his spot. Jamie and I look at each other is total disbelief!

Jim Fowler does his talk and indicates to Jamie to walk Jumanji off the table to where I am standing in the wings. Jumanji is just LOVING the attention of everyone in the audience and has no intention of leaving. Jamie tries pulling, pushing, coaxing and the crowd starts to laugh as Jim makes some comment about the cat’s love of the spotlight. Now it’s getting crazy and that cat isn’t budging. I do the only thing I know a wild cat can’t resist. I turn my back and crouch down to the floor.

In an instant Jumanji leaps off the table for my back, and all I can hope is that Jamie has a good enough grip on the leash and sense of balance to keep the three of us from rolling out into the audience in a brawling blood bath. Jamie manages to keep her balance and grip, if not her composure. We both know what a dumb move that was but it got Jumanji off the table. That was the last time we took our cats out to a fundraiser, I think.

JUMANJI Male Leopard DOB 2/23/96

Since he is one of the first black leopards you see at the sanctuary, Jumanji is used to quite a bit of attention. Most days, he can be found in the shadiest part of his cat-a-tat lounging on his fern-covered tree log. It is very easy to see how well black leopards camouflage themselves in the jungle since most people walk right by without noticing him there. People magazine certainly noticed Jumanji though. His photo was featured in an article written about Big Cat Rescue. Jumanji is also known as quite the superstar achiever in our Operant Conditioning Program. He learns very quickly and always wants to please, especially when treats are involved. If the keeper is not quick enough with the reward, Jumanji will offer other behaviors to see if maybe the keeper wants something else. He makes it easy to capture and reward other behaviors, which he will then subsequently remember. The adage that leopards have the longest memories truly applies to Jumanji. On 2/3/09 Panther International pledged to donate $20,000 to Jumanji’s life time care.

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.