Winter 2008

Center for Animal
Research & Education
CARE News
Volume V, Issue 4
2008 4th Quarter
CORPORATE SEAL
We still need your help!
Following on from the previous newsletter, we are still in great need of your help
and support to raise essential funds for the new Mountain Lion enclosure. Due to
the cooler economic climate that I am sure you are all aware of, animal sanctuaries
and zoos across the country are really feeling the credit crunch- even to the point
where many of the smaller parks are having to close down. One of these parks includes the Fejervary Children’s Zoo in Davenport, Iowa, who have four beautiful
Mountain Lions that require immediate housing. Two options present themselves
when a zoo closes down: one, the ideal situation, is that the animals are housed
elsewhere, and the other, the grave alternative, is that they may be euthanized.
Faced with these options, CARE came to the rescue and agreed to take on the four
Mountain Lions. However, with 52 cats already under our wing, we do not have the
space to house an extra four creatures. Therefore we are aiming to raise the muchneeded $50,000 to build a new 10,000-square-foot enclosure, complete with a waterfall, platforms, toys and a secure perimeter fence. In addition, the money will go
towards the annual costs that each cat needs, amounting to $6,000 per animal.
Time is unfortunately running out for these magnificent cats and we therefore urge
you to dig deep into your pockets and donate whatever you can to help with this
project. If we do not receive the required funds by the end of the year, we will,
regrettably, be unable to save these majestic animals. Returning the cats to the wild
is not an option because they have unfortunately been declawed, and therefore
would not be able to survive by themselves. Their lives are in your hands, and only
you can save them from the inevitable ending of being put to sleep. We simply cannot stress enough how much we need your help in raising funds for their enclosure.
Please ask friends, family and colleagues to assist in this plea and donate kindly!
Tazz awaits his new home
A Relief in the Summer Heat
Archie is happy
Sampson is CARE’s most
impressive runner.
Roscoe’s age does not show as he plays for
hours with his toys. The difficult summer
months are finally over! Play ball!!!!!
FALL IS HERE!!! A relief from the
burning Texas summer sun has caused
many of the cats to show their playful
side. Here are some photos of them
playing with a few of their favorite
toys.
Page 2
CARE News
Spotty, Raven, and Eerie are Three Very Happy Leopards!!
Construction is complete... if
you've spent any time around the
leopard area of CARE, you may
have observed some exciting
changes in Spotty and Raven's
habitat. A new over-head platform has recently been erected.
The entire project was funded by
Danielle Aguillard (Eerie's Mom),
Lisa Bollinger (Spotty and Ravens
sponsor mom) and Kathy Miller
(intern, Amber Miller’s, Mom).
The new structure will not only
double the floor space in Spotty and Raven's enclosure but give them both the "up space" that
is desired by leopards. Leopards live in trees in the wild and have carried their fascination with
height into their captive lives. To help Spotty reach the new over-head landing, steps were
created to ease his jump. Eerie will be moved to an adjoining larger enclosure which will allow
him better visual access to tours and caregivers. Thank you to everyone who helped make this
project possible - CARE now has three very happy leopards!
New Interns Arrive at CARE
We at CARE wish to extend a very warm welcome to our two newest family members! Many
exciting things have been happening at CARE in the last few months, including the arrival of two
new interns who will be with us until December 2008. Both have traveled far to help the beloved cats here at CARE. Our first intern is Daena Jordan, from Homboldt County, California, a
graduate from Homboldt State University, with a degree in Zoology. Upon her choice to join us
at CARE, she was very enthusiastic about seeing a different part of the country, as well as getting the opportunity to work with exotic felines in order to further her experience in working
toward her ultimate goal of veterinary medicine. So far Daena has proven to be a good fit here
at CARE: along with being a hard worker, she is also very dedicated to the welfare of the cats.
Her favorite thing about her experience thus far is Levi, one of our beautiful white tigers. She
has said that his beautiful blue eyes remind her of a professor she had in college. We wish
Daena the best of luck in her future endeavors and hope that her time at CARE is fulfilling.
Our second intern, Niki Rust, comes to us from the UK. The last place that Niki called home
was London, England, but throughout her lifetime she has traveled to many places with her love
of animals being her guide. As a graduate from the University of Cardiff in Wales, with a degree
in Zoology, she came to America because of her outstanding compassion for cats. Throughout
this internship she hopes to gain knowledge and experience working with our dearly loved cats
in order to pursue her career in animal behavior. She says her favorite part of being here at
CARE is waking up to the sound of our African Lions roaring. In addition to that, she always
enjoys seeing our playful leopards and cougars jumping around their enclosures as soon as she
walks out the front door of the Thompson Veterinary Center. Even though Niki has only been
with us for a short time, she is a fine addition to the CARE family. Her dedication and continuous commitment to the cats is appreciated by all here at CARE. We hope that Niki’s time here
is beneficial to her future career in animal behavior.
Happy Birthday Bonnie and
Clyde
Upcoming Birthdays
Bonnie
Clyde
Elley
Jezzebell
Levi
Princess
Selina
Solano
11/15/2001
11/15/2001
12/10/1997
12/10/1997
11/15/2001
11/23/1995
12/10/1999
12/3/2001
“Wild at Heart”
Retreats
Interested in spending
time with some
amazing animals?
Come and see us for
a “Wild at Heart”
Retreat. Check our
website
www.bigcatcare.org
Volume V, Issue I & 2
Spotlight Adoption
Rasa
Rasa is a miracle tiger. When she was born, she
weighed an unbelievable 10 ounces (about 1/3 the
normal birth weight of a tiger). She had little fur
and was obviously premature. Rasa lived the first
5 weeks in an incubator only going outside for
feeding and cleaning. She grew slowly, developing
at a rate 3 weeks later than the average tiger her
age, suggesting she was born about 3 weeks premature. Rasa lives with Sydney (a fellow tiger)
and Layla (an African lioness). Rasa is blessed with
a gentle spirit and is therefore often bullied by her
roomies Sydney and Layla, who are both 100
pounds heavier then she. Rasa is in desperate
need of adoption. Someone who could visit her
often would be optimal. She needs someone who
can spend time with her giving her the love she
would willingly give in return many times over.
Page 3
A special thanks to
Gala Woolsey for
helping with the
“Mountain Lion
Project” materials
acquisition.
Do you know
who I am?
Volunteer Spotlight
A long-time donor at CARE, Alana Schooling, has recently become even more involved with the workings
of CARE. Now a retired nurse, she has a lot more time
on her hands to do more of the physical activities such
as cleaning and maintenance. Not only does she now
participate in more hands-on work, she has also become a very active member of the fund-raising committee. We would like to take this opportunity to thank
her for her long-term support over the years and are
very appreciative to have volunteers such as her to
contribute to our family.
Answer on page 4
Alana and Cassie
Raven get’s a New Mom
New CARE family member, Carol Harney of
McLean, Virginia has made the commitment
to be Raven’s new adoptive mother. When
Carol was asked why Raven, she replied, “I
love Raven's color, and she's also got a
little mileage on her, like me. But we're
both happy survivors so far!” Carol has
also given generously to the “Mountain Lion
Rescue Fund”, and she even bought new toys
for the cats! Welcome to the CARE Family
Remember everyone
all 4 new mountain
lions will need adoptive parents!!!!
Volunteers
Needed
CARE is in desperate need
of volunteers. This rewarding experience will change
your life. If you have time
to spare please contact
Heidi Berry at
heidi@bigcatcare.org.
CARE News
Page 4
Saying Goodbye to the Grand Lady of CARE
About 5 years ago Tabby began to deteriorate in health, which is normal for a
17-year-old tiger. As days went by, she showed signs of a desire to make her
final journey. Several months later she fell to depression and sickness: she
would not leave her house, sores appeared all over her body—we knew we had
to do something quickly. This is when we moved Tabby to the vet center. Her
health improved immediately with love and attention offered here. We then
moved her back to her outdoor enclosure, where her health again took a turn
for the worse. This process happened 3 times in the following 6 months until
she finally did not have the strength to stand. I went to her enclosure, very
sullen and sat with her trying to make the decision if she was able to make the
trip just one more time. The interns brought the transport cage to her enclosure. After coxing her, Tabby (literally, falling side to side) staggered into the
transporter.
We brought Tabby to the life-giving vet center, which is where she has lived for
the past 5 years with a small indoor and outdoor area. She had a mattress to
keep her tired bones comfortable as well as pillows and blankets and many
stuffed animals (her “babies”) to play with. She carried her “babies” as if they
were her own, cleaning and loving them, almost as if she were giving them life
and they giving life to her. Her greatest gift of all was not in what people had
given to her, but that of what she had given to them. It may be our love and
interaction that had given her the desire to live the past 5 years, but it is her
Tabby and Her favorite baby “Tigger”
overwhelming strength and love that keeps us going even today. Tabby passed
given to her by Dakota Riggs
September 22, 2008 at the wonderful age of 22.
The CARE Babies Get a New Enclosure
The CARE babies are not really babies anymore. The big boys, JP, Luca
and Jakey, are nearly 500 pounds. Allucia, the lady of the group, is smaller
but is ready to rule the new roost, at about 200 pounds. The now 2½year-old tigers patiently await the completion of their new home. The
renovated 10,000-square-foot habitat is four-times the size of their present enclosure. Interns and volunteers are rushing to complete their new
home in order to concentrate fully on the “Mountain Lion Project”. It
appears their move in date is slated for the first week of October, a full
month ahead of schedule.
Answer to Page 3 quiz…..Spotty
.
Leopards (Panthera pardus) are born with their spots. Just like a finger-print, the
leopards spots are permanent tattoos on their bodies from birth. The spots are
never-changing, even on the more elusive black leopard. If you had a wonderful
picture of spotty at birth showing every spot, shape and location, you would see
the picture at the right is not actually Spotty, but Milo. The markings on a big cat
are painted on their skin, where the fur grows from corresponding pigmented skin
colors—even if they were bald you could still identify their markings as theirs.
Volume V, Issue I & 2
Page 5
The Center for Animal Research & Education gratefully acknowledges the following
individuals and corporations for their financial support from 6/1/08 to 9/30/08
Bryson Maryott
Ralph and Jeanne Brooks
Shawn Barr
Marsha Little
Tracy Connell
Jean Robb
Jessica Lee
Ron and Deb Browning
Mavalie Mills
Blythe Holzgraefe
Greg and Judy Mersch
Dinsmore Elementary School
Sandi Holzgraefe
Don and Janice Bybee
Lorelei Tanney
Allison Nichols
Madonna Backstrom
Huong Nguyen
Rose Redmond
Jody and Gene Zwiefel
Gay and Wayne Trachta
Melanie Klein
Terry Ousley
Anne Walpole
Rick and Cindy Beauregard
Andrew and Cathleen Hansen
Deborah Lakoff
Donald and Melissa Lederer
Tony and Renee White
Alana Schooling
Kay Deli
Patti Ramsey
Tigers Share
Alan Ayo
Soteria Wingerter
Debra Sredanavich
Little Lotus Hearts
Mid American Energy
Genieve Van De Merghel
Patricia Nemish
Roger and Janet Kirkpatrick
Rasa Poorman
Amanda Alvarez
Leoard and Barbara Gruzmacher
Howard and Lela Morris
JD & Lisa Thompson
Greg and Sofia Leick
Janice and Clifford Kaplan
Shawn Barr
Kyle Boop
Karen Bialas
Danielle Aguillard
David and Mary Anne Gale
Brian Hand
Carol Harney
Pump Machine Service, Inc
Susan Blackall
Fejervary Children's Zoo Fundraiser
Marc Berman
Carol Harney
Sean and Sharon Brady
C.S or A.M. Watson
Marlene Taylor
Rainer Kirchgaessner
Brent and Stacey Williams
Ray & Tonnie Shipley
Christ United Methodist Church
Matthew & Kristi Kelly
Melanie Klein
Henery & Isabel Shaw
Melissa Smart
Sarah & Alexander Black
David and Lisa Settles
Kay Cioffi
Melanie Piccolo
Scott and Rebecca Oling
Alexander DeMarzo
Jill Schaeffer
Amanda Alvarez
Kathleen Murtha
Lisa Bollinger
Jason Ramier
Karen Bayha
Verizon Foundation-Marlene Taylor
ZIRH
Mann Refrigeration
Ellen Welsh
Julie Doy
Yeshe Dorje Foundation
Carol Gleich
Judy and Janet Stolder
Robert and Mona Buchholz
Without you there is no CARE
Center for Animal Research and Educa245 County Road 3433
Bridgeport, Texas 76426
CORPORATE SEAL