Exotics Sanctuary Pictures

[BlueBaby1023]

I mentioned a while back about volunteering at a big cat/exotics sanctuary here locally, and so far it's been great in respect to the animals. The practices and remedies bother me a bit (they literally spray straight bleach everywhere... on the ground, on the plants, on everything, to "keep fleas and flies down" ), and the owner is a bit... straightforward to say the least. Another girl on her first day there had a few facial piercings, and the owner asked if she fell into a tackle box...

But, I have been learning a lot about the big cat's care. Unfortunately I kind of have to take it with a grain of salt because some of what they do isn't scientifically true, like the bleach thing. And I thought you guys would like to see pictures!

2 of the 7 bears:


Miss Margot the cougar:


Yawn:


Gabe, a Florida panther:


Apollo (laying down) and Venus, two lions. Apollo is neutered, as you can tell from the lack of a mane and the fact that he weighs close to 1000lbs.


Sebastian, the sassy old Barbary lion:


Odin, a young liger:


Odin and Tamari, his best friend since they were cubs:


Tamari:


My favorite tiger, T-Man. He's a big sweet heart, and the first of the big cats that I pet there. He can be sassy, but as long as you pet him below the shoulder he loves it.


T-Man says strettttttch:


Zivah:


I didn't get a picture of most of the tigers, or of the leopards. There are some other "minor" exotics that I also didn't get a picture of. All told, EARS has 13 tigers, 3 lions, 7 bears, 1 liger, 2 cougars, 2 leopards, 1 bobcat, 1 tortoise, 1 ringtailed lemur, and a lot of monkeys and bushbabies. I'm probably forgetting some other little creatures, but I only really help out with the big cats and the bears.

[Ash]

Cool. I would die for an opportunity like that, even though I wouldn't want to keep big cats myself. It would be amazing to work up close and personal with those types of animals. I'm surprised they allow you to touch them. That's really neat.

Yeah, I don't see how the bleach is going to help much with fleas, but everyone has their own ideas, I guess. The owner is probably a bit stuck in his ways, lol. Sometimes older people can be like that.

The animals are gorgeous, and you got some great photos of them. T-man is beautiful.

[BlueBaby1023]

I was surprised too, especially on the first day when another long time volunteer told me to scratch them. Most of the animals were raised from cubs there, so they're pretty tame. Especially the cougars, which I'm not surprised about. Not all of them can be touched though, or at least, I'm not risking it. Sebastian, and a few of the tigers are just too aggressive. I jump every time they lunge even though I know there is a heavy steel frame in between me and the animals.

Yea, she's not entirely all there. One day she's friendly, the next she hates you. But she means well for the animals. But bleach and fleas... not much use trying to tell them otherwise there.

Thank you! I tried to get good shots, but it's always hard with cage bars and just a phone camera.

[Nicophorus]

I don't suppose she would take too kindly if you tried to correct any misconceptions she has? I know its hard for me to keep my mouth shut when I "know better".

I wish we could hear your honest opinions about how the sanctuary is run, etc. but I don't want you getting into trouble with the management either.

[Ash]

Oops, meant "she." My bad.

Keep us updated please on how the volunteering goes. It'll be fun to watch your progress. Would you ever want to keep big cats or bears? Or is it just the experience you're wanting?

[TamanduaGirl]

It could be something her inspector is making her do(the bleach). FL has some pretty strict rules for rehab/sanctuary type places. A friend has one and she had to install walkways to all the enclosures and bleach foot baths etc.

[KingObeat]

Is this the big cat rescue run by Carole Baskin?

[Nicophorus]

No, its EARS in Citra, FL

[BlueBaby1023]

I don't suppose she would take too kindly if you tried to correct any misconceptions she has? I know its hard for me to keep my mouth shut when I "know better".

I wish we could hear your honest opinions about how the sanctuary is run, etc. but I don't want you getting into trouble with the management either.

Probably not wise, she can be very nice some days but others... I just try to stay out of her way. As far as honest opinions go, I will be able to give you guys a more complete answer on that in a few months. I will likely only be volunteering there until December because I will be starting research on my Master's thesis topic in January along with other classes so my time to volunteer will be cut short.

Keep us updated please on how the volunteering goes. It'll be fun to watch your progress. Would you ever want to keep big cats or bears? Or is it just the experience you're wanting?

I'm not sure about big cats, definitely not bears. I think I'd be up for having a cougar later in life, they seem to be the sweetest and least moody of all the big cats. It's definitely not something I'd do anytime soon because my vet school, residency, and Nathan's nurse practitioner school will definitely be on the front burner for the next decade.

It could be something her inspector is making her do(the bleach). FL has some pretty strict rules for rehab/sanctuary type places. A friend has one and she had to install walkways to all the enclosures and bleach foot baths etc.

It's possible, but I'd imagine that they wouldn't want her using straight bleach on porous surfaces like the sand bottoms in the enclosures... It changes the soil pH and causes a lot of environmental damage.

Is this the big cat rescue run by Carole Baskin?

As Nicophorus said, it's not. I live in North Florida, far too long of a drive from Tampa. Nor would they allow pictures, I think.

[snakeman]

the cages look kind of small for those size cats. allot of sanuaries don't give enough room. zoos have money invested in the animals so they usually do better habitats where santuaries get the animals for free and don't really care as much. lime would be much better on the ground for pests and it wouldn't hurt the plant growth. I had several volunteers and really appreciated the help. enough not to make personnal comments.

[Nìmwey]

Really cool stuff, but ohmigod that lion is fat. :O
Okay that he's neutered, but can't they get his food intake down so he loses some weight? That can't be healthy.
Edit: Saw that the one lying down was the neutered one. Still, why is the other one so fat?

[pat]

snakeman,

nice to see you post again.

I agree about the cages, they look small. but, I guess there is only so much space for these animals

I also don't agree about the clorox. breathing that in is really bad for the lungs. at least it is with people,
I would think the same with animals.

[pat]

Really cool stuff, but ohmigod that lion is fat. :O
Okay that he's neutered, but can't they get his food intake down so he loses some weight? That can't be healthy.
Edit: Saw that the one lying down was the neutered one. Still, why is the other one so fat?

geez, didn't even notice that. your right, he does look rather overweight.
thats odd, cause I would think the expense of feeding them, they wouldn't be overfed.
on another note, they most likely don't get much exercise

[BlueBaby1023]

the cages look kind of small for those size cats. allot of sanuaries don't give enough room. zoos have money invested in the animals so they usually do better habitats where santuaries get the animals for free and don't really care as much. lime would be much better on the ground for pests and it wouldn't hurt the plant growth. I had several volunteers and really appreciated the help. enough not to make personnal comments.

They are kinda small. Most of the lions and tigers have access to a larger cage on a rotational basis (it's about 1.5 acres fenced), but because they want more space and to not be locked up, it's often impossible to get them to come in even after 2-3 days out. So they usually get out for a few days ever two weeks or so.

Really cool stuff, but ohmigod that lion is fat. :O
Okay that he's neutered, but can't they get his food intake down so he loses some weight? That can't be healthy.
Edit: Saw that the one lying down was the neutered one. Still, why is the other one so fat?

Yes, most of the animals are obese there. One of the leopards that I didn't get a picture of is 10x worse than the lion in that picture. They feed them obscene amounts of food. Even the young liger has a large pouch at 2 years old.

snakeman,

nice to see you post again.

I agree about the cages, they look small. but, I guess there is only so much space for these animals

I also don't agree about the clorox. breathing that in is really bad for the lungs. at least it is with people,
I would think the same with animals.

Pat, that is what I would think. And it has to be hurting the soil's ability to grow. It's hard enough in this sandy soil, and they're ruining the soil pH by pouring bleach into it.

Really cool stuff, but ohmigod that lion is fat. :O
Okay that he's neutered, but can't they get his food intake down so he loses some weight? That can't be healthy.
Edit: Saw that the one lying down was the neutered one. Still, why is the other one so fat?

geez, didn't even notice that. your right, he does look rather overweight.
thats odd, cause I would think the expense of feeding them, they wouldn't be overfed.
on another note, they most likely don't get much exercise

They are overfed. Each cat is fed 4-5 chicken leg and thighs or wings and scapula, 2-3 pieces of horse steak, plus about 3lbs of ground beef. Most of the food is donated, so cost isn't a huge factor for them.

I apologize for the lack of updates, I actually stopped going for a couple reasons. The primary one was because between my classes and working, I do not regularly have any mornings off. Last week it was Sunday, this week it's Saturday, but it's never the same. The secondary reason is that I just don't feel right helping out an owner who does not treat her employees well.

At any rate, if anyone wants to ask me my personal opinions on things there now, I am happy to share honestly.

[Nicophorus]

Most of these places get too old for people, meat, donated to them from grocery stores that can then take it as a tax right off so that's not usually the issue. Zoos do this too.

Cages do look small, but I've (recently) seen smaller and dirtier. At least this place has concrete slab in some of those cages for cleanliness and you say a larger exercise area.

I apologize for the lack of updates, I actually stopped going for a couple reasons. The primary one was because between my classes and working, I do not regularly have any mornings off. Last week it was Sunday, this week it's Saturday, but it's never the same. The secondary reason is that I just don't feel right helping out an owner who does not treat her employees well.

At any rate, if anyone wants to ask me my personal opinions on things there now, I am happy to share honestly.

That's interesting, I stopped going to a similar place recently too, for similar reasons. Did this place have actual employees, or you mean volunteers? I'm curious to hear your honest opinions if you now feel safe/comfortable sharing them. I'm slowly formulating my own opinions about a lot of these places and seeing a trend with them.