http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/10338430/article-Lions-and-tigers-transitioning-nicely-to-life-in-Pittsboro?instance=main_article
To donate to Carolina Tiger Rescue, visit www.CarolinaTigerRescue.org and click on Donations, or mail a check payable to Carolina Tiger Rescue to 1940 Hanks Chapel Road, Pittsboro, N.C. 27312. Designate a gift to "Bring Them Home" for this rescue, or leave the gift undesignated for the care of all of the animals at Carolina Tiger Rescue.
By Dan E. Way
dway@heraldsun.com; 419-6654
PITTSBORO -- Lions and tigers and burps, oh my.
Carolina Tiger Rescue Executive Director Pam Fulk said Tuesday that the six big cats her organization rescued last week from the Wild Animal Orphanage in San Antonio, Texas, have arrived at her Pittsboro sanctuary and, for the most part, are transitioning well.
"The lions are doing wonderfully well," Fulk said of Tarzan, Sheba and Sebastian. "Two of the tigers did reasonably well, but the third tiger, Bali, gets frightened and he's going through a lot of change."
Java, another of the tigers, appears to have developed some stomach distress from the jostling of the trip.
"Every time she opened her mouth she burped," Fulk said.
Titan is the third tiger.
Fulk said she wasn't concerned with Bali's slightly cantankerous behavior.
"Every animal's different, just like we are. We just have to monitor them to see what their reaction is," Fulk said.
"Bali's reaction is he's not real happy with everything. He doesn't know us. He went through about a 25-hour transport that didn't add to his humor any," Fulk said. "He just ate for the first time yesterday. Some of them get that way. Some of them are more shy than others, and sometimes that's how they express it, they get a little obnoxious."
The cats are in 30-day quarantine now.
"We do have their place ready for them" once they are released from quarantine, Fulk said.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare covered the cost of the tiger transport, but Carolina Tiger Rescue must pay for the cost of moving the lions.
"And then we have medicals for all six animals while they're in quarantine" and minor repairs to the habitat that add to the expenses of relocating the animals, Fulk said.
Carolina Tiger Rescue has kicked off the "Bring Them Home" campaign to raise $7,500 to defray the costs for the rescue. Any funds raised above that cost will be put toward future rescues.
The Wild Animal Orphanage had been struggling financially. As it worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Texas State Attorney General's Office Charitable Trust Division and the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Wild Animal Orphanage Board signed a resolution to dissolve the sanctuary within 60 days and relocate its 300 animals to other facilities.
Carolina Tiger Rescue is a nonprofit organization whose mission is saving wild cats in captivity and in the wild. The 55-acre sanctuary is home to 80 animals, including tigers, ocelots, binturongs and more. Carolina Tiger Rescue provides a home for a variety of carnivores, mainly wild cats, as well as conservation education for the public through tours, community presentations and exhibits. For more information, call (919) 542-4684 or visit www.CarolinaTigerRescue.org.
Interesting to note IFAW only paid for three tigers to relocate from San Antonio to North Carolina and not the three lions! How cheap can IFAW be!
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