A New Beginning for WildCat Haven?

WildCat Haven decided to shed its old name and elected to embrace a "New Beginning" on September 27, 2015  

All the old multimedia links for WCH has disappeared to include all the videos of Mac and Shirley.  

I imagine the same directors running this sanctuary wished their bad press and soiled reputation would disappear too.

I was happy to see Shirley, Carrie and Sebastian on the new web page.  And I was pleased that WildCat Haven, I mean Wildcat Ridge, told the truth about the WAO management.

About Shirley:

Shirley, a tiger, came from Wild Animal Orphanage in Texas. Due to previous corrupt management, the facility could no longer afford to care for the animals and had to close down. There were over 400 animals that needed to find new homes. Shirley and her brother, Mac, were two of over 70 big cats that needed placement. With 55 tigers alone that needed sanctuary, we knew that we had to help. 

Shirley and Mac arrived at WildCat Ridge on October 10, 2010. Shirley came to us in relatively good health, although she had a bite wound on her front paw. Shirley and Mac shared a huge enclosure, complete with perches, logs, trees, and lots of space to run and play! Sadly we lost Mac to cancer in 2013 despite doing all we could. Like all of us, Shirley misses having her brother around. But we are still thrilled to be able to provide her with a true lifetime home.

About Carrie:

Carrie, a caracal, came from Wild Animal Orphanage in Texas. Due to poor management and dishonest directors, the facility was shut down. We were contacted to see if we could make room for their small cats. 

Carrie and Sebastian, a serval, arrived via Alaska Airlines and made the trip unscathed. They both came out of their crates like they had lived here their whole lives. Both cats came infested with fleas but seemed relatively healthy other than that. Carrie is a crazy little girl, romping and playing, and just living life to the fullest! We found that Carrie is allergic to hay and straw, so she has to have blankets as bedding. But she loves them, pulling them out of the dens, tossing them around and just having a great time. She has so much character and has made us all fall in love.

About Sebastian:

Sebastian, an African Serval, came from Wild Animal Orphanage in Texas when they decided to close down and find new homes for the animals. He and Carrie, a caracal, arrived infested with fleas but seemed otherwise relatively healthy. 

Originally, we were told that Sebastian was not very friendly. But we have found him to be the most social serval we have ever met! He is such a fun boy, chirping, wiggling his tail, playing with toys, and always smiling.

I wonder, can a sanctuary change its spots?

May God Walk With You Always in Heaven, Layla

Today, Wildcat Sanctuary reported that Layla, approximately 25 years old, was put to sleep:

We could see her health declining in waves this summer. She had small masses developing on her face and a few nose bleeds. There were days she was more tired than usual. But after treatment, she rebounded and would be back to stalking and being spunky. We'd also find her lounging in her new pool or napping between her hammock and the trees. She had a good life.

Recently, she slowed down again, but it was different this time. It was the first time the glazed look in her eyes returned. The look that had haunted me the day I met her. Saying good-bye was very difficult for each of us, but it was time for her to reign over a new world. We let her enjoy her last days in the beautiful summer sun, lying in the tall grass before it was time to let her go.

I have known Lance (WCS left him behind and so he died at the WAO alone and very depressed) and Layla since their arrival at the WAO in 2001.  I missing seeing their beautiful faces...their playfulness, their love of water...I just can't believe she's gone.  She lived a long life and I'm happy she finally found some peace before she died.

Layla and Lance - December 2009

Now Lance and Layla are reunited once again in Heaven where they will be together forever. God bless you, Layla, you are finally free...

Sanctuary Revising WAO History

I'm sure you know by now one of my biggest pet peeves is how "sanctuaries" continually try to revise WAO history.  Well, I'm still here to put their story straight!

Case in point--the follow exert was obtained from Safe Haven's September e-newsletter regarding Ifaw. 

Okay, first off, if you look at the Wild Animal Inventory List prepared by Michelle and Mary Reininger from whatever animal records they had on Ifaw, you will see that he was born on/about 4/1/2000, not 9/11/2000.  According to the former caretakers, Ifaw was already 15 years old! I hate it when people just "make-up" stuff on the WAO animals for their own purposes.

The next part makes me wonder who is making this stuff up at Safe Haven...pay close attention to the part of this next page that shows where Ifaw came from...

AFRICAN LIONS PAGE LINKSHOME"Adopt" an AnimalDonate & RecycleFunding PrioritiesEnrichmentExpansionIllegal PetsMailing ListNewsOur MissionOutreachRescueSponsors & SupportersVeterinary CareVolunteeringWildlife Care SPECIES INDEXBearsBobcatsCougarsFoxesLionsServalTigers

Ifaw and Kuvo are available for sponsorship in our Adopt-an-Animal program. IFAW AND KUVO ARRIVED AT SAFE HAVEN IN OCTOBER 2010, AS PART OF OUR LARGEST RESCUE TO DATE. Safe Haven's first lions, Kuvo (left) and Ifaw (right), arrived on October 16, 2010. They were transferred from the Wild Animal Orphanage (WAO) in San Antonio, TX. They were 10 years old at the time of rescue. Kuvo passed away in 2014. We were honored to give him a safe and loving home for the last four years of his life. Ifaw and Kuvo had a long, difficult history before coming to Safe Haven. Kuvo was the only lion in a group of tigers, leopards, and cougars at a roadside exhibit in South Dakota. The animals were left to die when the exhibit could no longer support itself. WAO stepped in and saved Kuvo's life. Ifaw was originally rescued from a roadside exhibit in Iowa in 2001. In a heroic effort coordinated by The Wildcat Sanctuary in Minnesota, two lions and three tigers were removed from the most deplorable conditions of abuse and neglect that the rescuers had ever seen. At that time, Ifaw was placed at WAO, where he and Kuvo became fast friends. WAO eventually fell on hard times. Citing overpopulation, inadequate housing and lack of funding, the board of directors voted on August 31, 2010 to close the facility and find placement for the remaining animals. They had already given up about 100 of their 400 animals, which included tigers, lions, cougars, leopards, wolf hybrids, and 200 primates. After arranging to accept Ifaw and Kuvo, Safe Haven also agreed to accept Lulu, a 14-year-old Siberian tiger. The Wildcat Sanctuary accepted three bobcats and nine big cats. Wildcat Haven accepted two tigers and several smaller cats. Safe Haven worked with The Wildcat Sanctuary and Wildcat Haven to coordinate the preparations and transportation for all of the new placements. Many thanks to dedicated animal rescuers Jeanette Ferro and Kristina Brunner, who donated three BoomerBalls to Kovu, Ifaw and Lulu. They made this generous and heartfelt gift in honor and in memory of all the WAO animals, past and present. Above right: Kuvo—enrichment activity with mailing tube. Below: Kuvo with pumpkin; Ifaw with his BoomerBall.

Now compare what they wrote in 2010 to what was sent out this month...notice the difference?  Notice how Safe Haven mixed up Ifaw and Kovu's past history? Oh, and by the way, Ifaw arrived at the WAO on December 29, 2000 along with Mac and Shirley (tigers), not 2001.

Next, I find this statement extremely inflammatory "Luckily, Ifaw was rescued and taken in by a sanctuary in Texas who took extraordinary care of him, helping him to recover from the horrors of his past..."  Are you kidding me?  The WAO did not provide Ifaw with "extraordinary care."  Once he served his "marketing/fundraising" purposes, he was sent to Talley Road where he received no medical care, rancid meat, filthy water, and no enrichment.

Now I learn that Safe Haven Zoo wants to build a pool for Ifaw.  A pool?  For a lion?  Unlike tigers, lions are not big fans of pools.  He would be better off with more shade, misters, lots of enrichment toys, and the like.  He lives alone now that his "brother" is dead, so how about more interaction with the boy?  Breaks my heart that this so-called sanctuary has no way of even cleaning and repairing Ifaw's enclosure because he refuses to enter his lockout area.  Haven't they built a trusting relationship with Ifaw yet? What if there is an emergency and they have to move him?  

The revision of WAO history plus changing the animals' past stories is deplorable and must stop.  Today.