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...
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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.
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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.
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