1/25/07  Part III

Max.

Ah, Max, our noble, mature, sophisticated and majestic five year old.

He comes.

He sniffs.

He conquers.

And couldn’t care less.

And just when he thought we weren’t looking…

Busted. online karela

Until next time,
Tiger
www.sleepingtiger.org

12/26/06

The new fencing is coming along great.  It may sound like such a simple thing to us, adding just 400 square feet to a tiger pen, but it really is a big deal. 

Max is 5 and territorial now.  Ken is 3 and still very lovey.  When I let either of them into the play area, they each stay by the other males’ pen and upsets him.  Ken will upset Max by being affectionate and rubbing up against Max’s pen and Max will intimidate Ken by roaring by Ken’s pen.  On one occasion, when Max was by Ken’s pen, the two tried to fight between the fence, but the fence is very solid and keeps the two tigers apart. 

The new fencing will allow the tigers to be in or out of their pens per their choice 24/7, and since Izzy’s pen is between Max’s and Ken’s, the males will be some distance away from each other.  So, for that reason alone, this fencing is very important.

The other reason relies upon the design.  I’m setting up the extensions so each area can be expanded into the next tiger’s play area.  For instance, if I want to give Max more room for a day, I’ll keep Izzy in her pen by closing the guillotine gate and open a divider gate between Max’s play area and Izzy’s.  Ken will be in his pen with the guillotine gate closed, so he and Max will still be separated.  I’ll be able to open the whole area for Izzy, and for Ken, he’ll get 2/3 once in a while too.

Their pathology:  Max goes into the play area, sniffs everything and sprays the fence, trees and outer pens to mark his territory.  Then after a day, I put Max in his pen and let Izzy out.  She’ll sniff Max’s markings and make a few of her own scent marks (that is when she’s not drowning boomer balls or hunting  for food goodies I’d stashed in the play area).  Then after I put Izzy in her pen I let Ken out.  He sniffs and sprays over Max’s markings as well as Izzy’s and the cycle begins all over again when I put Ken in his pen and let Max out.

It keeps them busy and interested in what’s going on.  While you don’t want to tease their instincts too much, you do want to excite them enough to keep them happy and busy exploring their surroundings.

While many refuges are adequate (most aren’t), my plan is to make this the Hilton of refuges slowly but surely.  I’m really happy that you all are a part of that journey!

Here Izzy is eyeing the ball in the play area through her pen fencing.  Her pen’s guillotine gate and Max’s den are shown too.

Until next time,

Tiger

1/25/07

Here at My Brothers’ Keeper Animal Sanctuary, we like to keep our tigers entertained.  You’ve seen them play with their Boomer Balls, but there are other things we do too.

First I have to thank a very, very generous donor who has allowed us to build a gully cover for the waste water as it flows out of the pens.  In the past, the gully wasn’t deep enough (so much for the guys listening to my instructions!), so water and matter would spray into the tigers’ play areas.  This gully cover will not only stop that from happening, but will allow for much safer and thorough cleaning all around.  So, even though this donor wants to remain anonymous, I offer a big hearty thank you to you for such a thoughtful and generous gift!

Above, you can see Max walking on top of the gully cover, they love it too!  They lie on it as I clean their pens, awaiting their dinner.

The tigers were entertained by the guys working on installing the covers, and all the cool sparks they would make with their welders and sniffing the two guys when they would lean against the fence.

But tonight as a treat we did something we’ve never done, so this newsletter will be in three parts because of all the pictures involved.  Taking pictures of the tigers is almost like taking pictures of the new baby of the family…every one is precious.

For the first story, there’s Ken.

We took the boxes their meat comes in, removed the top flaps and cut a hole in the side of it.  Then we placed it in their pens with their dinner under it.  This would allow them to sniff, “hunt”, find and eat their dinners.

Ken somehow thinks every toy belongs in water, he came trotting in, eyeing the box, flipped it over and carried over to his drinking trough and started to chew.

After he deposited his box in the water, he became interested in dinner until….

the box moved in the water.

The box is thoroughly dead now and will be given a proper burial in the morning if there is anything left.

Izzy’s fun will be next, so stay tuned!

Until next time,

Tiger

Welcome to the Sleeping Tiger blog, I’m really glad to see my faithful newsletter readers moving forward along with me!

Izzy and Max were pretty tired yesterday, they played for hours on Tuesday, but Izzy is still having fun bouncing her ball in the tub.  She reminds me of a bear trying to shut an over-stuffed suitcase.  I’m going to have to get pictures of her as soon as it stops raining today.

Here is another “catch up” newsletter, I hope you regulars are having fun reminiscing!

12/14/06

Hi folks,

Sure hope you are all enjoying the holiday season and, as you can imagine there’s never a dull moment around here!

Yesterday at 3:30 in the afternoon I got a loud knock at my door.  I couldn’t get there right away, and a few seconds later, there was another louder, more urgent knock.  I got to the door and a police officer was there with someone else.  My first thought was, “Oh, this can’t be good.”

The officer’s first question to me was, “Is one of your tigers loose?”

I ran back into the house to grab my glasses, knowing that just an hour ago everyone was fine, but ultimately, you never know about these things until something happens.

I came back outside and saw all three safely in their pens.  I mean, 8 gauge chain link attached with stainless steel hose clamps onto four inch steel pipes which are sunk into a foot and a half of concrete…16 feet high…those cats weren’t going anywhere.

The officer went on to tell me that a woman nearby had called the police saying she had been trapped in her car by an African lion.  When the lion walked away, she dashed into the house and called the police.  The police knew I had exotics here, so this was their first stop.

I asked the officer if he was sure it was an African lion (I know of none in the area).  He said he really didn’t know, so I told him there was a big difference between an African lion and a mountain lion.  Aside from the 550 pound difference between the two, there are big differences in their behavior which would help the cops find and tranquilize the animal.

They had helicopters ready to go to search for the big cat, the Tulsa Zoo was on its way with tranquilizers and I overheard the zoo telling the police to be careful, that it would take a lot to bring the animal down.

I told the cops that I had holding room for the animal until the zoo could get here, or until we could make more permanent living arrangements (which of course, would be here).  In the meantime, I’m thinking, “Oh boy, I’m gonna get my lion!”

As I told the officer about the differences between the two cats, he asked for my assistance.  I went to talk with the lady that called.

My first question, “How big was it?”  She showed me about two feet high.  Okay, not an African lion.  My first move was to advise the officers that were in the woods hunting this thing down so they could relax a little.  My next guess was that it was either a bobcat or a young mountain lion.

I went back into the house and asked more questions.  What were the markings?  Did it have spots or was it plain coated?  She didn’t know, she was in too much of a panic.  Did it have a tail?  She didn’t see one, but because she thought it was a dog at first, it must have had one.  Not much help.

How long was the fur?  She showed me about four inches.  Definitely NOT an African lion.  If it had been an African, the size alone would have told me that it would have only been a few months old and the poor little thing would have been terrified…certainly not a big monstrous beast trapping a woman in her car. 

This “big, terrifying thing” was sounding more like a bobcat, if not a dog.  Bobcats, in cold regions will grow hair four inches long, Lynx will too, but they are taller than Bobcats.  Here in Oklahoma, I don’t imagine their winter coats would be so long and deep, but, you never know.

I asked her to show me exactly where she saw it, we went outside and she pointed up the road.  We were standing there talking and she looked up to the road and her eyes got as big as baseballs.  “That’s it!!”, she yelled.

I looked up to the road and said, “Ma’am, that’s a dog.”

She took a good, long, hard look at the animal and said, “No, no, that’s it!  That’s the lion that trapped me in my car!”

I checked again and said, “I’m sorry Ma’am, but that is definitely a dog.”  I could tell because he was looking at us, wagging his tail.

I then informed the police so they could call off the helicopters and put their rifles away.  The sheriff came by, and he said that when she called it in, she specifically said an African lion had trapped her in her car.

So, the lessons here for you my good friends are the following:  1.)  Mountain lions will go hide if they are afraid, probably under a rock, up a tree, or in a cave.  An African lion will stroll nonchalantly into the forest or woods.  2.)  Both will defend themselves to the death if cornered.  3.)  Dog tracks are diamond shaped, big cat tracks are round.  Dogs dig, so their paws are equipped for that.  Lions grab and pull, so their paws are rounder, to grab more hide.  4.)  If it had been any type of large cat, her dogs would have been hiding, not playing in the yard. 

And most importantly, 5.)  If you are ever hiking and are attacked by a mountain lion, punch its face like crazy, he’ll let you go.  (Mountain lions are used to hoofed prey and are used to being kicked in the ribs, legs, stomach, etc., but they have a real dread of being kicked in the face…that’s where their survival gear is located.)

I was able to calm the woman down and reassure her that she was safe, and from now on, the police will call me in the future if they have any similar incidences.

Until next time,

Tiger

www.sleepingtiger.org

Gone, but never forgotten,

My Beloved Zeus

12/3/06

Well, the tigers survived the snow storm, we got about a foot of snow.  Being from Montana, I had no problem with that, but I was worried to pieces about how the tigers would get through the blizzard.

First thing Thurday morning I brought them some hot water to thaw out their water troughs from the ice storm and gave them something warm to drink in case they were cold.  A few hours after that I gave them some feed.  A few hours after the feed I brought them some more hot water.  At around 8:00 PM I gave them some more food; then around midnight or so I brought them out some more hot water and went back out there first thing in the morning to make sure they were okay.

Izzy and Ken spent the storm in their dens, staying dry and out of the wind.  Max eventually gave in and put his glorious glutius in his den and allowed the snow to cover the rest of him.  At one point Izzy, the female Bengal, looked at me as if to say, “Oh boy, Mom!  What are you doing out here again?” 

While she was always happy to see me, the last couple of trips outside she wouldn’t even come out of her den to greet me.  Neither would Kenny.  Smart kitties.  Warm kitties.  Freezing, wet, relieved Mom.

This storm was a real learning experience.  I’d heard that captive wildlife had had their hunting instincts bred out of them, but I really didn’t believe it.  I mean, they ARE tigers after all, right??

Wrong.

The next morning I went out there and saw two sets of bird tracks going into Max’s pen.  One going in to the middle of the pen, the other going out.  No signs of hurry, threats or capture.  Although I was in disbelief, logic told me that the birds were having a hard time finding food and water because of the storm, so the next day they were eating leftover tiger food and drinking the tigers’ (warm) water. 

I actually saw them fly and land on one of the wires of the chain link fence just before they would hop down and eat.  The tigers enjoyed watching them…I think.  Having worked with them awhile, I’d have to say they weren’t particularly interested.  At all.  In fact, I’ve seen them watch butterflies with more interest!  They’d never chase the butterflies, but at least they would watch them flitter and float by. 

Next project:  Figure out a way to protect the tigers from ruffian chickadees.

Maybe I’d better get the vet out here so he can verify that they are indeed tigers!

Until next time,

Tiger

www.sleepingtiger.org