Sanctuary last chance for endangered cats

Chester Moore, Jr.
The Orange Leader

June 27, 2007 09:43 pm

— Buying a Bengal tiger from a roadside vendor and then bringing it home as a gift to your child is a terrible idea.
You think that would be common sense but the fact is quite a few people do things just like that, thinking that big cats make great pets. In reality, however, big cats are extremely dangerous and while they may seem sweet at times, their feral nature and predatory instincts can flare up in a split second.
After all, they are wild animals.
That is why places like the International Exotic Feline Sanctuary (IEFS) in Boyd exist.
When an animal control officer gets a call from a “surprised” citizen, who just figured out their newly purchased mountain lion is not getting along with their poodle, police confiscate a leopard from a drug raid or as they did a few years ago, find a male Africa lion walking down the road in a neighborhood in Houston, they call IEFS.
It is the last chance for many of these animals that would otherwise end up euthanized. And it is the only facility of its kind certified by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in Texas.
I had the great pleasure of visiting IEFS and was truly impressed with the quality of their facility and their passion for educating the public not only about the dangers of owning exotic cats but the conservation problems facing them in the wild.
Take for example the amur leopard. IEFS houses two of them, which are by most accounts the world’s mot endangered cat. Amur leopards live in remote areas of China and Russia and of North Korea. They tend to live in hills covered with mixed forests with a variety of trees, including Korean pine and have lost the bulk of their habitat since the 1970s.
Mia and Tali, the sanctuary‚s amur leopards, roam in a large enclosure that features tall grass, trees for them to climb, plenty of shade and an area to hide. All of the enclosures there in fact feature these kinds of amenities.
“We pay very special attention to the needs of each species and individual cat. Everything comfort,” said IEFS Executive Director Richard Gilbreth.
Take for example, the numerous tigers and the lone jaguar at the facility. Both species spend much of their time in the water, so they have access to ponds they can play in and according to IEFS officials that is exactly where they spend much of their time.
There are two cheetahs at the facility and their enclosure is quite a bit longer than the other cats. That is incase they get the urge to do a long sprint as cheetahs typically do.
“It’s important to recognize the specific needs of each species,” Gilbreth said.
I volunteered for a cat refuge for two years back in the mid 1990s and have had quite a bit of experience since then in studying big cats.
I say that because during my visit to IEFS, I immediately noticed none of the cats looked stressed and all of them looked healthy as could be. That is a tall order to make happen with animals that come from a variety of habitats, all different Texas.
Some places have their hearts in the right place but just do not have the resources or perhaps expertise to house the animals in such a natural fashion. IEFS is to be commended for this and the fact they are keeping these animals alive.
There is great conservation value in such a facility and having cheetahs and tigers around as ambassadors for their species to raise awareness to issues ranging from habitat loss to poaching.
IEFS does tours of their facility and by exposing people to these beautiful animals; they are creating an interest in their well being in the wild.
For more information on IEFS, go to http://www.bigcat.org or call 940- 433-5091.

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