3 Days in Charlotte, NC 

 

with Howie visiting his brother, the Nimphies and attending Tigers 4 Tigers conference at Clemson.

 

Bloomfire Article about Carole Baskin of Big Cat Rescue

 

Carole Baskin is the founder and CEO of Big Cat Rescue, a nonprofit sanctuary in Tampa, Florida dedicated to exotic cats that have been abused and abandoned. We gave her a call to find out all about her life’s passion and the intertwined challenges of saving cats, keeping customers happy and running a successful business.

 

Zerve:  Could you explain what Big Cat Rescue is, for anyone who hasn’t heard of it?

 

Carole:  We are the world’s largest accredited sanctuary that is dedicated entirely to exotic cats. We rescue lions, tigers, leopards and more, and give them a permanent home.

 

Zerve:  What kind of situations are these cats rescued from?

 

Carole:  They come from the entertainment industry, some have come from fur farms where they were going to be slaughtered for their fur... a lot of them end up coming to us as pets, but it’s not that people go out thinking “I want to buy a tiger as a pet”; what happens is that people have their picture taken with a cute little tiger cub, but it’s only legal to do  that — or USDA guidelines say you’re only supposed to do that — when the tigers are between the ages of 8 and 12 weeks. So as soon as those cubs are too big to handle, the breeders and dealers and exploiters of these animals start passing them off on people, saying “Oh, it’s been bottle-fed,” and “It’s been around people its whole life,” and “It’s going to be just like a dog,” and “It’s going to grow up in your family and love you.” And people believe it, but they get home with this cat that by the end of the first year is going to be 200 pounds, in the second year 300 pounds, by the fourth year 500 pounds... you just can’t get rid of it fast enough!

 

Zerve:   I’m sure in some cases, that’s pretty dangerous.

 

Carole:  Very dangerous, even when they’re small. If you have an infant — a lot of people think it’s so cute to have a little baby meet a little tiger cub — that tiger cub could take that kid’s fingers off!

 

Zerve:  So when these cats get to your facility, they have the space that they need and the people with the expertise to take care of them?

 

Carole:  Yes. We only have 10 paid staff, but we have over 85 volunteers and we’re on 55 acres, so when cats come to us, they stay with us for the rest of their lives. Our cages are known for being some of the largest in the sanctuary industry and have a lot of bushes and trees and ponds and stuff for the cats to do, so we try to just make their lives as comfortable as we can until they die of old age, which at Big Cat Rescue can be in their late teens and early twenties. Usually in most other places they only live to be 10 or 12.

 

Zerve:  It’s impressive that you have so many volunteers; it sounds like people are really passionate about these cats.

 

Carole:  Yes, but it’s not just that you can come in whenever you want to and volunteer — it’s very strict. They have to put in at least four hours a week and take all kinds of classes and there are different levels that they have to progress through. Everyone wants to work with lions and tigers, but they have to be a volunteer with us for two years taking care of small cats (like bobcats, servals and caracals) before we even let them get anywhere close to a tiger or lion or leopard cage, because those cats can kill you. And nobody has any physical contact with the cats, we don’t touch them at all here.

 

Zerve:  Sounds like a good idea. I’d be terrified to get that close to a tiger!

 

Carole:  Especially when they’re in a bad mood, oh my gosh! Your blood just runs cold when they jump at you or roar at you.

 

Zerve:  So what exactly is your role at Big Cat Rescue?

 

Carole:  I’m the founder and the CEO, but even I don’t have any contact with the cats unless there’s a situation where we have to net a cat for the vet to check him out.