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2014-09-16 Carole Diary
Rescue of Kali the Tiger
Tim Gress and wife are divorcing and he wants to place his last cat, Kali, a 13 year old tiger.
Met Bhagavan Antle 20 years ago. He said he thinks he takes good care of his animals, but that he’s breeding 15-30 cubs a year and dumping them everywhere he can. Said he just tried to unload 8 tigers on someone named Terry.
TIM GRESS,MELANIE GRESS. Customer No: 10449. Certificate No: 57-C-0178. Certificate Status: CANCELLED. Status Date: Feb 5, 2014.
All inspection reports are good, but Kelly said she thinks USDA is breathing down his neck to place the cats because the license was cancelled.
7/17/14 Thanks – I just sent him an email asking if he’d sign the contract. If he says he will – I’ll put the two of you in contact if that’s ok. I just got back from vacation – so getting through my emails as fast as I can. I wanted to touch base with you about the Alabama cats – has anything changed? If not, I’m happy to try to help if that’s ok with you.
As for the tiger in GA, her name is Kali. She is completely intact. Her owner had her, a male tiger, and a cougar in a “conservation awareness” education program. He’s in the middle of a divorce and the animals have been what’s keeping him there. He said if you can come pick her up – he’ll sign anything. I think USDA is starting to breathe down his neck to get rid of her. I was able to get the other two placed a while back and they’ve been transferred already.
While I don’t agree with the free-contact program he was running, he seems to have taken decent care of the cats and has been very friendly to work with. I haven’t been that directly involved other than finding placement and hooking him up with sanctuaries, but I think he does want what’s best for the cats. If you’d like, I can put the two of you in contact and back out of it. Thanks, Kelly
Augusta Conservation Education, a nonprofit rescue organization. Tegrid and the other animals in the compound live next to founder Tim Gress' house in Appling, along with his wife, Melanie, and sons, Dalton, 17, and Cole, 15....http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2007/11/02/pet_150122.shtml
Tim Gress exchanges throaty chuffs with Kali before he and the massive Bengal tiger rub their heads together in a friendly greeting. Mr. Gress and his wife, Melanie, run an exotic animal rescue - Augusta Conservation Education - from their 11 rural acres near Appling.
Recent news events have focused attention on the issue of wild animals in domestic settings. A few weeks ago, authorities pulled a 400-pound tiger from a public housing apartment in the New York borough of Harlem. The animal was living with an alligator.
Ming, the seized tiger, was sent to an animal sanctuary in Ohio.
The Gresses' sanctuary has served as a transitional home for exotic animals found outside their habitat. The couple have placed nearly 50 animals in safe homes after rescuing them from unhealthy environments. Many of the animals were purchased by their owners as pets.
The Gresses go beyond the 12-foot fences and locking gate required by the USDA. At a cost of $15,000, they recently completed two pens inside an extra 8-foot, fenced daytime area. The pens each have 12-foot fencing pulled tight between concrete-grounded posts. Both pens, which temporarily house Kali, a 15-month-old Bengal tiger, and Merlin, a 1-year-old 200-pound liger - a lion and tiger hybrid - are fortified further with horizontal poles that are strapped to the fence with stainless steel cable. All animals are secured with at least two locks and extra chains, Mr. Gress said. Mr. Gress, who works full-time as a maintenance electrician at International Paper Co., works on the site himself to save money. http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2003/10/26/met_398498.shtml
Also located in Appling is Augusta Conservation Education, a non-profit rescue organization founded by fellow animal expert Tim Gress. Trained under animal tr
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By Carole BaskinRescue of Kali the Tiger
Tim Gress and wife are divorcing and he wants to place his last cat, Kali, a 13 year old tiger.
Met Bhagavan Antle 20 years ago. He said he thinks he takes good care of his animals, but that he’s breeding 15-30 cubs a year and dumping them everywhere he can. Said he just tried to unload 8 tigers on someone named Terry.
TIM GRESS,MELANIE GRESS. Customer No: 10449. Certificate No: 57-C-0178. Certificate Status: CANCELLED. Status Date: Feb 5, 2014.
All inspection reports are good, but Kelly said she thinks USDA is breathing down his neck to place the cats because the license was cancelled.
7/17/14 Thanks – I just sent him an email asking if he’d sign the contract. If he says he will – I’ll put the two of you in contact if that’s ok. I just got back from vacation – so getting through my emails as fast as I can. I wanted to touch base with you about the Alabama cats – has anything changed? If not, I’m happy to try to help if that’s ok with you.
As for the tiger in GA, her name is Kali. She is completely intact. Her owner had her, a male tiger, and a cougar in a “conservation awareness” education program. He’s in the middle of a divorce and the animals have been what’s keeping him there. He said if you can come pick her up – he’ll sign anything. I think USDA is starting to breathe down his neck to get rid of her. I was able to get the other two placed a while back and they’ve been transferred already.
While I don’t agree with the free-contact program he was running, he seems to have taken decent care of the cats and has been very friendly to work with. I haven’t been that directly involved other than finding placement and hooking him up with sanctuaries, but I think he does want what’s best for the cats. If you’d like, I can put the two of you in contact and back out of it. Thanks, Kelly
Augusta Conservation Education, a nonprofit rescue organization. Tegrid and the other animals in the compound live next to founder Tim Gress' house in Appling, along with his wife, Melanie, and sons, Dalton, 17, and Cole, 15....http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2007/11/02/pet_150122.shtml
Tim Gress exchanges throaty chuffs with Kali before he and the massive Bengal tiger rub their heads together in a friendly greeting. Mr. Gress and his wife, Melanie, run an exotic animal rescue - Augusta Conservation Education - from their 11 rural acres near Appling.
Recent news events have focused attention on the issue of wild animals in domestic settings. A few weeks ago, authorities pulled a 400-pound tiger from a public housing apartment in the New York borough of Harlem. The animal was living with an alligator.
Ming, the seized tiger, was sent to an animal sanctuary in Ohio.
The Gresses' sanctuary has served as a transitional home for exotic animals found outside their habitat. The couple have placed nearly 50 animals in safe homes after rescuing them from unhealthy environments. Many of the animals were purchased by their owners as pets.
The Gresses go beyond the 12-foot fences and locking gate required by the USDA. At a cost of $15,000, they recently completed two pens inside an extra 8-foot, fenced daytime area. The pens each have 12-foot fencing pulled tight between concrete-grounded posts. Both pens, which temporarily house Kali, a 15-month-old Bengal tiger, and Merlin, a 1-year-old 200-pound liger - a lion and tiger hybrid - are fortified further with horizontal poles that are strapped to the fence with stainless steel cable. All animals are secured with at least two locks and extra chains, Mr. Gress said. Mr. Gress, who works full-time as a maintenance electrician at International Paper Co., works on the site himself to save money. http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2003/10/26/met_398498.shtml
Also located in Appling is Augusta Conservation Education, a non-profit rescue organization founded by fellow animal expert Tim Gress. Trained under animal tr