Carole Baskins Diary

Who was this beautiful tabby?

I drove to work today because I have an appointment with the the creative team at the mall about the space they are giving us.  I saw a cat in the road on Northbridge, so I pulled over to pick him up.  As I was digging around to find a bag and gloves (I carry for this specific purpose) I see a woman pull over on the other side of the road, where the cat laid.  She’s screaming at people to slow down because we live in a Latin neighborhood and even though the speed limit is 30 I swear they are usually doing 60 through there.  I don’t ever remember a time when someone else stopped to help.

 

She asked what I was going to do with the cat and I told her that I’m from Big Cat Rescue and that I’d see to it he was cremated with our other beloved cats who pass on.  She noticed that he looked like he’d just been hit, but he was in a huge pool of still wet blood and was definitely dead.  As I cradled him I noted how gorgeous his fur and what excellent condition he was in.  This was someone’s beloved pet and probably had just escaped.  He was an intact male, so I’m guessing nature called to him and he made a run for it.  He had no idea what to expect out here.  Tonight someone may well be calling his name, but he won’t respond and they will probably never know what happened.

 

Part of me thinks I should post his fate on a pole nearby, but part of me thinks that may be worse than not knowing.  

 

Later in the day:  I sent this to Haley, Joyce and Patrick at the mall.

 

Great meeting you guys today and if helpful to your process, I'm happy to tour you around the sanctuary.  You can bring friends or family so you can observe how other's are impacted by the stories of the cats we've rescued.  My contact info is below and I'm here 7 days a week, so I usually only need a day's notice.

 

Our primary goal is to end cub petting, as that drives the vast majority of breeding, abusing and discarding of big cats.  None of the cats bred for this purpose serve any conservation value because they are all cross bred and inbred.  The latter is because of the public's fascination with white tigers which only comes from severe inbreeding.

 

The primary message we want to get across in this space is that cub petting, or paying to see cubs on display, is what is actually causing their extinction in the wild.  The cubs aren't taken from the wild.  They are all bred in captivity, but it is the glut of last year's cubs (about 200 per year conservatively) that stimulates demand for their parts, which results in more poaching for tigers in the wild.

 

This is our animated explainer video that cub petting is causing the extinction of the tiger:

https://youtu.be/QFn8mwD757s

 

It's gotten about 15,000 views in the past 2 weeks on YouTube and 368,000 views on Facebook.  Reading the comments gives you some insight as to the effect it is having.  https://www.facebook.com/bigcatrescue/videos/2246856182261587/UzpfSTEwMDAxMjI3MTcxNDc1MTo2MjE0MzEzMjQ5NDI1ODY/?q=shocking%20truth%20about%20cub%20petting&epa=SEARCH_BOX

 

It's a tough message to get across without traumatizing animal lovers, but I think we've found the right balance in this piece to make the case.  Showcasing this video in a way that people can both see and hear it would make the best use of the space for our mission.

 

Our ultimate goal is that people stop paying to see and play with cubs so that places like Big Cat Rescue don't need to exist to clean up the mess.  Our federal bill will be re introduced soon as the Big Cat Public Safety Act, and I think it can pass this session.  It bans cub petting and private ownership of lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs and cougars. That will fix 99.9% of the problem.  Getting people to call their member of Congress is where we are focusing most of our attention at BigCatAct.com and I mentioned that we can make one of the coupons that appears on people's phones, after watching the VidPicAR app video, be "Text CATS to 52886"

Volunteer Appreciation Party Feb 2019

 

This was an image from the Big Cat Briefing that I do daily for our Alexa app and for our website.  Mary Lou Geis  is talking with Howie and she’s most senior volunteer.  She’s been here 20 years.  This was the first party that was planned and hosted by our new Volunteer Appreciation Team.  Judging by the smiles and applause, I think the volunteers really liked this new approach.  I wasn’t sure it would go over well, because Jamie and I were handing off the appreciating to a team, instead of it being a party that she and I have to plan, host and clean up after four times a year.  Most of that falls to Jamie and she’s got so much to do that planning parties and putting on a happy face to volunteers has become a huge burden.  

 

While we are both thankful for the 115 volunteers who do all of the animal care, both of us just can’t wait to pass our bill and see the numbers of big cats being bred for lives of abuse plummet.

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  These are my views and opinions. If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

How Many Big Cats in the U.S.?

In 2004 USDA published the first ever census of tigers in USDA facilities.  This did not include pets, and it was only tigers.  In 2004 there were 4,845 tigers in 666 USDA facilities.

 

USDA never published another census, so from 2004 until 2019 the only way we could update the numbers was based on news stories where a census was mentioned, or from the websites or social posts of the owners.

 

We are able to access some counts via ZIMS which is a product used by AZA accredited zoos and Big Cat Rescue.  The service costs $10,000 a year for managing medical records and the census, so it is not used by private owners or backyard zoos.

 

This sheet represents 15 years of gathering census data and an intensive six month period of organizing it into the best representation possible of the number of big cats in the U.S.  The question on everyone's mind is: How many big cats are in the United States?  The answer is, we still don't know because unless a privately owned big cat makes the news, there is no accurate way to count them.

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_cwMh8PmdRUoYjEIN9EgXsVCATWL5Wo5KPKN1EVPzGY/edit?usp=sharing

 

The totals as of January 2019 are, according to what we have been able to document in 814 facilities:

 

Tiger   2642

Lion    393

Leopard 115

Snow Leopard  168

Clouded Leopard   100

Jaguar  10

Cheetah 347

Cougar  277

Bobcat  228

Canada Lynx 69

Caracal 35

Fishing Cat 35

Geoffroy Cat 3

Jaguarundi  10

Jungle Cat  1

Margay  5

Northern Lynx   22

Ocelot  90

Pallas Cat  46

Sand Cat    32

Serval  144

Wildcat 8

Black Footed Cat    37

Hybrid  9

Total cats we know of in cages in the U.S. in Jan of 2019 = 4,826

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  These are my views and opinions. If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

Howie responded:

 

I appreciate your frankness and I will return in kind.

 

While I did take a liking to you in the course of your visit, the reason I said I would likely hate your story is based on two things.  We have on occasion had media come to us claiming they wanted to "expose" some bad guy and then wright pieces that the bad guy would happily pay for. A writer for Rolling Stone did that to us with respect to Doc Antle a few years ago. Worse than a waste of our time. Some of the questions you asked, and the way you asked them, made me think you were drinking Joe's Koolaid and wanting to drag up all the crap he says about Carole. You spent a large amount of time on things like the disappearance of Carole's husband and what I consider very old crap that is irrelevant to the issue at hand but makes for salacious reading.

 

Second, based again on the questions you asked and what you spent your time on, I came away at the end of your visit feeling like at best you were going to position this as a "feud," a personal battle between two individuals. We find this characterization both frustrating and inaccurate.  A feud is a personal conflict.  While Joe has for years attacked us personally, including incredibly crude, vile, often sexually oriented personal attacks as you know, we have never responded in kind. Even when I have been with Joe in person, which has been at mediations, I have simply ignored that and treated him cordially.  He even he once said he appreciated that I treated him in a gentlemanly fashion.  We have always focused single mindedly on the issue, which is the treatment of the cats, not on Joe personally. And we have not singled out Joe, we have done the same with many others we view as mistreating big cats. The only reason we spent so much time on Joe is that he was foolish enough to provoke us into the lawsuit which consumed so much time.  We would have had no problem with Joe continuing to operate a zoo if he just stopped breeding cats and doing cub petting.

 

Also, again being frank here, I thought it was inconsiderate that I got no reply to my email about your book, which I did enjoy. Think how that came across to me - guy is all over us when he needs us, then does not have the courtesy to even acknowledge an email where I show interest in him.  How many of your other interviewees bought and read you book?  Then, many months later when he wants something from me, here he is again with a hollow apology. No one is too busy to send a one line email of acknowledgement.  It was just poor form.  But, please, let’s say no more about it.

 

All that being said, I respect that you have done all the work you describe above and am willing to take you at your word and we can get together after the trial and do so with a positive, upbeat approach to your work.  I do feel you are a very capable writer. - Howard Baskin

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  These are my views and opinions. If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my o

It was great meeting with you at Synapse.  I'd love to introduce you to the 59 lions, tigers and other wild cats who call Big Cat Rescue home, any time you are in the area.

 

I wonder if there is some collaboration possible with your students?  I'm looking for AR 3D modelers and though I can't pay a lot, we have 2.5 million Facebook fans and over 700,000 YouTube subscribers so we can offer new talent a huge platform.

 

Our mission is to end the practice of keeping big cats in cages.  Zoos claim people won't save what they don't love and that they won't love what they can't see.  That thinking brought us to the precipice of extinction for most exotic cat species, so I think we need to find a new way for people to learn how amazing big cats are, why they are important to the survival of the forests, and thus save our own species.

 

I've stockpiled many terra-bytes of 360 video of the cats on AWS and am adding to that all the time.  I don't know anything about AR development; other than the fact that I know I need someone who does.

 

Caryn asked if her students could work remotely, to which I responded:

 

I think most of the work can be done remotely as any actual filming could only be done by my staff or regular volunteers, given the dangerous nature of the subjects.  I just gave you a link to the footage I've been stockpiling and I have a lot more to add.  I've made it all open to the public on AWS so you should be able to download whatever your students want to work on from there, if you decide to get involved.

 

The Westfield Citrus Park Mall is thinking about giving us Sunglass Hut's space when they move to a bigger one. We will be able to have graphics on the exterior windows of the space and a television running our videos, just like we have now at the mall. This time we can also use the interior of the space.  We are thinking of calling it the Free VR Zoo where everything you do there is free, because all wild cats should be. We are working on an augmented reality experience (see http://vidpicar.com/) and will have our VR goggles there so people can watch our 360 videos.

 

I think it could legitimately be marketed as the first VR Zoo in the U.S. (China opened the very first VR zoo in January) even with the very limited AR experience of having our oversized cat posters come to life as people hold their phones in front of them.  I bought the URL VR-Zoo.com in anticipation of this being something we could franchise across failing malls all over the U.S.  Westfield is desperate for foot traffic, even though they are one of the newest and largest malls in Tampa.

 

I don't know what I don't know, and that's where I'm hoping you come in.  I know nothing about what is currently available, except that most of what I have found is pretty primitive when it comes to wildlife.  I think there is much more we can do in VR and AR to engage people with wild cats in a way that zoos will adopt as a model going forward.  There are 233 AZA zoos who are facing public scrutiny about the legitimacy of keeping apex predators captive, and they won't want a sanctuary to get out there ahead of them, so I really think this can create a big buzz and a lot of potential jobs for people who are on the leading edge of VR and AR creation.

 

Thanks for considering this.

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  These are my views and opinions. If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the stren

Clifton Strength Finders Results

1. Belief EXECUTINGPeople exceptionally talented in the Belief theme have certain core values that are unchanging. Out of these values emerges a defined purpose for their lives.

2. Futuristic STRATEGIC THINKINGPeople exceptionally talented in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They energize others with their visions of the future.

3. Strategic STRATEGIC THINKINGPeople exceptionally talented in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.

4. Intellection STRATEGIC THINKINGPeople exceptionally talented in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions.

5. Input STRATEGIC THINKINGPeople exceptionally talented in the Input theme have a need to collect and archive. They may accumulate information, ideas, artifacts or even relationships.

 

Belief

 

If you possess a strong Belief theme, you have certain core values that are enduring. These values vary from one person to another, but ordinarily your Belief theme causes you to be family-oriented, altruistic, even spiritual, and to value responsibility and high ethics—both in yourself and others.  These core values affect your behavior in many ways. They give your life meaning and satisfaction; in your view, success is more than money and prestige. They provide you with direction, guiding you through the temptations and distractions of life toward a consistent set of priorities. This consistency is the foundation for all your relationships. Your friends call you dependable. “I know where you stand,” they say. Your Belief makes you easy to trust. It also demands that you find work that meshes with your values. Your work must be meaningful; it must matter to you. And guided by your Belief theme it will matter only if it gives you a chance to live out your values.

 

Futuristic

 

“Wouldn’t it be great if . . .” You are the kind of person who loves to peer over the horizon. The future fascinates you. As if it were projected on the wall, you see in detail what the future might hold, and this detailed picture keeps pulling you forward, into tomorrow. While the exact content of the picture will depend on your other strengths and interests—a better product, a better team, a better life, or a better world—it will always be inspirational to you. You are a dreamer who sees visions of what could be and who cherishes those visions. When the present proves too frustrating and the people around you too pragmatic, you conjure up your visions of the future and they energize you. They can energize others, too. In fact, very often people look to you to describe your visions of the future. They want a picture that can raise their sights and thereby their spirits. You can paint it for them. Practice. Choose your words carefully. Make the picture as vivid as possible. People will want to latch on to the hope you bring.

 

Strategic

 

The Strategic theme enables you to sort through the clutter and find the best route. It is not a skill that can be taught. It is a distinct way of thinking, a special perspective on the world at large. This perspective allows you to see patterns where others simply see complexity. Mindful of these patterns, you play out alternative scenarios, always asking, “What if this happened? Okay, well what if this happened?” This recurring question helps you see around the next corner. There you can evaluate accurately the potential obstacles. Guided by where you see each path leading, you start to make selections. You discard the paths that lead nowhere. You discard the paths that lead straight into resistance. You discard the paths that lead into a fog of confusion. You cull and make selections until you arrive at the chosen path—your strategy. Armed with your strategy, you strike forward. This is your Strategic theme at work: “W

But I’m exhausted. Today the other half of my mouth had LANAP and it was less painful today, for a number of reasons, but it still wiped me out. I sat on Ben T. Davis Beach for 3 hours trying to re-center myself, but had to be home for a webinar on our data management tool. We are upgrading, and it’s going to be great, but it was really hard to focus. As soon as that call ended Howie led a call with Senator Portman’s staff about him being our Republican sponsor for the Big Cat Public Safety Act. His staff made it clear that they see Columbus Zoo (ie: Jack Hanna) as their “constituents”, so we are going to have to pull out all the stops to get people in Ohio to come out against cub petting. I think I’ll run our new anti cub petting video to Ohioans only and create a petition for Portman’s office. Photo was Mike Webber, Tim Harrison and Carole Baskin in the back of a D.C. cab filming for the CONservation Game.

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  These are my views and opinions. If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  These are my views and opinions. If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

2019-01-16 Carole Baskin's Diary

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  These are my views and opinions. If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

I Was Arrested

 

(I took this selfie to send to Deb Quimby to thank her for the socks and the necklace for Christmas)

 

I woke up thinking about the kinds of questions Joe Exotic would just love to be able to ask me once I am called as a witness in his murder for hire trial.  He’s wanted to debate me for a decade now because he believes if he says something people will believe him.  I know he will insist that his attorney ask if I killed Don and will go on and on about it for as long as the judge will allow.  As part of that he’ll probably ask if I was arrested, and it turns out that I was actually arrested once.

 

I think it would have been around 1988, when my mother had told me that Chuck needed my house that they had built for me in Odessa a few years prior.  I had moved out, and Chuck moved in, but the house was still in my name.  Apparently the dog catcher cited Melissa (Chuck’s wife at the time) for not having a rabies tag on their dog.  The citation was to Ms. Stairs at 11306 Castleberry Road, Odessa, FL 33556.  When they never acted on the citation, it became a warrant.  See 8/11/1989.

 

When I buy houses at tax deed sales, and from foreclosure sales, I don’t get keys, so I have to break in and change the locks.  People would be astonished how easy it is to wiggle a window for a minute or two to make the latch come undone.  That’s what I was doing one day when a neighbor called the police.  When I gave the officer my driver’s license the outstanding warrant matched with my last name and the address.  They put me in the back of their cruiser and took me to jail, where I was finger printed and put in a holding cell while Don drove in separately to post my bond and bring evidence that we owned the home I was breaking in to.

 

I wasn’t there very long and I was held alone, so it wasn’t as terrifying as it could have been.  I’m claustrophobic so being in a cage and not being able to see out a window had me close to hyperventilating.  Don thought the whole thing was hilarious.  Now he could say he wasn’t the only jailbird in our family.  

 

I had my day in court.  Don didn’t come, nor did he offer to provide me with a lawyer.  I couldn’t afford one.  It wasn’t as bad as it sounds, because I represented us pro se all the time in evictions against our tenants and foreclosures because we both thought attorney’s were just too expensive and typically mucked things up to have more billable hours.

 

I was a single mom at the time and Jamie had to go to court with me.  She saw me cry in frustration at the situation.  That made Jamie cry.  I didn’t want to throw my brother under the bus so I pled that I’d never had a dog while living there and didn’t live at that address at the time, by showing electric bills and such from Lemon Street.  The case was dropped.  I don’t know if it was from the evidence or just because the judge didn’t want a mother and child crying over such a stupid warrant. 

 

In retrospect, how bizarre that you can be arrested for not having a rabies tag on a dog but no one has ever been arrested for not having a rabies shot on file for their tigers.  The law says that any possessed animal, capable of contracting rabies, must be vaccinated against it.  There are no rabies vaccines that have been tested effective on any wild animal and most places that keep big cats don’t vaccinate them at all because there is no evidence that the vaccines are effective.  We vaccinate all of our cats, big and small, but we are held to a much higher standard than the criminals we are trying to shut down. 

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  These are my views and opinions. If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist