Tiger Rescue
I returned from Australia in the year 2000 to my family business and my Mom who was diagnosed with liver cancer. It was easiest for me to move into Mom and Dad's house to help with care and to support the business.
My little escape from the stress was at a wonderful place about an hour from home called the Exotic Feline Rescue Center, in Center Point Indiana.
In the United States, many exotic animals are bred and sold. It seems that people want these exotic pets, and in our case specifically tigers, lions, pumas, cervals, etc. to either keep on their property or to be sold for their meat or skins etc.
With 210 exotic felines calling the EFRC home, they are one of the largest rescue centers in the United States for abused, unwanted and neglected exotic felines. With no hope of returning the animals to the wild, Joe Taft and Jean Herrberg give them a permanent and loving home. Once they arrive at the Center, they are given a huge enclosure (once funds are available to build one), large water tank and usually a climbing tower in the case of the tigers. And lots and lots of love!
Unfortunately, so many of them arrive severely abused and malnourished. Very weak and quite often with cataracts in their eyes due to being housed in dark basements with no sunlight, vet care is initiated immediately giving most cases restored eyesight. As well as good fresh food with vitamins and minerals to get them back on their feet.
The EFRC relies soley on donations to survive. Can you imagine how much food it takes to care for 210 large cats and growing? There is so much demand in the United States for permanent homes for rescued felines, that unfortunately many more cats are turned away.
With your kind donation, it will be put to great use for food, veterinary care, more enclosures to hopefully not have to turn a needy cat away.
If you'd like more information on the EFRC, see photos and newsletters of their progress, please go to: http://www.exoticfelinerescuecenter.org
And if you are in a position to adopt a cat or help with donations of supplies, click on the "Make a Gift" tab and there will be many options to choose from. Or, if you find yourself in Indiana - stop by and visit them and spend some quality time with some very gorgeous, big, funny, quirky kitty cats!
I can not express enough what hard work Joe, Jean and the staff do to keep these cats fed and happy - and they really are happy cats! A real credit to the team.
On my journey around the world, I will like to visit others who also dedicate their lives to helping conserve the habitat of tigers in the wild, particularly the Siberian tiger in Russia.
