Wow! Who knew there was a Tiger Rescue in Pittsboro, NC?!? Today I got a first hand look, up close and personal, at the Carolina Tiger Rescue (http://carolinatigerrescue.org).
Such a great group, I had to share my experience. The day started with great anticipation. It's been a while since I've been anywhere that has more than cats and dogs, much less wild animals. As I pulled up at the enormous gate that must be 15-20 feet tall, I was reminded of Jurassic Park. I chill went down my spine, hit my feet, and bounced back to my head as a ball of excitement. I felt like a little kid just waiting for a tiger to jump out and lick me! My adult brain knew that wouldn't happen, but the kid in me just kept saying…it could!
Keep in mind I was there to meet the IT Director, Amanda. Right away I knew this was an awesome group. As Amanda is guiding me around, she explains the facts about the animals and their histories with the polish and knowledge I've experienced at the major institutions like the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Wild Animal Park. I have to keep reminding myself that she is their IT person because she knows so much. Then I met other staff as the day rolled on and it was quickly crystal clear this is a team of knowledgable animal lovers, with true technical expertise, that are saving wild cats. Steve Irwin himself would be impressed with these people in my opinion.
Most of the animals are rescues from abusive homes/situations. For example, two were found by police wandering around on the road, two of them came from Texas were someone was keeping them in a junkyard, and one was even left in a cage in CTR's parking lot like a baby on the door step!
These fine folks offer love, care, and support for the animals while educating the public and maintaining the infrastructure, funding, and resources necessary to provide that care. I was blown away, just a top notch facility and team.
My favorite Tiger by far is Raj, you can find his story here:
He is a playful guy and seems to be very loving. Obviously I didn't get to get in the cage and roll around with him, but I sure wanted too! But not at first. Here's my first encounter. We're looking at one of the other animals, and I'm really focused on him because he's rated with a high aggressiveness rating, and he was so gorgeous I couldn't take my eyes off him. Out of the corner of my eye in the far distance, I see orange and black moving around. My brain goes, "oh, there's a tiger, neat, we'll be there soon", and doesn't give it another thought as I bring my attention back to the furball in front of me. Ten minutes later and we're walking towards Raj's cage, the tiger I saw previously. Only now, he's nowhere to be found. So I'm listening to Amanda share the fascinating details about tigers in general, and marveling at the size of the tiger enclosure, which is literally 4 times the size of the enclosure I saw at the Columbia, Zoo several years ago. And in this giant enclosure there is a huge field of tall green plant life of some kind of grass.
About 4 feet from the cage now, and BAM! 600 pound Bengal tiger is running at me at full speed!! Just out of no where, in a flash, coming at me, eyes locked with mine, and that deep rumbling breathe that only big cats have when running. I froze solid! I think in that split second I looked at Amanda and noticed her not even flinch, so my brain said, it's cool, your safe. But I STILL almost had to change my shorts. I mean, fence and well-trained staff only count for so much when a 600 pound tiger is running at you! It was AWESOME!
So of course that was all planed and he's a big teddy bear that loves to play. He starts making this noise that Amanda explains is kind of like when a cat purrs; the "I'm happy and therefore you're safe" sound. At the same time he's rubbing his scent on the fence in a playful way, just like my roommates cat does on my leg when I come home. It's all very cute. And then in full view, he walk's away and then runs at the fence again. This time I KNOW he's playing and it still scares the crap out of me! It just doesn't matter what my brain knows, my body is saying RUUUUUUUUNNNNNN!!! It was some much fun I almost cried laughing.
Every animal had a personality and they were all so cute that I could see why people try to make them pets, but Amanda did a great job of explaining why they absolutely are not good pets and should not be treated as pets.
Then we went on to view their IT setup, servers, the whole shebang. But I won't bore you with those details. Let's just say I didn't need any coffee for it though, Raj made sure I was awake and prepared!
So, it's late, but such and exciting experience I had to get it down while fresh. If you are still reading, then you must be intrigued, so I would highly recommend you check them out at
http://carolinatigerrescue.org
Cheers!
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