Aurora's Story

Aurora arrived at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (TCWR) with 33 other animals during the Colorado Project of 2016-2017. TCWR acquired a closing, 12-acre roadside establishment with 115 animals living in deplorable conditions with minimal veterinary care. Due to health issues, the previous owner needed to find a new home for all the animals he had acquired. Many enclosures had access doors made of rotting plywood and a padlock to contain these apex predators. Living on top of compacted dirt and woodchips, the animals had little shade from the glaring eastern Colorado sun. Our team worked tirelessly on-site for six months and collaborated with other accredited Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) sanctuaries to transport and provide lifelong Refuge to these animals. During this period, TCWR assisted in founding the Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance (BCSA) to unite accredited sanctuaries for future rescues and to educate and provide awareness to the public about the plight of the growing wild cat crisis.

Aurora is a white female tiger that arrived at TCWR in good health. In Colorado, Aurora was cohabitating with three additional big cats – Lakota (a Ti-Liger), Khaleesi (a Golden-Tabby tiger), and Joey (an orange tiger). Because of their exotic variations and age, we suspect the four were used as a cub petting attraction with the intent to breed them. At the Refuge, the four remained together until they matured, and Auora’s dominant personality caused us to separate them. Currently, Aurora lives with Lakota in a spacious habitat, where she spends most days sunbathing, swimming in the summer, or playing in the snow in the winter months. She enjoys various enrichment and loves boxes or cardboard tubes, which encourage her natural behavior.