Selbit the Leopard's Story

Selbit 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. Additionally, with compacted dirt and woodchips with nails, 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.

Selbit is one of many animals at TCWR who suffered from unimaginable horrors due to exploitation and abuse in the entertainment industry. As an adult, he was forced to perform in a magic show after likely being used in cub petting. Selbit has been wary of humans throughout his life but has relaxed into his routine in the peace of sanctuary, aided by pain management. He prefers to spend most days in his night house, routinely poking his head out for a snarl or two at his neighbor. When the evening arrives, and the Refuge is quiet, this nighttime hunter loves to come out and explore. Selbit enjoys the cooler weather and prefers to be on his lower platform bench due to his improper declaw job.