Only Two Weeks Away!
November 15, 2018
‘Tis the season of giving and there’s no greater opportunity to give back than on November 27, Giving Tuesday. Coined as the official “global day of giving,” we will be asking you to #GiveHealth, #GiveHome, and ultimately #GiveRefuge to our animal residents as we use this 24 hours of charity to raise $35,000 for new veterinary and habitat maintenance equipment.
All of our animal residents require some form of animal intervention because we provide a Refuge for the old, the already-sick, and those who suffer from an assortment of health issues stemming from inbreeding or cruel declawing and defanging surgeries.
New veterinary equipment will allow us to not only address immediate maladies in a timely manner, but gives us the opportunity to do more thorough preventative care. A portable x-ray generator, which makes up $7,000 of our $35,000 goal will allow us to examine the extent of dental issues and perform regular check-ups on those prone to them. A $180 Laboteca Centrifuge and tubes will allow us to more accurately examine animals to detect infection, keep animals parasite-free, and should we need to, strategically treat with proper dewormers. We’re also raising money to stock our hospital with everyday essentials, such as resuscitation bags (small-$51, large $59.00) used to provide breathes for our patients during regular surgeries or medical emergencies.
Another thing all of our animal residents have in common is their need for safe, spacious, sturdy habitats. From building to accommodate new rescues, amending current habitats to stay in compliance with various laws, or doing regular maintenance on the homes of these large carnivores, we spend our fair share of time working on habitats.
Tool sets of sockets, screwdrivers, wrenches, and pliers ($116.49), an impact wrench with a 6” anvil ($657.99), and even a service tablet ($380) will not only allow us to maintain the habitats themselves, but also keep our work vehicles up and running.
An individual has stepped forward with a $5,000 matching donation, meaning your dollars will go even farther on Giving Tuesday. There are multiple ways to give the gift of Refuge to our animal residents on November 27:
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- Make a donation the day-of on our website: https://www.turpentinecreek.org/support-us/donate-now/
- Create a Facebook fundraiser as early as you want, extending it through Giving Tuesday.
- Mail checks Friday, November 23, to 239 Tiger Lane, Eureka Springs, AR, 72762.
- Bring a donation to the gift shop the weekend before or the day-of, but denote that it’s for Giving Tuesday.
- Ask your employer if they will match any donation you make.
- Send personal emails, phone calls, text-messages, social media communications, or face-to-face requests to your loved ones to join us in #GivingHealth and #GivingHome.
Give For Giving Tuesday Early at
Blackfire is on the road to recovery after receiving life-saving emergency surgery at Kansas State University on Tuesday, November 6. The 2-year-old white tiger is currently staying in a recovery enclosure at our on-site veterinary hospital. He will spend two weeks there healing, receiving much-needed pain medication, and being closely observed by our staff veterinarian. After two weeks he will be evaluated to see if he is healed enough to return to his habitat and sisters.
During the procedure, the KSU team found that Blackfire had a large hole in his diaphragm and that his stomach, spleen, colon, and intestines had pushed into his chest cavity. They believe that he had a birth defect that caused the diaphragm to be weak in a large section causing the hernia as he grew and had bowel issues related to his Metabolic Bone Disease. Luckily, we caught the hernia issue in time, and his intestines were still healthy. If his intestines or stomach had lost circulation, he would have died.
The cost for the surgery, aftercare, travel, and medication was estimated at $9,000. TCWR put a call out to our supporters on Friday to raise the money for the unexpected expense, and our donors quickly came to our aid. Within a few short hours, we had raised the needed amount to make sure Blackfire could get the care he desperately needed.
Our staff veterinarian, Dr. Kellyn Sweely, discovered on Tuesday, October 30, that Blackfire, a two-year-old white tiger, has either a hiatal hernia or a diaphragmic hernia. After consulting with multiple veterinarians and veterinary schools, who confirmed Dr. Sweely’s diagnosis, it has become apparent that he needs extensive surgery to fix the issue as soon as possible. Because of the complexity of the operation, we cannot safely perform it at our on-site veterinary hospital. During the surgery, he will need a dedicated anesthesia team to assist in his breathing, monitor his heart and blood pressure throughout the procedure, as well as multiple tools and supplies that we do not currently have readily available. Without the surgery, his intestines will strangulate and he will die.
Two years ago, Turpentine Creek rescued 115 animals from a cub petting facility in Colorado, including Blackfire and his two sisters who suffer from severe metabolic bone disease. With the help and dedication of our team, the trio survived this precarious time in their lives. Black Fire and his siblings have grown into rambunctious teenagers with a strong will to survive. Due to the health issues caused by the Metabolic Bone Disease, Blackfire and his siblings spend more time than most of our other animals with our veterinarian.
In late 2015, Turpentine Creek began working to upgrade our habitats, replacing old fencing, raising fence heights, and even rebuilding a few of our older habitats. It was a time consuming, labor intensive, and costly project, but it needed to be done due to changes in habitat regulations. The project was in full swing and nearly completed when it came to a screeching halt after we received the phone call that begun the Colorado Project. All but one habitat had been revamped when we had to shift our focus from fixing to building so that we could accommodate 34 new animals at the Refuge. Turpentine Creek got approval to hold off on the rebuild of the final habitat as long as no new animals were moved into it.
On Tuesday, October 30, Chuff, Abigail, and Athena were moved to the newly emptied habitat next to their old one. The team constructed a temporary ‘shoot’ to make the move from their former habitat to their new one easy. It took a little encouragement (a red boomer ball and some fun encouragement from Emily), but all three tigers were safely moved into their new habitat.
The bears at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge are on the move! This past week, six of our bears were relocated from 3 habitats across the property into their new forever homes! The six bears will now live in two large habitats down at rescue ridge.
While we had the bears sedated, our on-staff Veterinary, Dr. Kellyn Sweeley, did a full examination for each bear. She assessed their overall health, ran blood work, took X-rays, microchipped them, and got a weight on most of them. Our the smallest black bear, Xena, weighed 220lbs. We did not get a weight on Huggy, since he was so heavy to lift and move, but we estimate that he weighs well over 800lbs.
Today, we welcomed our newest resident, Jasmine, an 8-year-old tigress, that came to us from a zoo in Kansas. Jasmine was housed with her sister but the two were fighting. Since the facility didn’t have room to separate the two tigers they began searching for a new home for Jasmine. They had decided to rehome Jasmine instead of her sister because Jasmine is not a fan of large crowds and children.
You are invited to join us on October 28, at 12 pm for the official grand opening of our two large, natural, bear habitats! Thanks to our wonderful supporters, we have finally completed the two largest habitats on property! Filled with trees, in-ground pools, rock formations, and plenty of natural enrichment, these two habitats are ideal to house rambunctious bears.
I have visited several Wildlife Centres around the world. I remember asking a Swedish volunteer why they traveled all the way from Sweden to Malaysia to volunteer at this certain Turtle Conservation Centre. They told me because this was one of those Centres where they could be reasonably well involved in the operations of the Centre. One might not be able to be as involved in a Big / International Centre.
It was also very educational. The Big Cats at Turpentine Creek were all rescued from some sort of sad, dire situation – results and rejects of the Exotic Pet Trade, which we learned about in depth from Hannah, our Turpentine Creek host & Wildlife Interpreter at the Refuge. A strong believer in the importance of Education to help remedy the sources of problems of the Exotic Pet Trade, Hannah championed the formation of the Education Department at Turpentine Creek.
Photographers usually seek a picture perfect environment for photos, but I have come to understand that a picture perfect place might not always be as ethical as they claim to be. Representing Animal Encounters Wildlife Tours, I look forward to promoting Turpentine Creek as a Wildlife Volunteer Destination and sending more Volunteer groups to Turpentine Creek.
This past Tuesday and Wednesday, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge hosted the annual Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance Conference in beautiful downtown Eureka Springs. Over two days attendees participated in 25 panels about animal care, habitat building, education, safety, and more. Representatives from sanctuaries all over the United States and supporting organizations such as Tigers in America, IFAW, Outreach for Animals, and the Human Society, came together to collaborate, share ideas, and discuss the growing need of true sanctuaries.
This year saw over 60 attendees, double the number from last year. Speakers came from all walks of life; our very own Curator, Emily McCormack, gave a presentation about habitat building and our Education team, Beckie Moore and Hannah Wherry, discussed the importance of educational programming at sanctuaries.
We would like to thank the Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance for choosing Turpentine Creek to host this year’s event. It took a lot of hard work to plan and execute the event, but overall, it was an amazing educational experience. We appreciate all the businesses who assisted us in Eureka Springs. The Mayor of Eureka Springs, Butch Berry, gave the introductory speech, welcoming the attendees to the event and the city. Having the support of our community is vital to our success as a refuge and we appreciate everything they do to help us continue our mission to rescue and care for big cats in need. Without their help, we could have never crafted such a wonderful event. We look forward to attending the 2019 conference. It will take all of us and our supporters to put an end to the abuse of big cats across the US.
On Thursday, September 6, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge hosted our first ever Sipping for Sanctuary. The free event was held in a beautiful venue at Sassafras Springs Vineyard in Springdale Arkansas. Sipping for Sanctuary was a free event to help promote Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge and our new membership tier program. We were astounded at the response from our community, and our 200 person limit was quickly filled through RSVPs.