Blustering Cold Weather At Turpentine Creek
February 18, 2021
This week, a few of our big cats may be getting flashbacks of their ancestral home as an arctic front has lingered over much of the central United States.Temperatures, well below what Alaska is currently experiencing, have stalled in our area, bringing activity at the Refuge to a screeching halt. Although our African cats don’t like the cooler weather, many of our tigers can be found romping and playing, despite the freezing cold. Their thick winter coats and the option to snuggle up in a den that is much warmer than the outside air keeps them from feeling the chill.
Subzero temperatures with additional wind chills have our team walking a thin line; we must care for our animals, make sure they have food, warm bedding, and plenty of water, but with the steep hills and freezing temperatures it isn’t safe for our team to spend excessive time outdoors. The temperature and slick grounds have also given the additional hurdle that many of our vehicles will not start or cannot make it up the slippery slopes. So, we have had to get creative.
In addition we have a new dilemma, the freezing temperatures have frozen many of our water pipes and sadly a few have even burst! Bam Bam’s water pipes have been destroyed, water spigots have burst, and water lines to housing are frozen solid. Our maintenance team has been managing as much as possible, but this will be a large project to fix, once the temperatures begin to rise this weekend.
We also supply heating to our African and senior animals. Like many other people affected by the extreme weather, we are quickly depleting our gas supply and the electric bill will be much higher this month. All of this is on top of the fact that we have had to close and have lost lodging reservations due to the weather.
Please donate $10-$25 (the cost of an admission ticket) to help us recuperate some of our lost income and cover the additional expenses such as water pipe repair and higher utility bills. Your support is what allows us to keep our animals warm, fed, and watered during these extreme weather conditions.