Turpentine Creek

So I'm still working on updating the blog from my in-laws visit at the beginning of June!! We went to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, which is just outside of Eureka Springs, AR, so only about an hour and a half from home. It really is very cool. Not only do they have big cats like lions, tigers, cougars, leopards, etc, but they also have some bears, and a few goats, pigs, and the like. It was so hard to get good pictures because you're about four to five feet away from the enclosures, and when I tried to focus in on the cat and had it all lined up, the cat would move and then at the last second it would refocus and I would get mostly the fencing!

About half of the cats are in small enclosures, on concrete, and the other half are in large enclosures on grass. I'm not sure if they rotate the cats to give everyone exercise, but on the cats that were in the small concrete "cages", I didn't see any pressure wounds that you would expect if they were in there 24 hours a day. And it's very clean...it didn't really smell at all (not like that horrible smell at the zoo), and the piles of poo were few and far between.

It's such a neat place...all the cats have mostly come from people that got them as a pet, then realized eventually that they were either too much to handle, or the authorities got involved and made them re home them.

They have these really nice placards on each enclosure, made from some kind of metal. Each one has a picture of the individual cat etched on it, along with the cat's name, age, and its story.

Two tigers actually came from a breeder in Bentonville. I cannot BELIEVE that we have someone in Bentonville that is breeding tigers!!

We went in the late afternoon because feeding time is at 5:00 sharp. Wal-Mart, Sam's, and Tyson's donates all the meat (both chicken and beef), over 100,000 pounds per year is needed to feed them!! It was so neat because the cats get very excited shortly before feeding, they seem to know what time it is and start pacing in the enclosures. They call and growl at each other, and it's so loud!

They told us when we first came in that some of the cats would "stalk" us, because we had Dalton, and Jackson was in the stroller. And they did! At one point we were walking by the large enclosures, and there was a cougar in an enclosure that was probably at least 30 yards long. He started following Dalton along the fence, and if Dalton would turn around and go the other way, the cat would too. He even emitted some growls and hisses!! It was neat, but also a little scary! Although, in all the years they've been open (since 1992), they've never had an animal get loose.

All animals at the refuge receive veterinary care, and they do not allow breeding at the compound. Some of the smaller cats, like the bobcats, if they have been hand raised since birth (making them more docile), are used to "tour" local schools to educate children that large cats are not meant to be pets.

Some of the cats' stories are so horrible that it is just heart breaking to read about them. But then I realized that they are in such a wonderful place now, and I'm grateful to these people and this refuge for taking them in.

When we went, Chris had worn his NWA Save Our Strays t-shirt (the rescue that I am with) and I wish that I had thought to wear mine!! Oh, well. I'm sure we'll go back again, it was such a great experience. If you live in the NW Arkansas area, or visit here, I highly urge you to go... and if you're looking for a great cause to donate to, this is a fantastic one. They are a registered 501(c)3 non-profit, and all donations are tax deductible.