Does Your Neighbor Have a Tiger? - Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, Part 1

May 10, 2011

You are used to hearing a neighbor’s dog bark or cats in a cat fight. If you are farther out in the country, you are even used to the sounds of cows and horses and an occasional coyote howl. But how would you feel if you heard a tiger growl or a lion roar? How would you feel if you discovered that a tiger is living next door in your suburban neighborhood? Or that a lion is roaming a nearby farm? The idea isn't so far-fetched. It's happening right across America. Tigers and lions are surprisingly easy and inexpensive to purchase as pets. This means anyone can own a large powerful carnivore whether or not they are equipped to properly care for them.

It is estimated that there are thousands of big cats owned by personal owners in the United States. Only 19 states have laws that ban the ownership of big cats as pets. Missouri is NOT one of them.

Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge rescues big cats that are unwanted, abandoned or abused. Most often those animals are ones that were someone’s pet and became too large or unruly to handle.

Turpentine Creek will be coming to the library (Yes, with their cats). They will be visiting several MCPL branches the second week in June, and they will be here at the Excelsior Springs branch on June 8th with programs at both 2 p.m. and at 3 p.m. You can call us for more information at 630-6721.

Angela H.
Excelsior Springs Branch

This is just part one in a series of blog posts about Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, check back here next week for more!