If you've come this far on my website, I'd like to thank you for looking at it. This final story has nothing to do with politics and is one of my favorites.
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Big Cats of Indiana
By Jean Ikezoe-Halevi
The heart of farmland is the last place you’d expect to hear a lion’s roar. Yet, surrounded by cornfields in Center Point, Indiana, you can not only hear, but see dozens of lions, tigers, leopards, lynxes and other big cats. This is the Exotic Feline Rescue Center (EFRC).
Hidden away is a sanctuary for approximately 200 big cats, who were rescued from zoos, businesses and even apartment buildings. On 180 acres of land, these animals live out their lives in peace in a more natural setting than most of them ever experienced in their early years.
Located a half hour southeast of Terre Haute, this nonprofit corporation was founded in 1991 by Joe Taft, who is the director. According to its website, “OUR MISSION: Is to provide permanent homes for exotic felines that have been abused, abandoned, or for some reason have nowhere to live out their lives, while educating the public about these beautiful cats. WE BELIEVE: These special cats have much to give and deserve to be treated in a humane and dignified manner.”
When we drove our daughter back to college at the end of summer, she asked if we could go to Exotic Feline Rescue Center if we had time after we dropped off all of her belongings. Fortunately, we had extra time, so we drove over some hilly terrain surrounding local farms.
Driving up a gravel road in a wooded area, we saw a few other cars parked along the side and joined them. Walking into the Rescue Center, we were met by a guide named Sharon, who would take us on a group tour. We were warned to stay on the path and not get too close to the fences.
A few minutes later we were walking down a dirt path and could see high chain link fences that were sectioned off into various sized areas. Each of these areas contained one or more big cats. Each cat had a story about how it ended up in this sanctuary, and most were amazingly sad.
Several animals were saved from a canned hunt, which is being shot at close range by “big game hunters,” who pay large sums for a trophy. Others were saved from zoos and circuses that could no longer care for them and were going to be destroyed; two beautiful lions looked slightly stunted because they grew up in a metal cage with bars that prevented them from growing to their full stature. Most of the big cats, however, were rescued from individuals who purchased them to raise at home or on their own property. We heard about three young tigers that were sold at a flea market for a few dollars each.
Among our tour was a family of four: a father, mother and two young boys from the north side of Chicago. They looked like the average family except that both parents were heavily tattooed up to their necks. Upon hearing one story about four tigers that were rescued from the basement of a Chicago tattoo parlor, the mother said that she got her first tattoo at that parlor and remembers seeing the tigers.
The most bizarre story was of a tiger rescued from a New York city apartment, where it roamed freely in a bedroom. The owner had his wife chained in another room.
The one link to all of these cats was the fact that some human being thought they could properly take care of a large, ferocious, meat eating animal, that could kill them with a swipe of a paw.
Each of the large cats weighed about 400 pounds or more, and according to the Center website 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of meat is needed to feed the 200 cats each day.
The cats had been fed shortly before our arrival and many were still chewing on huge pieces of meat. Watching big cats lick themselves clean or sunning themselves like regular housecats makes it easy to forget they can kill you in an instant.
Our tour guide reminded us of this when she yelled at a woman putting her camera lens between the links of the fence to get a better photo. She was warned that a big cat can leap to a fence in seconds and the result would be tragic. This was demonstrated when a white tiger stalked our group, hiding in the bushes near the fence in his enclosure. When we got closer he pounced at the fence, rattling it and scaring us.
Because we were the last tour of the day and running a little late, director Joe Taft came to see where we were. A quiet man, he acknowledged our group and let the tour finish. If not for his determination and compassion for animals, most of these big cats would not be alive today.
It costs thousands of dollars to feed, house and care for these cats. Expensive medical treatment is often required for new arrivals because of past neglect. With a staff of 15 employees plus interns and volunteers, EFRC is one of a handful of rescue centers in the United States.
If you’d like to learn more or make a donation to Exotic Feline Rescue Center, go to their website at http://www.exoticfelinerescuecenter.org. There are also overnight stays with special tours.
This is an amazing experience. For $10.00 apiece we were closer to lions, tigers and other big cats than you’d ever be at a zoo, literally a few feet away.
At the end of our tour we heard the roar of a lion, followed by roars from another big cat. All of us stopped to listen. One by one other big cats joined in until it was a loud roaring chorus, vibrating the air with its deep rumbling. It was a sound we’ll never forget.
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Jean Ikezoe-Halevi is a Chicago area journalists who has written for television and newspapers.
(This article originally appeared in The Chicago Shimpo on Friday, October 7, 2016.)
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Big Cats of Indiana
By Jean Ikezoe-Halevi
The heart of farmland is the last place you’d expect to hear a lion’s roar. Yet, surrounded by cornfields in Center Point, Indiana, you can not only hear, but see dozens of lions, tigers, leopards, lynxes and other big cats. This is the Exotic Feline Rescue Center (EFRC).
Hidden away is a sanctuary for approximately 200 big cats, who were rescued from zoos, businesses and even apartment buildings. On 180 acres of land, these animals live out their lives in peace in a more natural setting than most of them ever experienced in their early years.
Located a half hour southeast of Terre Haute, this nonprofit corporation was founded in 1991 by Joe Taft, who is the director. According to its website, “OUR MISSION: Is to provide permanent homes for exotic felines that have been abused, abandoned, or for some reason have nowhere to live out their lives, while educating the public about these beautiful cats. WE BELIEVE: These special cats have much to give and deserve to be treated in a humane and dignified manner.”
When we drove our daughter back to college at the end of summer, she asked if we could go to Exotic Feline Rescue Center if we had time after we dropped off all of her belongings. Fortunately, we had extra time, so we drove over some hilly terrain surrounding local farms.
Driving up a gravel road in a wooded area, we saw a few other cars parked along the side and joined them. Walking into the Rescue Center, we were met by a guide named Sharon, who would take us on a group tour. We were warned to stay on the path and not get too close to the fences.
A few minutes later we were walking down a dirt path and could see high chain link fences that were sectioned off into various sized areas. Each of these areas contained one or more big cats. Each cat had a story about how it ended up in this sanctuary, and most were amazingly sad.
Several animals were saved from a canned hunt, which is being shot at close range by “big game hunters,” who pay large sums for a trophy. Others were saved from zoos and circuses that could no longer care for them and were going to be destroyed; two beautiful lions looked slightly stunted because they grew up in a metal cage with bars that prevented them from growing to their full stature. Most of the big cats, however, were rescued from individuals who purchased them to raise at home or on their own property. We heard about three young tigers that were sold at a flea market for a few dollars each.
Among our tour was a family of four: a father, mother and two young boys from the north side of Chicago. They looked like the average family except that both parents were heavily tattooed up to their necks. Upon hearing one story about four tigers that were rescued from the basement of a Chicago tattoo parlor, the mother said that she got her first tattoo at that parlor and remembers seeing the tigers.
The most bizarre story was of a tiger rescued from a New York city apartment, where it roamed freely in a bedroom. The owner had his wife chained in another room.
The one link to all of these cats was the fact that some human being thought they could properly take care of a large, ferocious, meat eating animal, that could kill them with a swipe of a paw.
Each of the large cats weighed about 400 pounds or more, and according to the Center website 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of meat is needed to feed the 200 cats each day.
The cats had been fed shortly before our arrival and many were still chewing on huge pieces of meat. Watching big cats lick themselves clean or sunning themselves like regular housecats makes it easy to forget they can kill you in an instant.
Our tour guide reminded us of this when she yelled at a woman putting her camera lens between the links of the fence to get a better photo. She was warned that a big cat can leap to a fence in seconds and the result would be tragic. This was demonstrated when a white tiger stalked our group, hiding in the bushes near the fence in his enclosure. When we got closer he pounced at the fence, rattling it and scaring us.
Because we were the last tour of the day and running a little late, director Joe Taft came to see where we were. A quiet man, he acknowledged our group and let the tour finish. If not for his determination and compassion for animals, most of these big cats would not be alive today.
It costs thousands of dollars to feed, house and care for these cats. Expensive medical treatment is often required for new arrivals because of past neglect. With a staff of 15 employees plus interns and volunteers, EFRC is one of a handful of rescue centers in the United States.
If you’d like to learn more or make a donation to Exotic Feline Rescue Center, go to their website at http://www.exoticfelinerescuecenter.org. There are also overnight stays with special tours.
This is an amazing experience. For $10.00 apiece we were closer to lions, tigers and other big cats than you’d ever be at a zoo, literally a few feet away.
At the end of our tour we heard the roar of a lion, followed by roars from another big cat. All of us stopped to listen. One by one other big cats joined in until it was a loud roaring chorus, vibrating the air with its deep rumbling. It was a sound we’ll never forget.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jean Ikezoe-Halevi is a Chicago area journalists who has written for television and newspapers.
(This article originally appeared in The Chicago Shimpo on Friday, October 7, 2016.)
