Pretty Kitties

Two posts in one day! We went to the Valley Of The Kings today to see the rescued lions, tigers and (yes) bears as well as the horses, pigs, camel, cougars, panther, wolves, foxes and goats. What an amazing place. What an amazing bunch of folks that give their time and money to take care of them all. All of the animals are well fed and well cared for now although many bear the battle scars of their lives before coming to the sanctuary. There are over fifty big cats. The stories of how they got there are so tragic. It angers me so much to think about how humans can be so mean and ignorant.

This is a picture of my favorite lion sunning herself. It's also my new background on my desktop.

This absolutely gorgeous fellow is Charlie. A Hollywood handler had all of his claws and teeth removed so that he would be safer to work with. Now he can't have any companions because he can't defend himself in skirmishes and he has to have a special diet because he can't chew. There are no limits when it comes to entertainment I guess.



These two lions came with 8 others from a zoo in Mississippi that abused them. One of them got really aggressive and had to be neutered. So he doesn't have a mane anymore even though he is a huge male. They were all enjoying the sun and 80° temperatures. And whenever a Harley motorcycle went by out on the road, they would all lay on the ground and roar; too comfy to get up. Apparently Harley's sound like lions so they always greet them when they go by.

This is a poor picture of Jasmine, but she and her brother are cinnamon tigers, which I'd never heard of. The only black on her is a little tiny bit on the tip of her tail. Her stripes are all pumpkin, rust and cinnamon. I wish I had gotten a better shot of her face. Her markings are spectacular.
This isn't the tiger we got to actually touch through the fence but he was just as friendly. Next time we go down, we can bring chicken to feed them through the chain link. You can only get about 3 feet away and lean over a fence unless you are a volunteer due to some new FDA regulations. We got to sneak in and pat a tiger that was in the barn where there was no railing. She rubbed along the fence to be petted just like a house cat. I even got a 'chuff' or two which is a tiger's way of saying you're her pal. I was really flattered! We got to pat wolves too as well as feed a huge camel named Chewy and two blind horses.

They also have a liger; half lion and half tiger but he was feeling particularly shy and we didn't get to see him. Hopefully next time.

We were really impressed with how well the animals are all taken care of although it is obvious that there is a big lack of funds. Local farmers bring dead livestock and the game wardens bring deer that have been struck by cars. This helps on the food bill. (People have dropped off live goats, pigs and geese for food, but the owners won't kill anything to feed the animals so all of these orphans have a home there too. ) All the rest depends on donations; money for pens, feed, medicines, transportation, and veterinary care. Mr. Bee is all gung-ho to think of a way to raise $$ for all of 'his' new furbabies. It was a very successful birthday gift!