By Sandra Smithwick Sawyer
The Ozark Mountains near Eureka Springs, Arkansas are full of lions, and tigers and bears. Oh my! Truly you don’t need to be startled like Dorothy and the other beloved characters in the Wizard of Oz, but it is true that there are many exotic big cats and bears in the area, specifically at a place that is located about seven miles south of Eureka Springs in the Heart of the Ozarks called Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (TCWR). You can hear the roar of their residents up to five miles from the sanctuary.
Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge is currently home to almost 100 exotic big (and a few small) cats that have been rescued from neglect and abuse from an industry prone to making that big buck via the exploitation of these magnificent creatures, as well as a few unrealistic “pet” situations.
I spoke with Cheryl King, the Promotions Coordinator at Turpentine Creek, who shared many eye-opening bits of information beginning with the history of how the refuge was founded.
In 1978, Don Jackson, a former Dallas Zoo employee, along with his wife, Hilda and their daughter, Tanya, acquired a lion cub named Bum. This lion cub had been left as payment on a debt owed to a friend of the Jacksons. After a time, the gentleman realized he could not care for the animal as it needed and reached out to the Jacksons for help. The Jackson family built a large enclosure in their backyard and began care for the young lion. A while after receiving Bum, they took in another lion, named Sheila.
For over ten years, the Jackson’s back yard in Hope, Arkansas was home to Bum and Sheila. They knew their backyard could offer only so much for exercise with the limited space and were speaking with a friend who owned property in Eureka Springs. What turned the tide was the appearance of a woman on their doorstep in 1991. Catherine Twiss was an infamous breeder and black-market dealer who was running from the law. The larger issue here was that she did not show up alone. With her were 42 lions, tigers, and cougars crammed inside of three cattle cars. Her run from the law was weighed down and she was desperate to find a way to lighten her load.
Almost overnight the Jacksons moved their newly acquired rescued family along with Bum and Sheila and headed for a 459-acre ranch located in the wonderous hills of the Ozarks. For the next year, they spent their time building the sanctuary that would become Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge.
Word of their work spread, and they began receiving calls from private owners all around the country. They learned of the abuse, the neglect, the abandonment of these cats and realized this issue was more serious than first thought. Don and Hilda sold everything they had, bought the ranch, and moved from their home in Hope to live and dedicate their lives to the care and safety of these big cats.
SSS: Is it true that there are more large cats in private homes and zoos than can be found in the wild?
CK: “Yes, and there are probably more than we are even aware of. Part of the problem is that these animals are not recorded, and you don’t hear about them until a tragedy happens, or you end up with a tiger, like India, wandering the streets of Houston. A cougar like Sasha, living in an apartment in New York City. These are very sad cases. When you see these cubs when they are small, like in Sasha’s case, it’s easy to buy into the myth that you can have this cat as a house pet. You don’t think about the future where this cat grows from a small cub into a 70-pound mountain lion in a matter of seven months. In an apartment, you don’t have the space to give it proper exercise and it basically lives in a small cage most of the day. When Sasha came to us, she was relatively healthy apart from her back legs and the muscle atrophy she suffered.”
One of the worst situations involves the cub petting industry, which Turpentine Creek is trying hard to end through the Big Cat Public Safety Act. “We are trying to put an end to cub petting. Every state has a different law, managed at the state level. There is no federal oversight,” shared Ms. King. The Big Cat Public Safety Act is a proposed federal bill that will make it illegal to buy, sell, trade, transport across state lines without permits, privately own, or allow the public to have hands-on interaction with prohibited types of big cats. This bill is in the U.S. House of Representatives in the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife.
In some states, all it takes is acquiring a permit. With this permit, a person can go out and purchase an exotic cat, then invite the public to come and pet their lion or tiger cub for a price. Unfortunately, around the age of 12 weeks or 40 pounds, even with declawing and defanging, as some owners do, that cub is no longer pet-able. The bite pressure is enough to break bones. Due to the lack of public interaction, that cub becomes a liability, and sadly, many are euthanized. Others are sold into speed-breeding facilities to continue to supply the industry or other lucrative ventures like private ownership and hunting.
SSS: What types of animals does TCWR serve?
CK: “The large cats consist of lions, tigers, ligers, cougars, servals, bobcats, and leopards. In addition to these cats, we also have a black jaguar, a hyena, and nine bears. One of our bears is a Grizzly named Bam Bam. He is a rescue from Oklahoma where he was kept as a private pet inside a barn. He had never seen the outside of the barn; never seen direct sunlight. Bam Bam had an adjustment period. Today he has a large habitat with an inground water pool with a waterfall. He loves drowning logs and other enrichment toys. He is one of the first animals a guest will encounter when they visit Turpentine, and he loves to come out and interact with people.”
The condition that the animals arrive in at TCWR is deplorable at times and heartbreaking at others. These conditions include obesity, intestinal parasites, muscle atrophy, huge sores, starvation, dehydration, and these are just some of the physical conditions. The mental issues weigh as heavily including trust issues, anger, depression, fear, a sense of giving up and at times, relief and hope.
Chief, a 13-year-old lion was rescued from Indiana. When TCWR reached him, they were told he hadn’t eaten in five days and had begun shutting down. He was living in a small gravel enclosure. Emily, TCWR’s animal curator, gave him subcutaneous fluids. Within a few minutes he looked at her as if saying, “Get me out of here.” When they arrived back at TCWR with Chief in tow, it was with mixed emotions as everyone watched him take his first steps on real grass, knowing that he had never been afforded that luxury.
Luna and Remington, tigers rescued from Florida, were used in a swim to play facility. Here, guests paid to swim with the cats. Not only is this dangerous to people but it is unsafe for the cats. Tigers do love water, but these tigers were forced to stay in the pool for hours on end. The courts finally intervened, and the park was forced to surrender these cats. When the two arrived at TCWR, they refused to have anything to do with the water pools and tanks out of fear. The staff would spray the two down to give them water baths, but it was many months before they would go in their water tanks.
Turpentine Creek is a wonderful refuge where the public can see exotic big cats that are truly being cared for and living a life that is as close to the wild as it can possibly be for these animals that started their life so cruelly.
Cheryl has been a part of Turpentine for many years. Through those years she has come to adore all of the animals in their care but admits to having a few favorites. Among them are a liger named Fergie, a lioness named Mauri who is a fantastic stalker and Kyro, another liger who is a bit goofy. “And who doesn’t love a goofy cat?”
When asked what she would like for our readers to take away above all else, Cheryl responded with, “That we need you. That the cats need you. They don’t have a voice and need us to speak up for them. They didn’t ask to be in these situations. People will say that no animal in captivity is a good animal, but what is the alternative? Euthanize these beautiful animals? They can never go back to the wild-they will not survive. The Jacksons saw those needs, stepped in, and helped, and for thirty years they have helped and saved over five hundred animals. They have helped change legislation and are still trying to change laws in the nation around exotic big cats.”
“Through education and advocacy, Turpentine is helping to change the mindset of a nation in regard to ending this heartbreaking situation, while they provide these wonderful animals a place to enjoy their life without fear, abuse, abandonment, or neglect as they give them the freedom to be wild.”
Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge will be celebrating its 30th anniversary in May of this year. To learn more about this wonderful facility, more about these majestic Big Cats, or for ways to donate or volunteer, please visit Turpentine Creek’s website: https://www.turpentinecreek.org
OLLI is offering a class on the Plight of Exotic Cats called Want to Pet My 700-lb Kitty? Followed by a trip to Turpentine Creek this semester.
Class date is Tuesday, 4/26/2022; trip date is Tuesday, 5/3/2022.
