Carolina Tiger Rescue

Another off-topic post. Yesterday I went with a group of fellow library science students to Carolina Tiger Rescue, a nonprofit group that provides homes for tigers and other carnivorous species who have been rescued from neglectful situations or displaced when other sanctuaries or zoos have closed. They have more than 70 animals who live in enclosures across 50 acres of farm land in the North Carolina countryside.

It's always a little sad to see these amazing creatures behind fences and barricades, but the animals at CTR seem happy and well taken care of, and an "open range" type of sanctuary like the ones you see on National Geographic on hundreds of acres in the Sahara just isn't practical for central Carolina. We saw an ocelot, bobcat, and serval, as well as caracals, binturoungs, a glimpse of some lazy lions, and of course, tigers! Caracals are incredibly cute and have great ear tufts, and I'd never even heard of a binturoung, much less seen one. They look like slightly smaller, furry R.O.U.S.es. But the tigers were definitely the stars of the day. It was fun to see them doing the same types of things my kitties do--rubbing their heads along the wall, bathing their paws, and vocalizing to ask for food. Tigers make a funny sound called a "chuffle" (kind of like a horse snorting) to communicate with each other. And some of them are huge--Amur tigers can weigh up to 700lbs.

Rajaji (smiling because he just got some chicken) and a volunteer.

Rajaji with a friend.

I discovered it's tricky to take good photos of moving creatures through chain link fences, so here are some slightly more interesting clips I shot with my still camera's crummy video mode. Check out CTR's website at www.carolinatigerrescue.org/.