We have exciting news about our progress. We are getting close to our goal of opening in one month. All of our animals have settled in are enjoying their new larger enclosures. The support from the community has been tremendous. Our visitor walkways are almost complete, and a company from Yuba City is making new entrance gates for us. We are still getting situated in our new location, and preparing to open to the public is an on-going project but we are nearing the finish line. It has been very hard on us to be closed to the public for the past 5 months, and has drastically reduced our donations. We are still in need of entry signs, road base, and 100 ft of asphalt. We are also always in need of helping hands. We are going to need help with tours as well as greeting and educating the public about our animals.
The other good news is that we were recently given a double wide portable classroom which we will be able to use for education instead of a tent we were planning on using. Now we will have a durable, weather-proof location in which we can teach children about the impact they have on the world around them and what they can do to help save the animals they see at our facility for future generations.
Even more exciting news is that Chuffy, our white Bengal tiger who was recently on shaky ground has made a come-back and is now doing extremely well. We knew something was wrong when she refused to eat for two days. Now she is back to her normal self eating 12-17 pounds a day and engaging in her favorite activities which include playing with her tether ball and 80 pound boomer ball. We are so happy she is feeling well. Chuffy is one of the few animals who is lucky enough to have a sponsor. Only 11 out of 43 of our residents are currently sponsored. To learn more about how to sponsor an animal, please visit our website, or call (530) 533-1000
Many people do not know just how much tigers eat. Here at the Foundation our big cats eat 10-14 pounds of meat a day, and will occasionally gorge themselves on up to 30 pounds in one sitting! Needless to say, that adds up to quite a large feed bill. We are fortunate enough to have some local grocery stores who donate meat when it reaches the sell-by date, and some citizens who raise rabbits for us, but it is not enough to meet our enormous need. We are always happy to accept donations of meat that is fit for human consumption. (No road-kill please, we only feed our animals the best.)
If you, or anyone you know thinks they would be able to help us in any way, please do not hesitate to call us at (530) 533-1000.