Wild Weekend!

Since I've adopted Cole at the "Friend" level, this weekend I was able to take a tour of Bear Creek Sanctuary. The whole thing blew me away. From the vervet monkeys to the wolves, and any of the 16 Siberian tigers that are currently at the sanctuary, it's obvious that the animals are all healthy, happy, and very well-cared for. Many of the animals at bear creek come from zoos that have run out of space or from private owners that didn't realize how big a cute little tiger or lion cub might get. It breaks your heart to think that these beautiful animals might otherwise have been euthanized if the sanctuary had not taken them in.

The tour guide Stephanie, one of the sanctuary volunteers, gave a great tour and was really knowledgeable about all the animals at Bear Creek. After checking out a few monkeys and a sweet little raccoon, we were already into the tigers. We were immediately greeted by a massive tiger who rubbed up against the fence while "chuffing", which Stephanie assured me is a happy noise that tigers make instead of purring like smaller cats. If you want to hear what chuffing sounds like, click here.

We had a good view of Cole's enclosure, but he was sleeping inside. Apparently Cole's sister Kyra, who shares his enclosure, was not in a good mood, so Cole was staying well away... smart guy! After the tigers, we were into the mountain lions and the wolves. Tonka, a beautiful mountain lion, looked unimpressed by his human visitors. He just stared down with his piercing blue eyes. I'm reminded that mountain lions can jump up to 40 feet vertically. Good thing there's a fence between us! A friendlier cougar in one of the other enclosures came rubbing up against the fence purring (cougars are the largest cats that can purr). There's nothing better than a cat purring in my opinion... even if it's a cat that is about the same size as an adult human!

The wolf puppies, Takoda, Cheveyo, Wakanda, and Nequa were lively, very playful, and really fun to watch. On the way out, these 4 said goodbye with lots of howling. It was one of the coolest sounds I've ever heard.

After the wolves, we were on to some beautiful lynxes with their funny stubby little tails and beautifully tufted ears. Then on to Lola and Diablo, Bear Creek's most infamous couple! Lola is a huge and gorgeous African lioness and Diablo is a melanistic jaguar. In the wild, these two don't even live in the same hemisphere, but at Bear Creek, their love has been nothing short of a miracle. Though Bear Creek does not breed animals, little surprises sometimes occur. In this case, the surprise was two tiny jaglions (jaguar/lion hybrids). They may very well be the only jaglions in the world! They're incredibly friendly, especially Tsunami, who's more "lion", though Jazhara (who seems more jaguar) couldn't resist when we turned our backs on her and had to jump down to check us out.

Then we were on to Woody, a beautiful and unbelievably huge lion with no mane (he was castrated by his old owners - a biker gang). Though it was very hot and humid and he was having his midday nap, he eventually humored us by at least letting us get a good look at his handsome and gigantic face.

As we neared the house again, we could see a couple more African lions, and when one of the males started grumbling, the sound resonated through my chest... it made me wonder what the neighbors think of a full grown male lion roaring in the middle of the night!

Back in the basement area of the house, we were in for a treat... monkeys, lemurs, birds, and 4 gorgeous white Siberian tiger cubs that Bear Creek is babysitting for a zoo. The cubs never stopped moving and whenever I played peekaboo with them over the board on their enclosure (there to stop them from climbing the fence and falling), one would inevitably jump up at my face. Then one of his siblings would tackle him and take him down! They were very cute, but already very strong and rambunctious with long sharp claws!

I can't imagine how expensive it would be to run a place like Bear Creek Sanctuary. It's entirely run by a staff of dedicated volunteers who rely on donations to cover their costs. If you can adopt an animal, please do. And if you're in the area, you'll love visiting! Each adoption includes a certificate and a framed photo of your animal. No pics allowed in the sanctuary, but here's me and Cole.