More Exciting News!

In addition to the cubs we posted about last week, we also received a few other new residents! Please welcome Wiki (pronounced wick-kai), a jaguar, as well as Romulus and Remus, two 6 month-old tundra wolf siblings. Their previous institutions no longer had space for them, but IEAS will now be their forever home.

Romulus and Remus are IEAS’s first wolves ever! They are named after the legendary twin brothers who founded Rome after being raised in the wild by a wolf. Tundra wolves are a subspecies of gray wolf and are native to Eurasian tundra and forests. Though gray wolves are considered a species of least concern, they are unfortunately subject to a number of human-caused threats that have extirpated them from much of their range. Contrary to popular belief, wolves are very timid animals. Romulus and Remus have definitely shown this more than our new tigers; however, they are gaining trust in IEAS staff through our Emotional Enrichment program and are settling in nicely in their new habitat.

Wiki is currently the sanctuary’s only jaguar resident. Because jaguars were prominently featured in Aztec mythology, Wiki was named after a type of legendary Aztec warrior. Jaguars such as Wiki are the only true big cats (genus Panthera) native to the Americas, defined by their ability to roar (mountain lions can’t!). Their native range extends from the southwestern U.S. to South America, throughout which they are considered a keystone species. Though they have been extirpated throughout most of their range in the U.S., one wild jaguar was photographed earlier this year in Arizona. They are a near-threatened species that are unfortunately on the decline due to human activity such as poaching, deforestation, and conflict with farmers.  Though Wiki is still adjusting to his new home, we hope that with the help of our Emotional Enrichment program that he will continue to gain trust in his human care takers!

We are very excited to share our new residents with you! Guided tours are available every day at 11 if you would like to come by and see them. Or, if you’re interested in helping out with the care of Wiki, Romulus, and Remus, please consider donating here. Keep an eye out for more updates on how our new guys are doing!

Welcome Home!

WELCOME HOME!

We've recently adopted a few new members into the IEAS family!  We have been so excited to take in two six month old cubs, a male and female, and two more cubs that are a year and half old, also a male and female.

These youngsters are getting adjusted into their new habitats and loving their new scenery.  The six month old cubs can often be seen playing with their toys or splashing in their water trough!  Kimberly, one of our resident white Bengal tigers, is now neighbored by the young cubs.  She enjoys their company and will play with them through the fence and chuff back and forth with the cubs.

The older cubs have taken a liking to their pool with the warmer weather lingering.  These two will often be seen playing with one another or exploring their new large habitat.  These cubs are also very friendly to keepers and interns, chuffing back and forth and walking along the fence with the keepers and interns!

We hope you are as excited about the new residents as we are!  Please consider helping out these adorable cubs by donating here!  We can't wait to see how these cubs grow up!

Can you Bare the Differences between our Bears?

Grizzlies are large bears that can be 6.6 to 9.2 feet  in length and can weigh between 175- 975 lbs. Typically males are larger than females, but their size depends on the location and food source available.  Grizzlies are more commonly found in mountainous regions where they have greater accessibility to a varied diet including: salmon, trout, carrion, mouse, elk, berries, nuts and other fruit. They can be found across the continental U.S ranging from Montana and Idaho to Wyoming.  They used to be found in Colorado as well, but have been inexistent since 1978.. Their hair can vary from a blonde to a dark brown and often times gives them a grizzled appearance and they can live for up to fifty years in captivity. 

Here at IEAS we have six Grizzlies. In 2007, we received four grizzlies from a previous facility that did not have the room to support the unexpected cubs.  They remain together in the same habitat here at IEAS and we wanted to see how well you guys could tell them apart? 

 

This is Willie, he is a 9 year old Grizzly. He is the largest of his siblings and can be found dangling his feet off of his perch while eating a melon. 

Meet Wendy!! Wendy is the smallest of her siblings and also shorter, but she can hold her own against her big brothers. 

Big Papa is the tallest and lightest Grizzly that we have. He is a very curious boy that will commonly follow you around to see if you have food or what you are doing.

However, due to road construction, railway systems, habitat destruction, and trophy hunting these bears have moved to much of Russia, and remain densely distributed in Canada as well as Alaska.  Therefore, they are considered to be endangered in the lower 48 states. 

In recent years, organizations have helped to increase awareness regarding the conservation of these  magnificent animals. They have implemented programs that promote the preservation of land, setting up natural breeding by influencing the linking of populations,  and built bridges that allow them to enter their native lands in the presence of road construction. 

How you can help?

• Donations www.bigcat.org/donate
• Adopt a Bear www.bigcat.org/adopt-an-animal
• Prevent Illegal Hunting