Meet our Newest Residents!

We have two new residents at the International Exotic Animal Sanctuary!!

Meet Rob, and ocelot that came to us from a zoo. We are told that Rob was very shy at the zoo and did not often greet visitors, additionally they wanted to make room for a new breeding male. We gladly met the transfer team in Texarkana and transported Rob to IEAS in his kennel. Once at IEAS, we placed his kennel inside his new habitat and opened the door. It took Rob several hours to venture outside his kennel. Initially he would explore a little and return to his kennel. Once he started using the habitat’s igloo for shelter, we removed his kennel and he is right at home. Now, after just a few weeks, he regularly ventures out and uses the perches and ramps. He is even frequently more social than our other ocelot, Rio. Since I was part of the transfer team, I asked for the assignment of sitting with Rob daily for emotional enrichment. He has already become used to my presence. A clear sign of this is that he has even been comfortable enough to eat nearby where I was sitting.

Meet Nahla, a 5 month old orange Bengal Tiger from Conroe, Texas. Nahla was a former house pet found wandering the streets in Conroe following a storm and was picked up by the local animal control. When we found out about Nahla, our executive director spent several hours negotiating her transition to IEAS. Nahla was delivered to us just a few weeks ago. She is starting off out in our quarantine area, this is our normal protocol to ensure that she is healthy before her move to her permanent habitat.  It did not take long for our staff to recognize that she especially loves to play in water. It is also obvious that Nahla is very social and loves company. She is very curious of the other animal residents, and always will come over to greet staff, interns, and tour guests. Meanwhile the interns and staff are busy preparing her permanent home where she will move following her quarantine period. Her new naturalistic habitat is complete with a good-sized pool, to fulfill her love for water, perches, large house, shade and sun areas.

Enjoy this video of Nahla checkin out a water tub for the first time!

Being able to continually bring in animals in need of a safe and permanent home is all thanks to our supporters.  Without generous individuals and companies we would not be able to do what we do and provide all the present and future IEAS resident animals with the care they deserve.  If you would like to donate to the Sanctuary or adopt one of our resident animals please visit our website: www.bigcat.org.