Meet Mau!

Meet Mau!

Mau is our resident cheetah!  He is almost 12 years old and has been with us since he was only five months old.  Cheetahs are notably the world’s fastest land mammal and the most endangered African cat.

So how do cheetahs reach such high speeds? They have several adaptations that allow them to reach speeds up to 70mph. They have an extremely flexible spine, giving cheetahs the ability to take a longer stride.  Their shoulder blades are not attached to the collarbone, also enabling the shoulders to move more freely. Finally, the hips pivot to permit the back legs to stretch farther apart when the body is fully extended. Unlike other cats, cheetahs have only semi-retractable claws and have harder, less rounded paw pads to allow for better traction, like the cleats of a track shoe. The cheetah’s tail is long and powerful so it can act as a rudder, stabilizing and acting as a counterweight so the cheetah can make sharp, sudden turns. All of these features combined enable cheetahs to have strides up to 23 feet with about four strides a second. Now that’s fast!

Unfortunately, cheetahs face multiple conservation issues in the wild. Habitat loss and fragmentation is a major concern in developing areas of Africa, as is interaction with humans. Livestock owners often unfairly blame cheetahs for the kills made by other large predators, such as hyenas, leopards and lions, resulting in the farmers trapping or shooting the cheetah. Illegal wildlife trading also contributes to a depleted cheetah population because cheetah cubs are being captured from the wild and smuggled out of Africa to become pets. They also face extreme competition from other African predators, who can often overpower a cheetah. Sadly, the result of these factors has been a decreased population, with only about 10,000 cheetahs remaining in the wild.

Luckily here at the sanctuary, Mau leads a good life.  He can be found roaming around his habitat or lounging in the shade.  Please come out and enjoy a tour where you can learn all about our animals and hopefully you can catch a glimpse of Mau!

How Well Do You Know Your Tigers?

Historically, there were 9 sub-species of tigers. The Caspian, Bali and Javan are now extinct; The South China and Indochinese are genetically extinct; and the remaining sub-species in the wild today are Amur (Siberian), Bengal, Malayan, and Sumatran which are declining rapidly in the wild. Here at the Sanctuary we have primarily Bengal tigers, but also one Siberian!

Siberian tigers are the biggest of all the sub-species. They are the largest and heaviest member of the entire cat family to be exact! Body length can be upwards of 10-12 feet and can weigh around 600 pounds. Siberian coats are notably thick and a pale golden color, with black stripes and white underbellies.

Our resident Siberian tiger is Caesar! He is currently 18 years old and has been at IEAS for a little over 17 years. You can read his full story here: http://www.bigcat.org/animal/caesar

Caesar

Bengal tigers are smaller than Siberians, with a body length of 5-6 feet and weighing around 400 pounds. Their coats are usually a thinner pale yellow color, with black stripes on their bodies.

Here is one of our orange Bengal tiger residents, Khera! Khera is currently 21 years old. Her full story is here: http://www.bigcat.org/animal/khera

Khera

Come on down to IEAS for a tour so you can meet these two wonderful cats and test your identification skills! You'll get to see them as well as many of our other Bengal tigers! They are certainly looking forward to meeting you!

Why Do Sanctuaries Exist?

So what happens to these animals that are in the news, plus the many others that don't make the headlines but are abandoned by irresponsible individuals or organizations that obtain an exotic animal for egotistical or financial reasons without concern for its future care? Well, THAT IS WHY WE EXIST.

Big John, one of our current residents, was brought to us after the Fish and Wildlife services confiscated him and other animals from a Spanish circus. These animals were being kept in deplorable conditions. The tigers, including Big John, were hot, hungry, and thirsty. When he was brought to us, we had no place to put him or the other tigers. While they were being kept temporarily near Brownsville, TX, IEAS worked non-stop to get a habitat ready for these tigers. Thankfully, with the help of the local community and other organizations, enough money was raised to build a habitat for all of the new residents. Big John went from being in a cramped trailer into a 15,000 square foot habitat.


Big John enjoying his pool.

These animals are shuffled off to us, some other sanctuary or suffer a much more dire fate if such facilities aren't available.

Nakita, another resident we have, was abandoned just outside the sanctuary gates during a midnight winter storm. Keepers discovered her the next morning around 6:00am shivering, wet, and scared. She was brought immediately to the veterinary clinic where it took staff almost an hour to open up the crate she was put in. There was no where at the time for her to go so she stayed at the veterinary clinic. During her first month there, the staff worked non-stop to turn our last available habitat into a suitable place that would meet all of her needs so she could live a happy, healthy life.

Nakita exploring her habitat.

One of the saddest things we have to do is turn down many animals that need homes on an almost weekly basis because we don't have the funding to care for more animals and build new habitats without endangering the future well-being of our existing inhabitants to whom we owe the most. Unfortunately, unless there is media attention and great sympathy, most people aren't willing to donate the necessary funds to insure the endowment of the animal.

There are many was to help our Sanctuary:

• Come join us for a guided tour. Each adult donation feeds 4 cats for one day.
• We are constantly in need of things around the sanctuary that are on our Wish List.
• Adopt one of our animals, such as Nakita or Big John. You can even come to the Sanctuary to visit your adopted feline. =^-^=
• You can also help us by giving your time through volunteering.

Those are only a few ways to help the animals here at the International Exotic Sanctuary. To see more please visit our How To Help page.

If you are interested in hearing what were are all about and learning about all of our residents, come join us during our tours. They are everyday at 11:00am and there is a second tour on Saturdays at 3:00pm.

Photos for Profit

Have you ever heard of someone paying to get their picture taken with an exotic animal cub? Usually its with a baby bear, lion, tiger, etc.; you can be holding the cub while bottle feeding it or simply petting it. Most people think it sounds like an incredible opportunity they want to experience, but they don't know how dangerous it actually is for the animals involved.

First, the cubs are ripped from their mothers too early in life and forced into an unnatural life of captivity. When the cubs aren't being used for pictures, they are kept in cages and withheld food making them hungry. When they are brought out for a picture they are starving and only focused on the bottle so they wont hurt the human holding them. And lastly, when the cubs are too old or do not turn a profit anymore they are either abandoned or euthanized.

We have received numerous animals from photos for profit organizations. Some of the current residents include: Odin and Saber.


Odin, our male lion, and Saber, one of our white Bengal tigers, came to IEAS together in 2013. They were only a few months old at the time when they were rescued from a profitable photo opportunity.

Odin

Saber

Thousands of exotic animals are exploited every year through the horrible businesses that are photos for profit. We need to help spread the word so people no longer feel the desire to visit them. Sure that moment of interacting with an exotic animal may be exciting but just remember that animal has been suffering its entire life so one person can feel happiness. Please help us spread the word about photos for profit organizations so we can end them! Thank you!

Newt - In Loving Memory

It is with very heavy hearts that we say goodbye to a member of the IEAS family. Newt, a resident bobcat, passed away peacefully in his habitat on July 31st. At 21 years old, Newt was one of our oldest feline residents and he called IEAS home for the majority of his life. He came to the Sanctuary when he was about two years old, surrendered by a young couple who could no longer care for him. Newt spent most of his days lounging on his favorite corner perch or in his cave (which stayed nice and cool in the summer heat). Although he kept to himself most of the time, he was definitely a fan of flirting and teasing his two female neighbors, Baby and Cookie. 

The one thing Newt's keepers will always remember is how much he loved rolling around in the disinfectant spray that was used to sanitize his habitat. No matter the time of day, where he was, or what he was doing, he would ALWAYS come down to have a good roll on the ground wherever it was sprayed.

Newt lived a long and happy life at IEAS. We were fortunate enough to get to know him and he will be very greatly missed. 

I scream, you scream, we all scream for......bloodcicles?

Here at IEAS, we have different types of seasonal enrichment that we give all of our animals. Now that the Texas summer weather is upon us, we like to give out ice-pops for enrichment and to help cool everyone down in the heat of the day. To make these ice-pops, we fill water balloons with water, freeze them, and then peel off the balloon when it's frozen solid. For our feline friends, we make them even more delicious and refreshing by adding a little bit of blood to them. While some of our cats get a little too distracted by the keepers and interns standing there waiting to capture the moment, the majority of our cats have no problem digging right in. Check out some photos and videos of them enjoying their treat!

Nala

Allie Kat

Khera

Karen

Kumar

Kimberly

Sajani

With our hot summer days just getting started, you can definitely look forward to more posts, pictures, and videos of more summer enrichment fun!

The Texas Ocelot – Endangered and Still Declining

Meet Rio, the International Exotic Animal Sanctuary's resident Ocelot!

Rio came to IEAS from the El Paso Zoo after she was retired from the Species Survival Program (SSP). The goal of the SSP is to manage specific and threatened/endangered species populations within AZA accredited zoos and aquariums, certified facilities (such as IEAS), and approved non-member participants. Rio started off shy when she arrived, but with help from our emotional enrichment program, she has become a curious little cat, enjoying exploring her habitat at night. 

The ocelot is wild cat that use to wander several parts of the southern states, such as Texas, Arizona, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Today, however, there are less than 50 ocelots in the United States and they rely heavily on the remnant thorn forests of South Texas. Currently, they are primarily found roaming the forests of Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.

Deforestation has been a major factor in the decline of ocelots. Forests have been cut for their timber and for urban development, leaving these cats with no place to live. These wild cats have also been subjected to the fashion world. Many feel a very unnecessary need to have that ocelot-lined fur coat leaving these creatures on the critically endangered list.

However, there is still a chance for these beautiful cats! The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services are continuing to research the ocelots at Laguna Atascosa to determine what they need and how to further their survival for the future. They are working closely with the Texas Department of Transportation to build safe wildlife crossings for these guys, such as funnels that allow them to cross under roads so they can establish new territories and find mates. Experts in the U.S. and Mexico are also proposing translocation as a possibility. Translocating would involve moving the ocelots from the United Stated to Mexico.

What You Can Do

1. Visit the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge so that you can have the opportunity to see these guys in their natural habitat. They are open daily from sunrise to sunset.

Address: 22817 Ocelot Road

Los Fresnos, Texas 78566

956-748-3607

www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas

2. Be cautious while driving. These cats are subject to getting hit by unaware drivers. =( Please pay attention to speed limits and critters crossing the road.
3. Plant and protect native trees on your property. Every tree helps!
4. Volunteer at your closest Wildlife Refuge/Sanctuary. Learn as much as you can to keep informed and inform others!
5. Support ocelots through the Adopt an Ocelot program at www.friendsofsouthtexasRefuges.org or call the Refuge at 956-748-3607

Please Report Ocelot Sightings!

Whether the ocelot is dead or alive, this information can be very helpful.

Please IMMEDIATELY call:

• Law Enforcement Dispatch: 956-784-7520
• Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge: 956-748-3607, ext.111
• Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge: 956-784-7500

Provide important information, including your name, phone number, the location you saw the wild cat, time, and type of sighting (dead or alive); identifying marks that confirm it was an ocelot and not a bobcat; and directions to the location and details of the sight.

If you find a dead ocelot, please stay away from the carcass if you can until the United States Fish and Wildlife Services arrive.

Come tour the sanctuary and visit Rio!

Tours are Sunday through Friday at 11:00am and Saturday at 11:00am and 3:00pm.

We Love Our Volunteers!

We love our Volunteers!

At the Sanctuary, we have several devoted volunteers that the staff and interns are so thankful for! We appreciate them so much and probably don’t show it or tell them enough.

Volunteers help with everything at the Sanctuary from doing the dirty work, such as washing endless dishes, helping clean the nutrition center, and even laundry. Our volunteers also do a variety of other tasks such as helping the interns sort through donated produce, helping feed bears, taking pictures for our gift shop, giving tours, and even gardening and helping make the Sanctuary look nice.  Lately our volunteers have helped tremendously with mowing and weed-eating which we are so thankful for, especially in this heat! They have planted new flowers in our previously empty flower pots to help make our sanctuary look more presentable to the public. Much more takes place here than just feeding and cleaning habitats. By volunteering at IEAS, there’s always something new to learn.

Volunteering at IEAS is a unique and rewarding experience. Our volunteers love helping out with the daily chores because they can work while enjoying the company of our exotic animals. If you are interested in volunteering please contact the sanctuary at (940) 433-5091.

Thank you so much volunteers! We wouldn’t be able to do it without you!

What Happens to Donated Produce?



Are you ever curious about where your donated produce goes?

Donated produce from Brookshire's

We get produce donations from Wal-Mart in Fort Worth, Costco in Fort Worth, Brookshire's in Bridgeport, Lowe's Marketplace in Boyd, Dunn's Marketplace in Aurora, and public donations from individuals just like you. We pick up the donated produce every day of the week.


IEAS interns pick up the donated produce from the generous businesses and load them into our handy red truck to transport back to the Sanctuary.



Intern loading produce at Lowe's Marketplace

 Once the produce is back at IEAS, the interns sort the produce into individual crates to store in our refrigerator.

                                                                         

Once all of the produce is sorted and stored, it is kept fresh for our upcoming diet preparations.

Our bear diets contain fruits, veggies, deli meat, and sweets! YUM!

Our bears are fed completely off of donated produce. We want to thank all of the donors for their thoughtful donations! Our bears want to say thank you too!

Pixie's favorite food is grapes!

                               

This beautiful girl Meyote has quite the sweet tooth!

Lucky, our "Big Brother" of Bear Orphanage, loves avocados! 

Please come down and visit our bears in Bear Orphanage! They would love to meet you and thank you for all of your generous donations!                              


There are also other ways to help out the sanctuary:

• You can adopt an animal! Cats are $100/month, Bears are $125/month, Cougars are $75/month, and our other animals are $50/month.
• Check out our Wish List. We can use almost any item you can think of! All items large and small are greatly appreciated!
• If you shop at either Tom Thumb, Kroger, or Albertsons, you can get a shopper's card that will donate a portion of what you spend directly to the sanctuary. Doesn't cost you any extra money!
• To all you Amazon shoppers, shop using Amazon Smile! =) With each purchase through Amazon Smile, Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase to IEAS.
  

Happy Birthday, Cappy!

While everyone was out celebrating the Fourth of July on their three day weekend, here at the Sanctuary we were celebrating the birthday of one awesome Capybara! Happy birthday, Cappy!

Cappy was a former house pet who arrived at the sanctuary in November of 2013 after his owner could no longer care for him. Cappy has a sweet and gentle nature, but can be timid. His favorite activities include swimming in his large pool and munching on his bamboo treats.

Capybara are the largest rodents in the world and are native to all countries in South America except Chile. Capybara are also semi-aquatic mammals, meaning they spend half of their time on land and half of their time in the water. Their feet are actually webbed and their eyes, ears, and nose are all positioned towards the top of their head to help conceal themselves from predators in the water. (Cool!)

Here at the sanctuary, Cappy is fed guinea pig feed, timothy hay, and the occasional apple. In the wild, however, capybara graze mainly on grass, aquatic plants, as well as fruit and tree bark.

Like all other residents at the Sanctuary, Cappy is available for adoption! Adopting Cappy is $50/month and with your donation you receive:

• An 8x10 photograph of Cappy
• An adoption certificate
• And you are able to come to IEAS for a monthly, accompanied visit with Cappy where you can sit and get to know him

A Break From the Rain!

We are finally getting a much needed break from all of the rain! Now that it is a little warmer and the sun is shining, we are able to do some much needed projects around the Sanctuary.



With all of the rain, the grass was getting a little out of control, but with the help of everyone here at the Sanctuary we are finally able to make everything look nice and clean cut.

           

With the summer months finally here, the heat has been catching up to everyone. Now that there is no rain, we were able to fix some of the pools for the cats to lounge in.

               

                  Big John enjoying his pool.

Maintenance is also required for empty habitats.                    

Rain has especially been a helpful friend to all the weeds growing in the habitats. Now that the weather is clear, we have been able to pick those pesky things from the ground never to grow again. (They have been growing a little too tall...)

These weeds are taller than the interns...

Goodbye weeds!

Three white tigers' habitat before weeds are pulled.

Three white tigers' habitat after weeds were pulled.

            
A project we are currently working on, is a cave for one of our resident bobcats, Pecos. Pecos spends most of the day in his house to avoid the heat, so we are building the cave to help keep him cooler in the summer.



Pecos enjoying his house.

Pecos' future cave!

                                        

Come on down to the sanctuary for a tour to see all of our exciting new improvements! (Let's hope the rain holds off until we need it again!)

IEAS Educational Opportunities

Working with the amazing residents of IEAS gives the interns plenty of opportunities to study big cats, but the interns aren't the only ones who can learn from our favorite felines; IEAS has plenty of educational opportunities to participate in.

A tour meets Odin, our male lion.

Tours are the easiest way for adults and children alike to get to know our beloved sanctuary. Tours start every Sunday- Friday at 11 AM and and 11AM and 3PM on Saturdays. Each tour is guided by one of our knowledgeable tour guides who have come to know the residents personally. A two hour walk around the Sanctuary is accompanied by the individual back stories and personalities of each animal as well as fun facts about the species. 

One of our Interns answers questions at an elementary school career day.

The interns of IEAS have also made guest appearances at local schools and career day fairs to teach students what it's like to work in the animal care field. These visits are accompanied by pictures and videos of a few animal residents and their stories. Students have the opportunity to ask questions about the animals and worker's day to day life.

Another exciting event is our Exotic Animal Adventure day camp program taking place this year! For children ages 7 - 12 who are interested in animal care or just enjoyed a recent visit, the chance is here to spend a day learning from fifteen different species of exotic animals! They will participate in different activities from a guided tour to helping make diets for some of our animals. There are still sessions available this summer!

If you haven't been out to visit us recently, take the time to stop by for a chance to learn from some of our best teachers: the cats and bears of the International Exotic Animal Sanctuary!

Looking Forward to Summer!

With summer just around the corner, we have many things to look forward to here at the Sanctuary! Elizabeth, Karli, and Michelle
stayed on as interns from the spring session for an additional three
 months; joining them are the two new interns for the summer
session, Kristin and Rebecca. The new interns arrived last Sunday
 and will be spending three months here at IEAS.

As the days get hotter, we have to ensure our residents are able to
stay cool. The cats always have their pools available, and we have
 begun filling the bear tubs as well. They love soaking and swimming
 in the water to cool off.

Princess Playing in her Pool

Summer also brings new and exciting enrichment for our animals! We will be giving the animals bloodsicles, which are made from blood leftover from preparing the animals diet, and fruitsicles, which is fruit frozen in ice blocks. These summer treats provide something fun for the animals while helping them combat the heat.

Summer also means repairs and maintenance! After the winter and the recent storms, many pools and water troughs need to be fixed to ensure their pools remain cool and filled to the brim so our animals stay cool while the temperature continues to rise.

With the pools filled up and ready to be swam in as well as the bloodsicles and fruitsicles for enrichment, all our animals should be content and happy during the summer heat!

End of the Spring Intern session at IEAS

As the spring session here at IEAS comes to an end, we say goodbye to two interns, Amy and Kira. At the IEAS, interns have the option to stay for three or six months. Kira and Amy have finished their three months and are now headed back to school and back to Australia, respectively. The three remaining interns Michelle, Karli, and Elizabeth will be staying on to learn more responsibilities and to train the new interns that arrive next week.

The Spring Interns at IEAS

This week we wanted to share with you one of the highlights of our internship: the animals we have had the privilege to connect and bond with through the Emotional Enrichment Program. The Emotional Enrichment Program is unique to IEAS. During this enrichment keepers, interns, and adoptive parents sit outside the animal's habitat and provide positive reinforcement that builds a bond between human caregivers and the animals. Our goal is to give the animals security, comfort, and support.

Kira has worked closely with Big John, one of our Bengal tigers. Big John was confiscated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Brownsville, TX because of violations of the Endangered Species Act, the Lacey Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. He was part of the Spanish Circus that was on its way back to Spain. Big John was cramped in a small trailer along with ponies and camels and kept in deplorable conditions. He was hot, underfed, thirsty and just about lost all will to live. He was transferred to a temporary home near Brownsville until IEAS stepped in to offer him a second chance at a better life. IEAS worked non-stop to get a habitat constructed in order to get Big John out of the conditions he was living in. Big John now lives in a 15,000 square foot habitat with perches and two large pools. 

Big John is one of many animals at IEAS that benefits from the Emotional Enrichment Program. Through Kira's three months here she has worked with Big John at least three times a week. For her first month Kira observed Big John's daily routine which usually includes lots of sleep. She soon realized this particular cat would take patience and commitment to build a bond with. After about a month and a half, Big John showed Kira affection for the first time. He woke up from his nap and came over to the fence where Kira was sitting and rubbed his head against the mesh and vocalized. Another month or so later, Kira made the biggest break though she had experienced with Big John. She approached Big John's habitat while he was waking from a nap under his perch. As Kira took her spot in the grass, Big John decided to come and lay next to the fence where she was sitting. She observed Big John eating grass and grooming. He eventually laid down and even took a short nap! The main goal of the Emotional Enrichment Program is to build a bond between caretakers and the residents at the Sanctuary. The ideal result of the Emotional Enrichment Program is for the animal to see you as a source of security and comfort. After three months, Kira finally got what she was working towards the most. Big John's actions displayed that he was trusting enough in his and Kira's relationship to sleep while she was sitting next to his habitat. 

Amy participated in emotional enrichment with Duke the cougar. Duke came to IEAS after being rescued by the Houston Zoo and SPCA from a property that was also breeding hundreds of puppies in very poor conditions. Dukes favorite spot to sit is up on his highest perch where he likes to keep on eye on everything going on below and sleep a lot! Duke is a very inquisitive cougar and a very interesting cougar to sit with- he was always curious about what his neighbors (including Makeen the tiger, Billy the caracal, and Barbara the serval) where up to. The highlight of Amy's Emotional Enrichment with Duke was when he came up to where she was sitting and sat down and began to groom him self! Grooming is positive sign that Duke was comfortable around Amy.

Duke grooming during Emotional Enrichment.

Amy and Kira would like to thank IEAS for giving them the opportunity to be interns here. It was tough work but very rewarding and educational. We recommend this program for anyone looking to gain exotic animal care experience, but they must be willing to work very hard! If you're interested in the intern program at IEAS read more about it here.