Month: October 2018

01
Oct
2018
Nora Tiger (2021)

Nora Tiger (2021)

Beautiful Nora: Always in our hearts, never forgotten – June 2021

Beautiful eyesThe feeling of sadness is overwhelming and not something we were ready to face, but we have lost our dear Nora. 😢
I’m struggling to find words to express the sorry and heartbreak we’re dealing with. With so many things to say, it’s difficult to put my thoughts together n a way that makes sense. All I can think of is she’s gone and our world will never be the same without this sweet, gentle soul that we adored and cherished so much.
We did everything we could and when it was obvious that it was her time, she was surrounded by the people who loved her the most, helping her move to her next journey.

Nora’s history
Nora, a white Bengal Tiger, has had a very hard life. As a young tiger, she was chained to a box while people paid to have their photos taken with her. When she outgrew that, she was used for breeding. Her cubs were taken away from her in order to be sold as “pets” before their eyes were even open. This was Nora’s life for eight years.

When her owner was found dead, Nora was moved to Tiger Paws Exotic Rescue Facility. She arrived emaciated and in terrible shape. Thankfully, with good food and care, she thrived. But her new owners wanted a better life for her, so we were contacted. We made the 5000-mile round trip journey to Ohio to pick her up and bring her to her final home at WildCat Ridge.

Today, Nora is doing wonderfully, living in a large spacious habitat and enjoying life! She’s an easy-going girl that everyone has fallen in love with!

Posted by Cheryl Tuller in Memorials, Tigers
01
Oct
2018
Keida Serval (2018)

Keida Serval (2018)

Run free and wild, sweet Keida – April 2018

The hits keep coming . . . The day after we lost BoBo my heart was broken again. Our sweet Keida lost the use of his back legs and the kindest thing we could do was help him pass over to his last journey 😢

It’s taken me this long to even write about it, my feelings are so raw from the loss 😢

Looking back we made mistakes especially in the early days and Keida was one of those. In 2001 we took in a bonded pair of servals and were told the female was sterile because she was an old girl. The next year we were shocked by discovering she was pregnant and Keida was born. We were surprised and disappointed that we had been so foolish but knew he would always have a home with us.

Keida was a sweet boy, always playing with toys, and he loved his companions ❤️ He lived with three other servals his entire life and they were very close. Sadly in 20015 just after we moved to the new site in Scotts Mills, we lost two of them, Sadie in September followed by Keisa in November 😢 Then in May of 2016 we lost Kenya and Keida was alone. He was still the sweet boy we knew but it was obvious that it was harder and harder for him to get around.

Keida had always had a wobbly back end and as he got older it got worse. X-rays showed spondylosis in his spine and all we could do was manage his pain. We did acupuncture, medication and everything we could do to relieve his condition and for a while, it seemed to work. But these past few months it was clear that we had a limited time left with him. The morning he couldn’t get up and walk I knew it was time to let him go 😢

Keida shared our lives for sixteen years and was nothing but a joy to care for. In my mind’s eye, I’ll always see him as that little kitten that had such a sweet, happy demeanor. One of the cruelest tricks of life is they get older 😔
Safe travels Keida I hope that Sadie, Keisa, and Kenya will be there to meet you ❤️ (Thank you, Dr. Cherie Connolly, for your kindness, it means so much)

Posted by Cheryl Tuller in Memorials, Servals
01
Oct
2018
Kennewick (2020)

Kennewick (2020)

Safe travels old man Kenn, run wild and free. ❤️

Kennewick It breaks our hearts that our amazing old man Kennewick did not survive the stress and trauma of the fire evacuation in September 2020. 😢

It’s really difficult to face this because he’s been a part of the Sanctuary for so many years and had overcome so much in his time with us. But for a twenty-four-year-old wild cougar to be crated and moved in this chaos was too much even for Kennewick. We tried to do everything we could to get him to rebound, but he refused to eat and each day he lost more and more of the wildness in his eyes. 😔

Despite a full exam by the vets at Wildlife Safari and medical intervention, he had given up and we had to respect his wishes and let him go ❤️ I can’t even comprehend that I’m writing this, it’s been devastating to all of us and something we will grieve over for a lifetime. 😢

We are grateful for the time we had with him and heartbroken that he made the decision to leave, but we’ve learned over the many years that when the wildcats tell us it’s time, we must respect their wishes even though it breaks our hearts. 😔

Safe travels old man, finally free at last to leave all the confines that held you to us. 😢

Kennewick’s Story

Kennewick, a wild cougar, was found hiding in a mechanic’s garage in Kennewick, Washington in May of 2005. He was emaciated, covered in ticks, and very sick. Once captured by WDFW, he broke out his canine teeth in the crate he was in. The authorities were going to destroy him, but the public outcry made them change their minds. At the time, it was determined that he was between 9 & 11 years old.

WildCat Ridge stepped up to offer him a lifetime home. He has made a remarkable recovery and went from an emaciated 90 pounds to 180 pounds! He’s doing great and is the oldest cougar that lives at the Sanctuary. He has his own space and doesn’t have to share which is perfect for him. At first we wondered if we had done the right thing to take this cougar in but he has convinced us that it was the right thing to do. He is truly an incredible old man.

New title

Kennewick arrives at WCR - Article from November 2005

Kennewick arriving at WCR
Posted by Cheryl Tuller in Cougars, Memorials
01
Oct
2018
Casper Bobcat (2023)

Casper Bobcat (2023)

Safe travels sweet boy – August 2023

CasperWe are heartbroken to share that Casper has moved on to his next journey. Despite doing all we could medically over the past few months, it became obvious that his time had come. His brave spirit was released from his failing body and surrounded by the people who loved him the most.

Casper came to WildCat Ridge in 2008 when he was six years old. He had lived with a serval and a Siberian lynx in a very small space and was being bullied. He came to us declawed, intact, very frightened, shy, and we fell in love immediately.
He eventually moved in with Howie, another bobcat, and they became the best of friends. Casper had his ‘babies,’ stuffed toys that he would groom and carry around, and Howie never bothered them; he knew they were Casper’s.

We miss this sweet boy but are comforted in the fact that he lived fifteen years doing whatever he wanted without a care in the world.
Safe travels sweet boy; we hold you close in our hearts now and forever. 💔

Posted by Stefanie Kraus in Bobcats, Memorials