Wildlife Waystation in Sylmar, California had been home to more than 400 animals including big cats, chimpanzees and more. Because of numerous infractions and internal management issues, The Board of Directors surrendered the license they held to have the animals, and the California Department of Wish and Wildlife was faced with the monumental task of finding new homes for all residents.
We had been in contact with the interim COO Mathew Simmons, and Veterinarian Rebecca Richards and when we heard that animals were being placed so they could have more spacious habitats and better living conditions, we offered to take two lionesses, Chobe and Kariba and a Savannah Cat, Taji.
On the morning of July 19, Mike Tuller and Tim Adams made the 20-hour drive down to South California. Because transport is so tough on the animals, and we want to ensure that they spend the shortest time in their crates, we drove straight through. It was a long trip getting there and then turning right around to come home, but Mike and Tim did a great job. Gas, food, and potty breaks were all that was allowed!
Watch this short video of Chobe and Kariba at Wildlife Waystation.
When Mike and Tim arrived back home, Chobe came out without a mark, but Kariba had been so stressed, she rubbed her face raw on the crate. Unfortunately, that often happens, and we treated her with antibiotics as well as some pain meds. She has healed up beautifully.
Chobe is four years old and has been exploring her new space right aways, while five-year-old Kariba is a bit more reserved. Having lived together most of their lives, we are thrilled they’ll be able to stay together at WCR.
Chobe
Kariba
More videos of our lion queens can be found on our WCR Lions YouTube playlist. Make sure to have your sound on, so you can hear them roar!
Chobe and Kariba originally came from Joe Exotic’s facility in Oklahoma. And if you’ve never heard of him, please read this story. Joe is infamous in the exotic cat world and has finally gone to prison.
But wait, that’s not all…
While talking to Wildlife Waystation about how we could help with their placement of animals, Chief Veterinarian, Dr. Rebecca Richards told us they had an F1 Savannah who was very traumatized and not doing well at their facility. We immediately offered to bring him to WildCat Ridge Sanctuary.
Taji
Imagine our surprise when we saw a photo of Taji! He weighs 29 lbs. and is larger than some of our servals! Instead of putting him with the other Hybrids cats, we gave him a habitat on his own, next to Baz and Finnigan. This boy is twelve years old, four-paw declawed and has lived a large portion of his life in a closet.
He’s very timid, and we certainly have our work cut out for us, making him feel comfortable in his new forever home. We’re thrilled however to tell you that he came out of his den box on the second day and was out in his yard laying in the grass and watching his neighbors!
We’re going to introduce him to Sable, one of our serval girls and we’re hoping it will be a good fit for both of them.
We were so honored to be able to help our good friends with this ambitious undertaking and are here to help any way we can. Huge thanks to Matthew, Rebecca and Tigers in America for making this happen.
We would not have been able to rescue Chobe, Kariba, and Taji, if it weren’t for you, our generous donors. Please consider joining our membership program. Getting support on an ongoing basis allows us to focus on the animals.
