As you are walking around the Discovery Area of Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, you get the chance to meet some of our animal residents. You may happen to see a Grizzly Bear, a leopard, a jaguar, a bobcat, a serval, a black bear, a tiger, a white tiger, a liger, and even a ti-liger. What is a ti-liger you may ask? It is the offspring of a male tiger and a female liger. And before you ask, yes, a female liger is able to reproduce 50% of the time. How crazy is that?
Lakota is our resident ti-liger that lives with Aurora, one of our white tigers. They were rescued from Colorado in 2016. Colorado was one of the largest big cat rescues in United States history. There were approximately 115 animals living on 12 acres of property. These animals were walking on loose metal like wires, screws, and nails. These animals were also being used for cub petting, pay-to-play programs, breeding, trading, and selling in the exotic pet industry. TCWR was able to go on this rescue and bring back a total of 34 animals while transporting the rest to other true facilities.
Lakota is just a big goofball! When a new employee starts at TCWR, he enjoys stalking them as they walk to the office! He also enjoys watching the school groups walk by with all the little kiddos! Lakota enjoys sleeping on the very top of his platform, all the way underneath the platform, and in his hammock. Due to his size, he doesn’t always properly fit in the hammock, but that doesn’t stop him! When he is napping away in the hammock, you can sometimes see his tail hanging out, his paws hanging down, and sometimes part of his torso sticking out of the cracks!
Come on out to TCWR to see Lakota and maybe you just might get the chance to see him lounging around or being his goofball self!
