2023 was a big year here at Turpentine Creek, and 2024 is looking to be even more exciting! Read on to hear about all of the amazing things happening here at TCWR and find ways to support our upcoming plans!
Recap
In 2023, we rescued 32 animals! 30 of these animals were rehomed from Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida, and included 6 tigers, 2 caracals, 2 Savannah cats, 5 servals, and 15 bobcats! We also rescued a female serval named Mondo in January, who was found roaming in Ava, Missouri. Lastly, and certainly not least, we rescued a tiger cub named Fred, who recently celebrated his first birthday here with us at Turpentine!
Saying goodbye is never easy, and unfortunately, we did lose some of our beloved residents this year. Tsavo, Lady, Michael, Snowball, Ty, Stevie, Frankie, CeCe, Tiger, BB King, Priscilla, Spyke, and Thurston. They will be truly missed by everyone here at Turpentine Creek.
Freedom Field
We have worked incredibly hard this past year to build Freedom Field, which is a 13-acre expansion to our refuge! This area will include around 40 habitats in total, consisting of small, medium, and large cat enclosures. The enclosures consist of a grassy outdoor area, a covered concrete area (called the “nighthouse”), and an enclosed den equipped with a heater! Freedom Field is where the newly arrived BCR cats call their forever home, but there are still open habitats in preparation for any upcoming rescues that may contact us.
In the upcoming year, we are planning on adding lots of fun additions to these enclosures for our residents! Items like benches and swimming pools for any water-loving cats will be built. This is in order to help provide extra enrichment and stimulation for these animals. We also planted plenty of trees last summer, which we are excited to watch grow and provide shade for our cats! Our team is also working on improving our internet coverage in this area. This will help increase the video quality for our live “Curator Cat Chats,” which occur on our Facebook page.
Anniversary
This year, we will be celebrating our 32nd anniversary with an event called Feast with the Beasts, scheduled for April 27th. Our anniversary celebrations include incredible catering by our own Victor Smith, as well as live music, an auction, and incredible company! We will also be having a special ribbon-cutting ceremony for Freedom Field at this event! Tickets will become available very soon on our website.
We’re sure that 2024 will be full of surprises and excitement here at the refuge! As always, if you would like to support our mission and animals, please feel free to visit https://www.turpentinecreek.org/support/ to donate, or https://www.turpentinecreek.org/plan-your-trip/buy-tickets/ to purchase tickets to visit our amazing residents!