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<v Speaker 1>Good morning, good morning, good morning, and welcome, welcome, welcome.

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<v Speaker 1>It is time now for our community connection. We have

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<v Speaker 1>Cheryl King with us here with the Turpentine Wildlife Refuge,

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<v Speaker 1>and my goodness sakes, we have a big day coming

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<v Speaker 1>up here on Giving Tuesday, Cheryl. But we're going to

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<v Speaker 1>get to that a little bit. For the folks who

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<v Speaker 1>don't know a whole lot about Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge,

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<v Speaker 1>give us a little synopsis here.

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<v Speaker 2>Absolutely, Good morning, Tom, and thank you. Yes. Turpentine Creek

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<v Speaker 2>Wildlife Refuge, located just south of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, on

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<v Speaker 2>Highway twenty three, has been rescuing large exotic cats. Our

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<v Speaker 2>mission is to provide sank lifetime refuge specifically my apologies

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<v Speaker 2>specifically for lions, tigers, leopards, cougars, but really we have

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<v Speaker 2>all types of exotic cats here. We've got servs and bobcats,

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<v Speaker 2>so we've got the smaller cats and then we've got

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<v Speaker 2>the big guys too. We rescue them from abuse, neglect,

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<v Speaker 2>or abandonment. Many are relinquished by owners that come to

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<v Speaker 2>realize these are predators, not pets. You know, you start

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<v Speaker 2>out with a cute, cuddly little tiger cub and two

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<v Speaker 2>years later he's four hundred and fifty pounds and you're

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<v Speaker 2>terrified of feeding. So what do you do? You reach

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<v Speaker 2>out to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge and we provide a

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<v Speaker 2>lifetime home for them.

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<v Speaker 1>You've have some celebrity cats too.

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<v Speaker 2>I understand, yes, we do. I suppose we've all heard

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<v Speaker 2>of Tiger King. We have, we have, indeed, and we've

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<v Speaker 2>got you know, we've traced history on a good many

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<v Speaker 2>of our cats, and we took in twenty one total

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<v Speaker 2>from Kim Stark, Jeff and Lauren Lowe. They were all

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<v Speaker 2>players in that drama. But we have traced genesis of

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<v Speaker 2>over sixty of our cats back to Joe Exotic and

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<v Speaker 2>the Greater Winnwood Park and the cub petting that they

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<v Speaker 2>were doing there.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh my goodness, sakes, it's a it's an interesting that

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<v Speaker 1>you come to the rescue of these these lovely creatures

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<v Speaker 1>you just really need a place to be themselves exactly.

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<v Speaker 2>You know how it all started, Tom was with that

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<v Speaker 2>cub petting. After the cubs get to a certain size,

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<v Speaker 2>and that's at about four months if they underfeed them

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<v Speaker 2>usually typically it's a three month the cats become too

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<v Speaker 2>big to work, you know, interact with the public. Even

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<v Speaker 2>if you declall them, they still have those canines a

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<v Speaker 2>powerful bite, so it's no longer safe. And then they

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<v Speaker 2>just become something that you need to feed. There's very

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<v Speaker 2>little value once they are pulled out of that cub

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<v Speaker 2>petting well, the major money is raided.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow, and this is what you do. You give them

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<v Speaker 1>a great life and they get to at instead of

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<v Speaker 1>just merely surviving. That's beautiful, exactly one.

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<v Speaker 2>Of the joys. These cats often come in quite traumatized.

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<v Speaker 2>They are very fearful of people. They tend to display

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<v Speaker 2>some aggression or they may become withdrawn and you know,

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<v Speaker 2>be seeking isolation. And over time we get to see

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<v Speaker 2>them become what they were meant to be. They understand

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<v Speaker 2>they're safe, they're not being forced into situations they're not

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<v Speaker 2>comfortable in, and we just get to see them become

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<v Speaker 2>the apex predators they should be. You know. Unfortunately they

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<v Speaker 2>are in a cage. There is no way they can

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<v Speaker 2>ever be rehabilitated into the wild. They would be a

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<v Speaker 2>danger to people and they would likely not have the

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<v Speaker 2>skills to survive anyway.

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<v Speaker 1>We're talking with Cheryl Kingsy's with Turputine Greek Wildlife Refuge,

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<v Speaker 1>and you know, when you have critters with that kind

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<v Speaker 1>of appetit, that can't be.

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<v Speaker 2>Cheap, No, sir, it certainly isn't. We're feeding something like

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<v Speaker 2>five hundred to six hundred pounds of meat a week.

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<v Speaker 2>You know what the cost of meat is these days.

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<v Speaker 2>And this is a great time to say, we really

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<v Speaker 2>want to send a shout out to Tyson. They donate

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of the meat that we feed the cats.

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<v Speaker 2>We get a lot of chicken donated from them.

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<v Speaker 1>And of course, so when it comes to the upkeep

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<v Speaker 1>and maintaining the refuge itself are those We do have

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of people who come and visit the park

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<v Speaker 1>and they make their donation and ticket purchases and everything

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<v Speaker 1>else like that. But on top of that, they're just

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<v Speaker 1>cost it just kind of kind of have a tendency

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<v Speaker 1>to grow as time goes by. Nothing is cheap these days.

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<v Speaker 1>We've got Giving Tuesday coming up. Is that something that

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<v Speaker 1>folks could possibly use as a way to say, yep,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to write a check.

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<v Speaker 2>Absolutely, it's so critical to us. We're moving into the

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<v Speaker 2>winter months and you talked about visitors, those tend to

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<v Speaker 2>drop off over the winter months when it's so cold out.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a great time to visit the refuge if you

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<v Speaker 2>don't mind being a little cold. Tigers love the cold weather.

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<v Speaker 2>They're going to be out more active. But we do

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<v Speaker 2>see a decline in visitors during this period and it

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<v Speaker 2>makes it tough to get through those winter months. And

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<v Speaker 2>giving Tuesday is just a huge way for us to

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<v Speaker 2>be able to plan and to make it through the

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<v Speaker 2>spring and make sure that we're meeting all the needs

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<v Speaker 2>of the animals.

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<v Speaker 1>Now, folks who are interested in making that gift, that donation,

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of people look at the year end is

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<v Speaker 1>a time where they make decisions. Some actually look for

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<v Speaker 1>new places in order to donate. How do they get

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<v Speaker 1>a hold of the Wildlife Refuge, the Tern Creek folks,

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<v Speaker 1>and how do they get the ball rolling?

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, sir, so, a couple of exciting things to begin with.

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<v Speaker 2>The huck Family has stepped up this year to initiate

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<v Speaker 2>a sixty thousand dollars Family Match Challenge, So for every

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<v Speaker 2>dollar that donors are able to contribute, so first of all,

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<v Speaker 2>they're all tax deductible as a nonprofit. Year donation to

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<v Speaker 2>the Refuge can be claimed on your taxes as a

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<v Speaker 2>donation as a deduction, and we will be able to

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<v Speaker 2>double dollar for dollar up to sixty thousand. Our goal

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<v Speaker 2>this year is one hundred and twenty thousand, So you know,

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<v Speaker 2>follow us on Facebook, come out and you'll be able

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<v Speaker 2>to find the link to give b which is where

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<v Speaker 2>you can do your online donation and it will be

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<v Speaker 2>tracked across all Giving Tuesday donations and so you can

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<v Speaker 2>go there and you can register. And we're also going

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<v Speaker 2>to have an evening event that night tom at seven

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<v Speaker 2>pm Central. We're going to be premiering a legacy, Robbie's Legacy,

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<v Speaker 2>a documentary film about one of our tigers and the

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<v Speaker 2>cause that we're raising money for this year.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, that is going to be great and folks, you

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<v Speaker 1>don't want to miss that either. And you know, when

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<v Speaker 1>you talk about the work that you're doing there and

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<v Speaker 1>the work you have with your staff and with your volunteers,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, just on behalf of animal lovers everywhere, we

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<v Speaker 1>say thank you because you know, you see what folks

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<v Speaker 1>kind of get into. They really don't know what they

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<v Speaker 1>have until it grows on them a little bit. And

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<v Speaker 1>now you know, you got these great big cats and

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<v Speaker 1>they need a safe place to go. And thank you

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<v Speaker 1>very much for providing at the Safety at the Sanctuary,

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<v Speaker 1>if you will, that refuge for these big cats, so

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<v Speaker 1>that they can enjoy a good, long, safe life.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, thank you, Tom. We are just thrilled to be

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<v Speaker 2>doing the evening event. You know, our goal this year

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<v Speaker 2>is we lost our tiger Robbie to a tickborn illness.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, we're all familiar with that here in Oklahoma, Arkansas.

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<v Speaker 2>Ticks are just a bane of our life in the

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<v Speaker 2>country here, and unfortunately they can be carriers of bobcat fever,

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<v Speaker 2>and so for those of you at home that have

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<v Speaker 2>domestic cats, you'll be very interested in this There. We're

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<v Speaker 2>going to be talking about Provecto, which is a tick

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<v Speaker 2>prevention medication, and we'll be going through Robbie's legacy. Unfortunately,

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<v Speaker 2>he did contract zytoxinosis, which is bobcat fever, and he

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<v Speaker 2>did pass away. So our goal this year is to

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<v Speaker 2>treat every animal here at the Refuge with tick preventative medicine.

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<v Speaker 2>It's quite expensive and you'll be able to learn all

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<v Speaker 2>about that at the event on Tuesday, December third at

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<v Speaker 2>seven pm.

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<v Speaker 1>All Right, folks, make sure you tune in for that.

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<v Speaker 1>You don't want to miss it. And you know it's

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<v Speaker 1>kind of bittersweet. You got the beautiful cat and you

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<v Speaker 1>know what happens. But moving forward, we know how to

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<v Speaker 1>preserve our cats going ahead. But the exactly this is

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<v Speaker 1>going to be one, it's going to tug at you

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit, but it's going to be okay, And

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<v Speaker 1>I want you folks to tune in and get yourself

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit of an education on that. Now you

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<v Speaker 1>have a Facebook and you do have your website that's available,

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<v Speaker 1>and I got to tell you, once you get on

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<v Speaker 1>the website, it's pretty easy to navigate. So if you're

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<v Speaker 1>not too good with a computer like yours, truly here,

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<v Speaker 1>you can still get around on there point clicking, it'll

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<v Speaker 1>take you where you need to go. You're not going

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<v Speaker 1>to get lost. You're not going to go down a hole.

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<v Speaker 1>It's where am I. So hats off to your folks

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<v Speaker 1>who took care of that.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you. And you know what, it's pretty exciting. If

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<v Speaker 2>you donate, you're going to be entered into drawings. Throughout

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<v Speaker 2>the day. We're going to be giving away some behind

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<v Speaker 2>the scenes tours our Carnivore caravan tour very popular, along

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<v Speaker 2>with maybe some pall print paintings, some big cat call

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<v Speaker 2>out vouchers. So every donation you're entered for an opportunity

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<v Speaker 2>to win a fun.

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<v Speaker 1>Prize, Well you're just pulling out all the stops, miss Cheryl.

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<v Speaker 2>Well we want to give back when you give to us,

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<v Speaker 2>in whatever capacity we can.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, Thank you very much

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<v Speaker 1>one of Oh do we miss anything, Cheryl? Is there

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<v Speaker 1>something we need to add before we go?

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<v Speaker 2>I don't think so, but I do want to share

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<v Speaker 2>our website at www dot Turpentinecreek dot org. Head on

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<v Speaker 2>over there and check out our Facebook page.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you very much, Cheryl,