Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge Fun and Games

Why Does Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge exist?

Many times people falsely think they can tame a wild animal.  So they purchase or capture a wild animal baby.   They wrongly think if they bottle raise the cub it will become a pet who loves them like a dog.  However, this does not happen. Wild animals do not grow to love and cherish humans, no matter how you raise them.

By the time the cute fuzzy cuddly cubs become juveniles or young adults their wild nature begins to prevail.  It becomes apparent that the cubs are growing up to be exactly what they are wild animals, wild carnivores.  When it become completely clear that despite the humans best efforts the animal has not become a domesticated pet, it is too late.  The people are stuck with a large carnivore no one wants.

Soon they learn they cannot afford to feed it, they can't afford or provide proper housing and habitat spaces or safe enough enclosures for a full grown wild carnivore.

Zoos don't want the animal because private breeders do not maintain clean and clear bloodlines among other reasons.  No one wants to buy it.  people soon learn they can't sell it, they can't give it away and realize they are stuck.  They can't keep it, they can't handle it, they can't feed it, they can't get rid of it...  what are they to do?

Well, What Happens Now?  Choices are very limited:

Let's look at each of these options:

1. Sell it to a canned hunt.... This is NOT a good option:
   Wild animals are shot in cages. This is cruel and inhumane, to say the very least.
2. Turn it loose in the woods... This is NOT a good option:
   This is stupid is so many ways.  The animal has not learned to hunt and survive it the wild, thus will likely starve to death. The animal will very possibly go searching for humans as they are the only source of getting food the animal knows.  This is NOT a wise option.
3. Find a sanctuary that has room... This is NOT an easy option!
   Sanctuaries across the country are over full.  They have so many unwanted and dumped former exotic pets they struggle each day, with no government support, to provide care and food for the animals they have already taken in. 
4. The final option and best is NOT have gotten the a carnivore as a 'pet' in the first place.

While # 3 is obviously the best option, it may be next to impossible.  Sanctuaries are full and strapped for cash.  It costs an awfully lot of money to provide a permanent home for these unwanted exotic former pets. 

What is the purpose of this website Goodies Section?

Thank you for visiting our Fun and Games section.  Exotic cats and bears are the ones who suffer in the long run when people make the mistake of thinking they can turn them into pets.  People often buy cute cuddly little cubs without any cue of what they are getting into.  Some people believe if they never feed the fresh red meat they will grow up tame.  That is simply not true.  All that does is cause the animal to have digestive problems, calcium deficiencies which cause serious problems with their bones,  and more problems that you can imagine.  They house them in cages so small the animal can't run, jump and play. This too cause their bones to not grow correctly and to be weak.  Once the animal is grown and becomes mature they are simply not bonded to the person who raised them anymore than they would be to their mother in the wild. When they grow up they move on leaving their mother behind.  Wild animals simply are not the same as domesticated animals.  YOU cannot change that no matter how you raise a cub.