Yesterday we took a trip to the Octagon Wildlife Sanctuary in Punta Gorda, FL, a home to abandoned and abused exotic wildlife.
Octagon has been rescuing and rehabilitating animals since the 1970s. They are very clear when you arrive that they are NOT a zoo. None of the animals have been taken out of the wild. Each of these animals are 17 to 20 year generations of being born, raised, and sold in captivity to be a "pet" or be used in a business. It's frustrating to me that people think they can own a tiger and care for it for life.
Many of these animals have sad stories. I will share some with you.
Mufasa! Mufasa Mufasa Mufasa
Mufasa was born in 2005 in a South Carolina zoo, a result of sibling lions that bred. He was sent to an exotic animal sanctuary in Florida. At three months old he found a home with an experienced, responsible animal rescuer. 6 years later his owner needed to relocate to California and could not bring him. Mufasa was brought back to the original sanctuary where he was housed with tigers. He did not get along well with the tigers. Depression and stress caused him to lose over 300 pounds in one year so he relocated to Octagon. Mufasa is extremely protective of his home and food, it will take time to adjust to his new forever home.
There was another lion, Zulu, at the sanctuary but he was not viewable because he was in poor health. His story was so sad I feel it's important to share. Zulu spent his youth in a pet carrier meant for a large dog because the owner was trying to stunt his growth. The fur on his nose will not grow back because of the constant rubbing to try to turn around in such a small area. He was raised on can dog food. Octagon was concerned that he would remain small, but with proper nutrition he did improve.
My baby's face says it all. This was not a joyous place to visit. Although the purpose of the Octagon is to save animals, I can't help but be sad to see them caged, knowing that this is their life because of people. That said, I don't want to take away from the incredible kindness and opportunity that Octagon provides to these animals. All enclosures are above and beyond the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and USDA Federal regulations. All the animals that love water have pools. All animals have shade and shelter. And all animals have toys. The primates even have TVs to watch!!
Many of the tigers at the Octagon were confiscated in 2016. Specifics of the confiscation were not provided.
Dharma and Krishna are White Tiger sisters. They share a habitat and like to spend their time playing, sunbathing and relaxing in the pool.
Optimus (male) and Remi (female) are Bengal Tiger siblings and were born in early summer of 2015.
Bella is a Bengal/Siberian mix tiger. She was born in 2013 and is extremely playful. She is particularly interested in younger visitors, probably not in a positive way.
She looked pretty chill to me :)
Onyx is a male Bengal tiger. His first owner used him as a cub to make money by taking photos with people.
*This has been very upsetting to me because I've seen cubs before, at a fair or carnival, that you could get your picture taken with. I've seen them and as a child I wanted very badly to hold the cub and get the photograph with it. I have never considered the consequences!! Before yesterday I had never considered where that cub would spend they rest of its life. *
The original owners only fed Onyx milk from a bottle for the first year of his life. They thought that would prevent him from becoming aggressive by not introducing raw meat. Instead, the poor nutrition caused him to develop hip, back and leg problems, along with not being able to digest bones as a tiger should. Onyx is on medication to help reduce swelling throughout his body and is given mineral oil to help his digestion. He was supposed to be euthanized but fortunately he was surrendered to Octagon in April 2009.
In case you were wondering...
This is Squiggy. He is a 13 year old male grizzly bear. He was confiscated from people who would beat him to try to train him for commercials.
He was confiscated along with 2 other bears, Laverne and Shirley. All three get to live together at Octagon.
He was very interested during our visit and spent the whole time by the fence where we were. He is a beautiful animal and it hurts my heart that he was abused. He seems very happy now.
Eh, Boo Boo!
Boo Boo is a male black bear, born in 2000. His sign says that he is just boarding at Octagon temporarily. His owner is David Weathers from the Jackass movies, TV show Wildboyz and other nature programs. Weathers is working to update his licenses due to recent changes in regulations for FWC and USDA Federal.
Boo Boo was very friendly and excited for the company. We could tell that he is used to human interaction.
Ross is a male Vervet monkey, born in 1992. The USDA Federal brought him to Octagon about 10 years ago. He is very active, but also moody.
Harley and Rainbow appear to be lovers. They were owned by a local doctor and lived in the Dr's waiting room. Patients in the waiting room would teach Harley new words – usually bad ones. I didn't hear any.
Macaws can live to be 80 years old. Harley and Rainbow have been living at Octagon for 17 years.
This is Godzilla.
There were many many many other animals at Octagon. A leopard, a cougar, bobcats, and a fox, just to name a few. Not all were photogenic, some were hiding or sleeping.
You can learn more about the Octagon Wildlife Sanctuary at http://www.octagonwildlife.org
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