OSCEOLA COUNTY — Raj, the Bengal tiger, adores women who ogle his powerful physique. Wicasa, a white Bengal tiger, has a voracious appetite, consuming 20 pounds of raw meat each day. Kooala, a cougar, has the demeanor of a princess. Osceola, an African leopard, is as exotic as they come with his black coat dotted with black spots.
These are among the 45 “great cats” that lope around their enclosures at the Central Florida Animal Reserve in Cocoa, a facility that will soon move to a new location in Osceola County an hour from Vero Beach.
The reserve will join an elephant care facility and a chimpanzee sanctuary as major animal rescue organizations near Vero.
The reserve is dedicated to the preservation of the great cats. The non-profit facility saves rescued big cats from life-threatening situations, exploitation and inappropriate living conditions by giving them a sanctuary to live out their days.
“All our animals are happy,” says Thomas Blue, a dentist and president of the board of CFAR. “They are at peace.”
Several CFAR volunteers and members live in Vero Beach and Sebastian including Robin Conn, of Sebastian, who has been a volunteer for two years.
“I’m a believer in this,” he said of the reserve. “I’m just anxious to see them get moved and in a better location than they are in now.”
The problem with the Cocoa location is that there isn’t room to expand, which the reserve would like the option of doing.
Vero Beach resident Phyllis Parks is CFAR’s events coordinator, commuting an hour each way to volunteer her time because she feels strongly about the group’s mission.
“It’s a sanctuary for cats,” she says. “If we don’t protect them in captivity, there will be no big cats because humans are taking away their natural habitat and food sources. They won’t have anywhere to go in the wild.”
Parks, a.k.a. “Cougar Mama,” says for example, there used to be eight subspecies of tigers. Now, there are only five, and they are all endangered.
Tranquility and comforts in the reserve’s Eden-like setting came after troubling circumstances.
Some cats were mistreated by their owners who didn’t give them appropriate attention or surroundings that cats require.
Others, like Raj, were confiscated by Florida Fish and Wildlife. Some cats were saved from a canned hunt – essentially a trophy hunt in which the animal is kept in a more confined area, such as in a fenced-in area, increasing the likelihood of the hunter obtaining a kill. The cats were headed to Puerto Rico until U.S. Customs confiscated them in Miami.
Others were taken from an owner’s basement and were placed with CFAR through the Houston Humane Society.
“We give them excellent life-sustaining care,” Blue says.
The cats range in age from 7 to 20 years old and were all born in captivity.
They are spayed or neutered. CFAR does not breed cats.
Thirty volunteers, including five board members from different professional backgrounds, tend to the cats.
A NASA scientist, pre-vet students, pharmacist, software engineers, dentists, retirees and others share a common love of big cats and want to keep them healthy.
At the new facility, CFAR will be able to offer more educational programs and tours of private groups, and build larger enclosures. CFAR will relocate early next year to a 10-acre site leased at the 4,700-acre Allen Broussard Conservancy in Osceola County, an hour from Vero Beach, or 27 miles north of Yeehaw Junction. Cost of the project is estimated at $1 million.
The organization has an annual budget of $150,000 which covers maintenance of the enclosures, habitat, administration and food costs.
Memberships include $25 for an individual, $50 for a family and $100 for an associate which grants them an opportunity to visit the facility and get an up close view of the cats three times a year during “member days,” the next being May 19 in Cocoa.
Volunteers are required to undergo a training period to learn standard operating procedures of working around big cats. They are not handlers.
Senior handlers must complete the Florida Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Department of Agriculture certifications.
However arduous the work may be, especially in Florida heat, it’s rewarding.
“The work is not for the faint-hearted,” Blue says. For those not up to the more physical aspects of the job, there are technical, administrative and fundraising tasks to be done.
Given that these beautiful tigers, leopards, lions and cougars were not raised in their natural environment, they are now unable to survive if released.
CFAR takes on the responsibility of making them as comfortable as possible. There are other reserves in Florida and throughout the country.
“We do not believe in taking an animal out of the wild,” says Parks. “These cats all came to us having been born and raised in captivity. We give them the opportunity to live. We are educating people about their plight and protect them in captivity.”
When cats first arrive at CFAR, there is an adjustment period. They tend to be suspicious and untrusting.
Once they develop into a relaxed demeanor, they start sounding or purring, a sure sign of their content.
“It’s the best way to tell they are happy,” says Blue, of Satellite Beach.
Tigers will chuff, making a whispering noise to greet visitors. The cougars purr when they are happy. Lions vocalize by “sounding” as they do every morning and evening in the wild to find other pride members. Leopards also sound.
Cats sleep 85 percent of the time and with a diet of 10 to 25 pounds of raw beef, pork and chicken each day, it’d be hard to dispute their comfortable lifestyle.
Lisa Schiavone, of Vero Beach, has been a member of CFAR for eight years, and is excited about CFAR’s move to Osceola County.
“I think it’s going to be wonderful!” she says. “We need more people to join and need more members to help run this program.”
When Blue talks of tigers, the passion the volunteers have for big cats is obvious.
“They are very intelligent and honest,” he says, pensively. “They wear their hearts on their sleeves. If they are mad at you, you know they are mad. If they are happy, the same. When their needs are met, they are affectionate. They trust people they know they can trust. They have physical beauty and each one has its individual personality.”
The Central Florida Animal Reserve is holding two events in the coming week:
- One of three annual member days is Sunday, May 19 from Noon to 5 p.m. at the organization’s Cocoa headquarters. Admittance is for members only. Memberships include $25 for an individual, $50 for a family and $100 for an associate which grants them an opportunity to visit the facility and get an up close view of the cats three times a year.
- Roar for the Big Cats! A fundraiser for the reserve will be held Wednesday, May 22 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at The Plaza, 884 17th St., Vero Beach, and will feature speakers, videos, a silent auction cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Tickets are $100 per person, jackets required.
For information and reservations call 772-532-1775 or events@cflar.org
To contact Central Florida Animal Reserve in Cocoa call (321) 637-0110 or contact@cflar.org.