Compassion, Conservation, Commitment – it’s a motto and a way of life for Team CFLAR, the staff and volunteer members of the ‘pride’ at the Central Florida Animal Reserve. The big cat sanctuary currently houses 18 majestic lions, tigers, leopards, cougars and one serval, rescued from life-threatening situations, exploitation and inappropriate living conditions.
At Wild Whispers: A Night for Big Cat Conservation, a fundraiser at the Vero Beach Yacht Club, Dr. K. Simba Wiltz, CFLAR board SVP and CEO, and Aline Morrow, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist, spoke of local and international conservation efforts and reintroduced the nonprofit to Vero residents for the first time since CFLAR opened its relocated facility in St. Cloud, Fla.
Wiltz talked about balancing conservation and preservation for animals in the wild worldwide, and Morrow spoke of ongoing efforts to protect the endangered Florida panther.
Showing photos of Inkosi, CFLAR’s 14-year-old, 325-pound African lion, Wiltz said tracking of lions in 2015 indicated only about 25,000 were left in the wild, with human population encroachment, land conversion, and poaching for body parts, egos and canned hunts among the top challenges.
“What we have to start thinking of is our financial obligation to pay for the maintenance of these very precious habitats,” said Wiltz.
“We’ve got to remember there is no place that humans don’t have an impact. And so, if we’re going to have an impact, we’ve got to find a way to ensure that impact is as responsible as possible.”
Before introducing Morrow, Wiltz showed photos of Adora, a 13-year-old, 85-pound cougar at CFLAR. Florida panthers currently number only about 200 in the wild.
“I work at the intersection of conservation and human dimensions, is how I describe it,” said Morrow.
“We envision a future where people and nature thrive in an interconnected way and where every community feels part of and committed to the natural world around us. We are looking at how can people and wildlife coexist.”
As with lions, human encroachment is an ongoing challenge in Florida, with road mortalities another big issue.
Planned protections include the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act, which passed in 2021 with unanimous bipartisan support. It slated some 200,000 acres for conservation and includes a wildlife corridor of about 18 million acres. In collaboration with the Department of Transportation, a proactive conservation plan will include under/overpasses for wildlife crossings in future development projects.
Other protections include the Everglades Restoration program, a Panther Depredation Compensation program for ranchers whose animals are killed, and conservation easements for ranchers or developers who sell their lands for conservation.
Wiltz said they want to utilize the unique platform offered through CFLAR to inform people about the need for action in the world’s dwindling wild spaces, while at the same time continuing their commitment to the CFLAR animal residents.
“The wild right now is losing,” he said.
“When I think about our fellow Inkosi up here, I know that I will never have the opportunity to see him roaming across an unobstructed savanna, beholden only to the whims of biology and nature. But I am privileged to know him. I’m privileged to be able to spend time in reverence to his story and in reverence to his awesome presence.”
Wiltz said he feels a responsibility to find those willing to stand in solidarity of nature, despite that these challenges are not going to be solved overnight.
“We just want to get that ball rolling, and keep that ball rolling, and continue that piece of the conversation.”
During a tour of the sanctuary prior to the fundraiser, Wiltz said that CFLAR has been in existence in one fashion or another since 1996, most recently Cocoa Beach. The survey/permitting process for the new facility began in 2013, and it officially opened in 2020, amid the pandemic.
“The process took four years and $1.3 million, which was made more remarkable by the fact that it was all done by volunteers,” said Wiltz, who is also a volunteer.
Phyllis Parks, a longtime volunteer and CFLAR event coordinator, says their facility is at the front of a 4,700-acre conservancy.
“The wildlife corridor goes right through here; we’re right in the middle of it,” she added.
None of their cats come from the wild; coming instead from legal cases and law enforcement, private ownership (banned after a 2022 federal law), zoos, and facilities with limited space or resources.
Among the latter, their youngest residents, 2-year-old tigers Tiana and Aurora, came as ‘surplus’ from another facility when a tigress had more cubs than they could care for.
Two other littermate sisters traveled to CFLAR incognito when rescue homes were needed after the dissolution of the deplorable facility featured in the Netflix show “Tiger King.”
“If you can picture taking the worst excesses of a niche group of people who don’t represent the industry and highlighting them, that’s what ‘Tiger King’ did. The show wasn’t at all realistic, but its fame satisfied the egos of those involved for a short time. Today all are either out of business or in jail,” said Wiltz.
“But that created a really special problem because this isn’t a furniture store. You can’t just liquidate the furniture, leave and say it’s over. All of the animals still need homes.”
CFLAR also currently houses three white tigers. Originally bred for the pet and entertainment industry, white tigers went out of favor after the 2003 Siegfried and Roy incident, which underlined that they are complex wild animals.
As they gaze out with intelligent eyes, it’s easy to believe they are just big, docile pussy cats, whereas the teeth and claw marks on ‘toys’ such as bowling balls and logs clearly illustrate their strength as apex predators.
Their magnificent lions, which came from a distressed zoo, are housed in an enclosure with a special floor, as they’re among the only big cats that dig naturally.
The newest resident, a 2-year-old leopard came to them in January, having been slated for a breeding program until being neutered during a hiatal hernia operation.
Although CFLAR does no breeding, Wiltz said it is an important piece of the conservation conversation to save these species from mankind.
The care for these regal cats, whose life expectancy is up to 20 years (twice that of the wild), is expensive. An annual budget of around $342,000 primarily goes directly toward providing some 100 pounds of meat a day, veterinary care and medicines. Other expenses include rent, utilities, maintenance and supplies.
Complementing their motto’s three Cs are the three V’s of their strategic pillars – veterinary, visitors and viability.
Funding is required to provide top-notch vet care; visitors and tours provide revenue and meet their educational goals; and viability ensures their work can continue well into the future.
CFLAR will host two events at its facility: Cat Tales and Cocktails on Saturday, Oct. 12, and Sip & Stroll on Sunday, Nov. 17, and they are in the planning stages of another event in Vero Beach.
For more information, visit CFLAR.org.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
