(pictured above is Vista and Chalet)
In late 2008 a 15 month old tiger was brought to the attention of Dean and Prayeri Harrison, park founders. She desperately needed a home. She was illegally owned, and was living in a 30’ x 30’ enclosure, but had access to the owner’s house. She was sweet and didn’t bite under peaceful conditions, but we quickly discovered that she was terrified of vehicles, people she didn’t know, and any sudden movement by anyone. We had never seen a tiger so afraid. She had been living in isolation so long that she had no way to relate to everyday activities.
We also found that she did not play. This was a first. Play is an instinct that had been suppressed in her by isolation and treatment she had received.
In order to bring her back to being a full fledged tiger it was necessary to find some young big cats for her. We brought in Zion and Ezekiel, two 11 month old Indo-Chinese tigers, already living at the park. All was fine for a few minutes until Zion wanted to play and grabbed Vista in the neck, which is typical tiger play. Vista roared with fear and began back breathing, which is a sign of terror in tigers. The youngsters were too much for Vista so we removed the two young tigers from her habitat.
At that point we knew that in order to return Vista to normal, we needed to obtain some younger cats. We contacted a friend who owns a zoo in another state, and, as it turned out, had a baby white tiger, which we have since named Chalet, and a baby lioness, we call Kumba.
A week later Vista had two new friends who would not cause her to be too afraid. But lions can’t be without other lions so we found another lioness the same age we call Kora, and two black leopards (panthers) – Enoch and Silhouette. They arrived a few weeks later. The new cubs all quickly became friends, and now Vista is remembering how to play.
Fisher
(pictured above is Fisher the Caiman)
In 2003 the AZ Game ad Fish Dept. confiscated a 5 1/2 foot long alligator-like animal called a caiman. He had been owned privately for 13 years and had been kept in his house with no direct sunlight. The owners had moved to Arizona, where caiman are illegal to own privately. The animal was confiscated.
We were contacted and three hours later the relatively gentle crocodilian was delivered to us. Winter of 2008 we completed a new habitat exactly as he would like it. We feed him publicly on Saturday at 3:30 pm after the Grizzly Show.
Boom Boom
(pictured above is Boom Boom Arriving at Out Of Africa Wildlife Park)
Formerly owned by the Catskill Game Farm in New York State, Boom Boom was auctioned to the highest bidder, along with 1,000 other animals, when the game farm went out of business. Boom Boom's new owner was a purported game hunter from Texas where canned hunts are legal. Canned hunting is the killing of an animal in an enclosure to obtain a trophy.
Teamed with a coalition of locals and animal activists, Marc Ecko, of New York City, negotiated the rescue and repurchase of the rhino, paying twice the amount of the winning bid. Ecko is the founder of the world famous rhino-branded apparel line, *ecko unltd., and a staunch supporter of rhino relief. Ecko then placed Boom Boom on permanent loan to Out of Africa and paid for the cost of his shipping in return for lifelong sanctuary for the beast, a member of the few remaining species of megafaunas in the world.
Rhinos are endangered creatures and have been protected by the CITES treaty since 1970. However, poachers who use their horns in medicines, ornamental items, and aphrodisiacs, as well as big game trophy hunters, continue to diminish their numbers.
