WALKABOUT WEDNESDAY

Hello there Audience, remember on April Fools when my tunnel grew feets, well it was no joke...

With its new-found feets, my tunnel is heading off for adventures galore and its first one is Earth Day at Australia Zoo...

We have previously written about my Human's Tiger Walk at the Australia Zoo in 2010.  She went on the walk with Kaitlyn a Sumatran tiger...The walks on the back acres of the zoo allow the tigers to take part in enrichment and allow the participants to give to tiger conservation...

This is a short video clip showing Kaitlyn (who now just turned 8)...

Kaitlyn now is a mother to twin cubs Clarence and Hunter who are 1.5 years old...

The tigers at Australia Zoo can be viewed by the public at the Tiger Temple...

They are in the area behind this glass...

One of the beautiful tigers relaxing...

This is a video of the tiger enrichment and play time...

Australia Zoo does important work with tiger conservation as Sumatran tigers are critically endangered, estimating only 400 left in the world.  So for Earth Day, we wanted to re-visit and pay tribute to the majestic tiger...

 

Join us next Wednesday for our new series "Walkabout Wednesday".

Tiger Talk

(My hand on Kaitlyn's back as we walked)

 

Two years ago I briefly posted about my Tiger Walk at the Australia Zoo and you can read that post HERE.  Some recent events prompted me to reflect a lot on the Tiger Walk and post about it again.  In March of 2010,  I visited the Australia Zoo and went on a Tiger Walk with Kaitlyn a Sumatran tiger who was 2 years old at the time.  She and her two siblings (brother Bashii and sister Maneki) were born on December 4, 2007 in Indonesia.  So Kaitlyn just celebrated her 6th Birthday and I wanted to wish her a big Happy Birthday!  

  (Kaitlyn and Me)

Also on the Tiger Walk were three Big Cat Handlers, Kassie, Shane and Dave.  Last week at Australia Zoo, during one of their routine tiger shows for the public, Dave was injured.  In a very unexpected turn of events and unfortunate accident, Dave was dragged into the pool and bitten thus sustaining some puncture wounds to his neck from one of the tigers he was interacting with.  (Dave has been a Big Cat Handler for nine years and had actually helped raise this particular tiger from the time he was a cub.)  It is thought that the tiger got over-excited and may have mistaken Dave for one of his favorite toys.  Dave was not wearing his usual khaki clothing but rather a blue poncho-like top with bags over his hands as an enrichment tool.  (As it turns out, some of the favorite tiger toys during playtime are garbage bags tied to the end of a stick.)  His fellow Handlers acted quickly and pulled him to safety. 

 

 (Kassie, Kaitlyn, Dave and Shane at the start of the Walk)

Dave has undergone surgery and is currently in stable condition recovering in hospital.  (Thank God that the puncture wounds ended up missing his major arteries.) My heart goes out to him and I wish him a full and speedy recovery.  I hope that he is back doing what he loves and is passionate about (working with his tigers) very soon.  

This incident really contributed to a lot of reflection for me this past week.  I debated as to whether to blog about it as I didn't want to contribute to any sensationalism of the event as the media already has.  But I wanted to pay tribute to how special these tigers at Australia Zoo are and how special the Zoo and the staff and the Big Cat Handlers are and I feel like I have a personal association with the story due to my Tiger Walk experience.  As someone stated on Facebook, "this is an opportunity to learn more".  Life is so full of mystery and can definitely contain the unexpected and this again reminds you of just that.  Things can change in a heartbeat.  Or you can do something a little differently and something unexpected can happen.  Just as a domestic cat can do something unexpected, so can a big cat and it is a reminder of the power and strength of these majestic animals.    

(Me, Dave, Kaitlyn, Shane)

 The Tiger Walk was one of the best experiences of my life.  It was a very emotional experience for me, a bit surreal and definitely an adrenaline-filled experience being this up-close-and-personal with a tiger!  There is a definite safety protocol in place for sure as the object as a visitor is not to stand out or appear "too interesting" to the tiger.  You have to wear neutral clothing, have no strong scents on you, not crouch in front of the tiger as to appear vulnerable, only touch the tiger from mid-back down (not the head), pat the tiger firmly not gently (gentle pats can apparently "tickle" them).  At the beginning of the walk, the Handlers were even more cautious as Kaitlyn was giving a little bit of attitude (not in a bad way) by "talking" and making some different sounds so they had me stay back a bit with one of the Handlers and give her more space.  The walk was all about her, reading her signals, giving her space, stopping when she wanted to.  For me to be in such close proximity to a big cat was a dream come true.  The Handlers have such a deep respect for the tigers and the bonds and relationships between the Handlers and the tigers are really beyond awe.  They are able to kiss the tigers on the head, scratch their ears, chins and tummies.  Dave even put his fist in front of Kaitlyn's mouth and she took his hand in her mouth and gave him "love bites".  The Handlers have such skill and have such love for these tigers and work daily to ensure that the tigers have rich and full lives.  They truly are special people and many of them have known and cared for  these tigers since the tigers were a few weeks old to a few months old.  Australia Zoo plays a crucial part in saving the Sumatran tiger as less than 400 Sumatran tigers are living in the wild today.    To find out more about Australia Zoo's tiger conservation projects go HERE.

Now for some really exciting news...Kaitlyn gave birth to two male tiger cubs on August 22, 2013!  She is now the proud Mama of two adorable cubs named Clarence and Hunter.  

(Kaitlyn playing with a tree root on my Tiger Walk)

As Giles (the Head Tiger Supervisor) has said, Kaitlyn is considered one of the most genetically valuable tigers in the world as she was born to a mother who was wild born and a captive father.  Her cubs are the first to be born at Australia Zoo in their 43 year history.  Because Sumatran tigers are critically endangered, breeding in captivity is crucial for the future of the species.  

Congratulations to Kaitlyn and to Australia Zoo!  Welcome to Clarence and Hunter!

Because Australia Zoo's images of the tiger cubs are copyrighted, I'm not able to post them but have found some pictures HERE on ZooBorns.com.  An Australian newspaper, Sunshine Coast Daily also has a video and pictures HERE.  Go on over for a Squee-Fest!

EARTH DAY MESSAGE WITH CEO CLOON

 Hello there Audience.  It's CEO Cloon here with an Earth Day message.  I wanted to share with you the ways I have decided to help the Earth:

1)  I eat my Num-Nums off the same plate every day

2)  I recycle my Num-Nums cans

3)  I play with the same toys over and over...(theese can get quite boring, but I digress...)

4)  I am trying to invent a "green" Clooneymobile that runs off catnip fumes or marmot droppings (more on theese one at a later date...)

5)  I'm planning on painting Headquarters "green" (the Assembly Line Elves will have to do this at night when my Human is sleeping so there are no objections...)

and:

6)  I want to raise awareness for tiger conservation...(Don't you think my CEO outfit looks similar to a Zoo Official or Wildlife Officer?)

So without further delay, I'm going to tell you all a little story about tigers...First of all, are there any tiger fans out there? Can I see a show of paws? Excellent, excellent...all paws in the studio Audience are raised. Well, I have some very exciting news...Last year, my Human went on a Tiger Walk at the Australia Zoo (Steve Irwin's Zoo) where she spent time with this little lady above, a 2-year-old Sumatran tiger named Kaitlyn. 

Kaitlyn was born in Indonesia and some of the Big Cat Handlers from the Australia Zoo went to her and started to care for her when she was just 2 weeks old.  When she was 3 months old, she was brought back to the Australia Zoo along with her brother Bashii and her sister Maneki.  According to her zoo profile, she is the "troublemaker" of the group but my Human said she was very well behaved on the walk. 

The walk took place early in the morning before the Zoo opened. My Human was met by Ben, one of the Zoo Photographers, and taken in a little cart to the tiger enclosures and walking trails at the back of the Zoo. She met up with 3 Big Cat Handlers (Dave, Shane and Kassie) and the beautiful Kaitlyn.  My Human got to spend over half an hour walking with the tiger, holding her tail, patting her back and having some excellent photos taken of the two of them together. She said the tiger was interested in smelling grass and trees, watching birds and lying in mud. One of the Handlers found the tiger the above stump/tree root which occupied her for a bit. 

Since my Human is a cat lover and also has been fascinated by "big cats" all her life, she said this Tiger Walk was one of her dreams come true and one of her most memorable life events. My Human is also a big fan of Steve Irwin and the Irwin family and to be able to spend time with a tiger at his Zoo was also very special. She said that the Handlers were all very nice, professional, loved working with tigers and are very involved in tiger conservation. In fact, the cost of the Tiger Walk went straight back into tiger conservation. 

Now gather around even closer felines...I've got something very sad to tell you all. Tigers are critically endangered and there are fewer than 4000 left in the wild. And for our lovely Sumatran tigers like this little lady, there are fewer than 400 left in the world.  If the tigers aren't helped now, they will face extinction within the next 10 years. So, perhaps more of us felines and our Humans can spread the message about tiger conservation.  More information is available at:  

Australia Zoo Tiger Conservation Projects

In closing, I leave you all with:

...for the Earth, the world events, the tigers, the kitties who need purrs for health...and finding loving homes and for the Easter Bunny to bring you plenty of Num-Nums (tip: leaving out fresh lettuce and carrots may increase your chances)...