Rescues Archives | Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge

Rescue, It is a Way of Life

What does it mean to rescue? Is it a one-time thing to feel good at the moment? Or, is it a calling for us as individuals to uplift those who have fallen and be there for those in need? The word rescue can mean many things to many different people. As part of the culture […]

March 14, 2023 View Article

African Serval Saved After Surviving Winter In Rural Missouri

“You never know what the day will bring around here!” said our president, Tanya Smith, after receiving a call for an emergency rescue roughly two hours away in rural Missouri. A farmer occasionally saw what he described as a “crazy-looking cat” on his property over six months. They started to notice feathers and bone […]

January 20, 2023 View Article

Triplet Tiger Cubs Overcome the Unforeseen

In May of 2021, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge assisted the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in their seizure of tigress Priscilla and three other female big cats suspected of being pregnant from the Tiger King park in Oklahoma. The DOJ feared that the cubs would ‘disappear’ before the main seizure of animals could take place […]

August 19, 2022 View Article

Lady the Lioness Living Her New Life

Abandoned lioness given a second chance at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge This June, Turpentine Creek rescued a nameless, elderly lioness. Lady, as she was named by one of our longtime supporters, was one of four female big cats living in an abandoned roadside zoo in Adair, Oklahoma. The attraction had been shut down by the […]

August 19, 2022 View Article

Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge Assists Federal Government in Rescue of Sixty Eight Big Cats from Tiger King Park

Thirteen Exotic Cats Safe at TCWR’s GFAS-Accredited Sanctuary Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge [TCWR] assisted the Federal Government in rescuing sixty-eight big cats from Jeffery (Jeff) and Lauren Lowe’s Tiger King Park previously owned by so-called “Tiger King,” Joe Exotic. In January, a federal judge ordered the Lowes to surrender all big cat cubs in their […]

May 28, 2021 View Article

Rambo’s New Beginning

This week, we had the privilege of welcoming a new animal resident to the Turpentine Creek family. This animal does not “carol,” “chuff,” or “hiss,” nor does he make any bear sounds (which is typically just the noise of destruction, anyway). Rambo is neither feline or canine; instead he belongs to the hyaenidae family. We […]

February 25, 2021 View Article

Two Bobcats Rescue

Flooding in Arkansas Displaces Bobcats May 29, 2019 Record flooding on the Arkansas River has destroyed houses and businesses in west central Arkansas. Many humans have lost their livelihood in only a few short days because of heavy rainfall in Arkansas and Oklahoma. But humans are not the only victims of these storms. On May […]

May 29, 2019 View Article

Life-Saving Surgery Update

Blackfire Recovering Comfortably November 7, 2018 Blackfire is on the road to recovery after receiving life-saving emergency surgery at Kansas State University on Tuesday, November 6. The 2-year-old white tiger is currently staying in a recovery enclosure at our on-site veterinary hospital. He will spend two weeks there healing, receiving much-needed pain medication, and being closely […]

November 7, 2018 View Article

Payson Arrives

Newest Furry Family Member February 12, 2018 Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge has opened our hearts and refuge to a new female, white tiger named Payson. Payson was rehomed with us from Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. The zoo contacted us looking for a new home for the 13-year-old Payson since they have decided to […]

February 12, 2018 View Article

Rescue Report Update

Rescue Progress Report July 29, 2016 Bobby – Bobby the Bobcat was rescued from the state of Ohio in January. Bobby is a 17-year-old blind bobcat. When he first arrived he was put in the other half of Bowden the Serval’s habitat. They swapped days in the habitat. At first, Bobby was very shy, but […]

July 29, 2016 View Article