Lions Tigers and Deer?

Since moving to our current home, I have become quite fond of deer. I am lucky and blessed to have the time to be in nature and observe. Often we have fawns being born and nursed in our yard. Once in awhile, we have deer that are so curious that they seem interested in what I am doing, like the deer I named, Knobby Head that I wrote about a couple years back. Anyway, these gentle creatures have helped me pause, reflect and enjoy the moment more and I am grateful. However, I never anticipated that a deer would find me a part time summer job.



Meet Yellow. Last summer, she was wandering around and bleating hopelessly and the sound broke my husband's and my own heart. We tracked her down when we heard her one evening. By the time we found her, she had settled down in the woods and we decided to leave her alone to see if her mother would return.

When a fawn is born, it has no scent to it. Nature makes it that way so that predators cannot track it. So the mother beds the fawn down in a safe place and leaves it during the day so her scent does not attract predators. She usually stays nearby and her fawn is safe because it makes no sound and does not wander on its own. So when you hear a fawn (they bleat similar to sheep), calling out and wandering on it's own, it has been abandoned. We believe her mother had been hit by a car.

Anyway, the next day after we had first heard the fawn, my husband was out working in the yard when he heard it again. He started tracking it in the woods. It came out of the woods, walked towards him and fell at his feet. It was starving and exhausted. He brought it into the house and I called the sherriff's office to see if there was an animal rehabilitor in the area. Within moments, I was put in touch with such a person and when she picked up the deer, I asked her about animal rehabilitation. I said I always have animals coming to me and would like to learn more about taking care of them. She right there on the spot said she had a job for me and asked if I would like to work with lions and tigers! Little did I know, since I was new to this area, that nearby my home was an amusement park and a small zoo which specializes in big cat rescues. I was ecstatic and my husband was certainly surprised when he returned home from town to hear that I had a new part time summer job working with lions and tigers. The kids were bouncing off the walls knowing that their summer was going to be spent at the amusement park!

Well it was a wonderful summer indeed and such a great experience...one I will never forget. For three days a week, during the summer season while the park was open, I supervised the college and high school kids at the zoo, greeted and educated the public and fed and cared for: 5 golden tigers, 2 white Bengal tigers, 2 lions, 2 black panthers, 1 cougar, 2 Muntjac deer, 1 white tailed deer, 7 abandoned fawns, and 1 funny McCaw. I loved every moment of it! All of the animals were rescue animals especially the big cats who had been severely neglected or abused and were to be euthanized if this owner had not decided to save them. All the fawns, including my little Yellow (so named because each fawn had a different colored ribbon and her's was yellow), were local fawns that had been abandoned. They were raised and rehabilitated until they could graze on their own and then were safely released to the wild.

Each animal, had it's own unique personality and some were a little more "cranky" than others due to the way they were mistreated before they came to this small zoo. Each had his own story to share and since in my heart, I felt so fortunate to have this experience with them and to be so close to these majestic animals, while I worked there I tried to honor them. In doing so, I gladly greeted the public and answered questions but I also was very conscious of creating an atmosphere of respect and dignity for these animals. They are a gift to us; not the other way around. It was amazing how little disregard some people gave them as they threw rocks or taunted them to make them growl. AND slowly, a transformation would happen as I would tell these people the animals' stories of how this black panther had been chained up and beaten so yes, he is a little cranky around people and I don't blame him one bit. Or how these three tigers get aggressive when we feed them because they were kept locked in a small cage where they couldn't even stand up and were starved almost to death only because the breeder wanted them to be white Bengals when they were born and not golden. So when they get aggressive about food, it is because they had to fight for what little they had before we received them at the zoo. For the few months I was with them, I gave a voice to these animals out of my respect for them.

Equally interesting, many times, the people who usually taunted these animals, upon hearing their stories would share horrendous stories of their own lives and would now look at these animals with a new sort of connection... a kindred spirit of sorts, understanding that they were both survivors. And my heart would soar because I know deep inside we are all interconnected in this universe. And I am so blessed to have helped in some small way to make this connection. Thank you, baby fawn, Yellow, for allowing me to experience this!

Speaking of connection, meet Leo. He is a huge 500 lb male lion. He was neutered and from that process, the drop in hormones, caused him to lose his mane. On my first day at the zoo, I would be in between his cage and the fence where the visitors would be. I would be talking with the public all the while being attentive to what Leo was doing behind me. I noticed when I moved, he would move with me, not in an aggressive manner but he would settle in his cage very close to where I was standing. An instant bond was formed!



I chatted often to him since the cats become accustomed to your voice and he was always a gentle giant to me. During the summer, he was the animal I became closest to. He developed a sore molar in the back and was having difficulty eating. So he had to be hand fed and babied for awhile. Nothing like hand feeding a 500 lb lion to make you feel empowered! Haha. Especially when his nose is about as wide as my face. Actually it was a very humbling experience for me and I was honored to do it.

Here we are together on one of my last days at work. A co-worker took this picture because she thought it looked like he was leaning in for a kiss! Actually I was just chatting with him and leaning forward telling him, "Leo, you are such a good boy!" And this is how he responded! Priceless!



I will forever remember my summer with these fabulous creatures. I was blessed! Unfortunately, the amusement park and zoo didn't open this season due to the economy. It relies heavily on company picnics and businesses are cutting back this year. For now the animals are still there being taken care of by the main zoo keeper. I wish them well and hope to see them again sometime soon!