It has taken some time and planning, but we have finally done it! Back in September, our beautiful Madison was moved into a retirement habitat. Madison has never been the social butterfly that her mother Nikki was, and it became more clear this summer that she was not going to go out of her way to visit with guests. We made the decision to retire Madison off of our tour route, however there was one big thing missing from her new home, Willie.

This handsome white tiger had been Madison's neighbor since his arrival in 2012. The two had instantly fallen for each other. You could often find the two walking the fence line together and in the evenings, they would talk back and forth.

Willie's retirement had already been in the works following his diagnosis of Chronic Kidney Disease in the summer of 2016. Following his diagnosis Willie would always look for an excuse to not visit with tours. He would either be sleeping in his room and ignore the tour guide or be across the habitat minding his own business. Following Madison's move, our staff struggled to convince Willie to load into a roll cage so we could move him next door to her once more. We worked with him for over two months, trying to catch him in the cage at the right moment. Finally, our hard work paid off. 

Since being reunited, the two have been inseparable at the fence-line, constantly chuffing and talking to each other. They now get to enjoy retirement together as neighbors. 

Willie's move marked the continuation of the most recent chapter in NTS history, as many of our long time resident move to a well deserved retirement from tours, it enables us to bring some new faces to the tour route. Willie's habitat opening allowed us to move one more of our circus rescues onto the tour route! Bashir moved into his habitat without incident, where he was reunited with his brother Dakar who has been living in Madison's old habitat and has waited for his brother to join him. When being moved into a new space, it might take a few days for the cat to get settled and adjusted. Bashir has already taken great strides in becoming accustomed to his new habitat.These two energetic 5 year olds are both incredibly excited to meet all the tour guests, and show off just how cool they are (or at least think they are). 

Enrichment is a great way to get an animal to relax. Bashir got to enjoy leaves and a pumpkin in his new home the day after the big move. He played and had a blast, all with his brother watching from the neighboring habitat. Within a couple days, he was ready for tours. He has been energetic to meet new people as well as do a little showing off. With a pool full of ice chunks, he gladly went fishing to demonstrate the fortitude these cats have when it's cold outside.

Hidalgo was retired after sustaining a back injury that left him unable to be ridden. He is estimated to be around 30 years old, but is over-all in great condition. He will get to spend the rest of his days grazing and enjoying the company of the NTS staff and our guests, in his new habitat at the entrance of the sanctuary. Just like Arnold the pig, Hidalgo will never have to worry about being fed to the big cats, he will be provided a safe and secure home for the rest of his life.  Hidalgo arrived just in time to celebrate the National Day of the Horse on December 13th. This is a day to commemorate the impact ho rses have had on the economy, history, and character of the United States.

The same week we received Hidalgo we were contacted about another animal in need of a new home, this time it was an animal that fell a little more in our wheel house. Lauri is a 16 year old black leopard who had been living in private ownership. As her main caretaker passed away early December and the other owner came across health issues it became harder and harder to take care of Lauri, so she made the decision to find Lauri a new home with NTS. Like many of our new arrivals Lauri is not fully comfortable in her new home and is still very unsure of the staff at NTS. Lauri is not currently on tour as she is still adapting to the sanctuary, but the staff at NTS will continue to work with Lauri and over time we hope that she will become more at ease in her new home. Just like all of our animals, we will let Lauri decide if she wants to be on tour based on her like or dislike of attention from people. Regardless of her future at NTS, we are extremely excited to welcome another beautiful leopard into our sanctuary.

The new arrivals didn't stop at Lauri, while in conversion with Lauri's owners we also discovered that she had two other animals that she would like for us to re-home. The first was a 3 ft long, approximately 3 year old alligator. We are unsure of its gender, and unfortunately it did not come with a name. However we were extremely excited to welcome it into our sanctuary, and we excited to learn more about this awesome aquatic reptile and design and build it a permanent home here at NTS.

The final addition to our sanctuary in 2017 is the most docile of all of our members of the sanctuary. Along with Lauri and the alligator we also received an 11 inch long goldfish. Like the alligator, the goldfish unfortunately did not come with a name that we know of. Despite its recent arrival, the goldfish has taken the least amount of time to adapt to our sanctuary and has now found a permanent home in our gift shop. 

Due to the alligator and goldfish not having names we will be holding a naming contest for both of them. To enter a submission for the naming competition be sure to like and follow our Facebook page, we will be announcing the competition in upcoming weeks on social media. 

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the loss of Ravi on November 29, 2017. Ravi was the sanctuary's oldest resident at 20 years old, she was rescued in May of this year from the entertainment industry.  

Ravi's senior status meant her performance days had already come to an end prior to her arrival  to NTS,   where she had been retired permanently along with 15 other white tigers this year.  Due to severe cataracts, Ravi's vision was heavily impaired when she arrived at the sanctuary, so while at NTS she resided in a simple yet luxurious retirement suite.  This is where she could always be seen sleeping in her outdoor yard enjoying the rays of sunshine.  

Teddy the Office Dog is this month's spotlight!  That's right, not only human staff members are appreciated here at NTS! Shelby Scott, an operational manager at our facility brings her pup to work with her every day. He has even earned himself a dog bed under her desk in the office where he can work hard all day, and by that we actually mean sleep and scoring lunch leftovers from coworkers. Teddy has a very unique personality and he can be very weary of meeting new people, therefore he typically avoids the gift shop full of visiting tour guests. On occasion he works up the bravery to go say hello to people from behind the work counter, but because of his "tough-guy" tendencies he doesn't always greet people with a warm welcome until he becomes very familiar with them. Teddy's idea of being social is barking loudly in symphony with the sanctuary's other rescue dogs to all the incoming tour guests to remind them that he's the "dog in charge". And of course, as a representative of the sanctuary, Teddy even has his very own light-up tiger costume he dressed up in this past Halloween. 

As the winter starts to make an appearance, please keep all your furry loved ones in mind! Cats, domestic and feral, can climb into the warm hood space of a parked car. If they have not exited the vehicle before it is started, the animal can get caught in fans and belts and their life put at risk. So before starting your car this winter, please bang on your hood to scare out any potential victims.

If any of your animals spend any time outdoors during the winter, make sure they have a draft proof shelter so they have the chance to get out of the cold. Also keep their water fresh and unfrozen!

Rock salt can also pose as a potential hazard to your pets. It can cause irritation on their pads, and if ingested, it can actually poison them. Take precautions and wipe you pets feet after any walk to insure they are not carrying any on their pads. Be sure to store your own rock salt and antifreeze out of reach of pets and children. Keep your whole family safe this winter.

Need more information? The Humane Society came out with an article to help pet owners in the winter. 

Check it out  HERE.