Happy Valentine’s Day from everyone at Forest Animal Rescue.

Remember not to eat the roses today.

Since their arrival at Forest Animal Rescue just before Christmas, Cody and Oatmeal have been playing nonstop. They are incredibly happy with their new home in sunny Florida…and they haven’t even experienced the best part yet!

They are loving their pool, climbing platform and the ball that we gave them, but they will soon be out of their quarantine habitat and into a wooded 4-acre compound with three other black bears, Dolly, Elizabeth Rose and B-Bear!

Would you like to volunteer with us to help finish the last few habitat adjustments so they can go out and play in the woods? Here is how you can GET INVOLVED

Would you like to help us to BUY MORE TOYS so they can each have their very own long-lasting ball? We have raised much of the money already, but need your help to pay for everything.

Will you help us to buy toys for them?

Juanita already showed us how much she enjoys the ball we gave her, but it has seen better days and she doesn’t like to share…

We need six new toys for six new animals – they are made of special material to ensure they are safe and will provide many years of enjoyment and rough handling.

Oatmeal thought it would be a good idea to blow a horn and make some noise!

She wants to remind everyone that you still have until midnight to receive a tax deduction for any gifts made to the sanctuary.

Of course the fundraiser that she is rooting for is the one to buy TOYS for the new tigers and bears.

Forest Animal Rescue joined Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge and Tigers in America along with 15 other accredited animal sanctuaries to rescue 110 wild animals, mostly tigers and bears, from a facility in Colorado.

The animals were formerly used as cubs for petting and photo opportunities and then, when they grew too big, they were used as breeders. The facility was offered for sale due to the failing health of the owner and now all of the animals are all going to forever homes at sanctuaries across the country. Happily ever after…

Four tigers, Eva, Natasha, Juanita and Zoey, and two bears, Cody and Oatmeal have arrived at our sanctuary just in time for Christmas! Stay tuned next week to see how all of these animals react to their Christmas gifts.

They will spend their first few weeks in quarantine to ensure that they are healthy before then can be introduced to friends of their own kind at the sanctuary, but they are already enjoying their new diggs.

The tigers

Juanita had been exploring everything, playing with the ball and immediately jumping in the pool. Eva and Natasha share a habitat with Juanita and were a bit more cautious but they took turns jumping out of one pool and running over to jump into the other, back and forth – exploring all of the new scents and textures.

The trio had never experienced live trees in their habitats and they are trying to figure out exactly how those work. It has been a lot of fun to watch.

The fourth tiger, Zoey, is older than the other three so she had her own space. She has already discovered the very top of her platform and den box and enjoys lying on top, surveying her surroundings.

Once the tigers have been examined and observed long enough to ensure their good health and we have had time to complete more construction, the three girls will be introduced to our (neutered) male tiger, Roy in a new 1.25 acre habitat. Zoey will then meet Tony (our other neutered male tiger) in his 1 acre habitat.

The bears

The two black bears, Cody and Oatmeal (named by her sponsor) share a quarantine area that is attached to our existing 4-acre bear habitat. Once they are observed for a sufficient length of time and examined by our veterinarian, they will join our other three black bears with plenty of space to get to know one another. Of course we do not allow any of the animals at the sanctuary to breed, so the male bears have already been neutered.

These bears have also never known live trees and have not had a pool to play in for a very long time. They think that oak branches are amazing and the pool is the most awesome thing in the world to splash in!

Before:

After, at Forest Animal Rescue:

Would you like to help us build their permanent habitats and provide them with a safe forever home?

Donate now to join in their care or volunteer to build with us!

Thank you to the makers of the card game “Bears vs Babies” – they are making a generous $10,000 donation to help with the care of the animals and they asked their Kickstarter community to vote on a name.

Please join us in preparing a warm welcome for Oatmeal and join them in supporting the sanctuary as we rescue more animals, Donate Now