Another fantastic article by our local newspaper. They researched the entire article and even have a quote from Bob Barker himself!

http://www.ocala.com/news/20170901/price-is-right-for-new-animal-building

We are so excited to start construction – everything has been waiting on this permit – but we had ‘stalled’ in our fundraising due to the uncertain timing of the project. Now the contractor is moving ahead quickly and we don’t want to stop construction while we raise money!

Will you join Mr Barker in supporting the sanctuary and help complete the project?

We need to keep the donations coming in as fast as our contractor can build! 

Donate Now

If you prefer, your tax-deductible gift can be mailed to:

Forest Animal Rescue
640 NE 170th Ct.
Silver Springs, FL 34488

(Click image to read article on Ocala.com)

Rescued tigers await new habitat

Fewer spring break helpers delayed construction this year

By Susan Smiley-Height

OCALA NATIONAL FOREST — Shikira Quamina’s brow glistens with a sheen of light perspiration as she holds a panel of six-gauge galvanized welded wire steady with her gloved hands. The intern from Brooklyn, New York, arrived at the Forest Animal Rescue sanctuary on March 9 and is still adjusting to the weather in Central Florida.

But she is one happy camper.

“I live in a concrete jungle,” she said of Brooklyn. Then she motioned with a wide sweep of her hand at the lush jungle in which she is standing. “It makes me so happy to be here, to walk past tigers and bears. I want to do this for the rest of life. The key is to get experience in the field and this is a great place to start.”

Operated by husband and wife Kurt and Lisa Stoner, the sanctuary is nestled on 80 acres of heavily wooded land they bought in 2010. They began moving the animals from their former sanctuary in South Florida to the sandhills east of Ocala in 2013.

As the critter population has grown, so has the need for construction of more habitat areas.

Last October, for example, the rescue was part of a nationwide operation that involved more than a dozen other such agencies; they partnered to find forever homes for more than 100 tigers and bears from a cub petting operation in Colorado that could no longer care for them.

Just before Christmas, four female tigers and two bears arrived at the local rescue.

The bears, Cody and Oatmeal, joined the rescue’s three other resident bears and all are living together in a 4-acre habitat.

The tigers — Zoey, Eva, Juanita and Natasha — are temporarily housed in enclosures that were much larger than the 10-by-10 cages in which they had been confined.

“They already think they have gone to heaven,” Lisa Stoner said.

The rescue’s resident male tigers, Tony and Roy, live in a 1-acre habitat. The goal now is to build a 1 1/4-acre habitat, after which Tony and Zoey will live in the smaller area and Roy and the other three tigresses will occupy the bigger space.

The 1 1/4-acre habitat is about one-third complete. The work would have been much further along, Stoner said, if the annual spring break tradition for universities nationwide had not taken on a new twist this year.

Historically, collegiate spring-breakers have descended on the sanctuary to help construct living quarters for the animals, including, for example, groups from the University of Kentucky, Ohio State University and the University of Akron.

“We’ve had up to five weeks of students each year,” Stoner said. “This year, they all booked spring break at the same time and we could only accommodate two groups.”

Stoner said that lack of student power put the habitat construction behind schedule.

“We need a lot of locals to volunteer to help us finish this,” she said.

Working on the enclosure last week along with Quamina was intern Linelle Rivera from Puerto Rico, volunteers Sam Bale from the United Kingdom, Debbie Crane from Weirsdale and Nika Wolf, the rescue’s animal care coordinator and its only paid staffer.

With assistance from Bale, the slender Rivera wrestled a long panel of the heavy-duty wire into position as Wolf used a special tool to apply fasteners at multiple junctions. They all said the work was demanding, but worth it.

“You have to put some muscle on it,” said Rivera, beaming a wide grin.

Stoner said pretty much anyone over age 18 can volunteer to help with construction. The needs vary and training and supervision are always part of the plan. She organizes the schedule around morning and afternoon shifts of four hours each.

“We show them what to do. It’s not highly technical, but there is a certain method that requires supervision. It’s OK for most any level of fitness; you just need to be flexible,” she said.

The only other requirements are that volunteers bring a refillable water bottle and wear long pants and sturdy shoes.

Crane, who has been volunteering at the rescue for a couple of months, started with habitat construction — as do all volunteers — but recently moved up to helping prepare food and care for the animals.

Stoner said all the volunteers begin with habitat construction because that is the area of greatest need and it also gives them an opportunity to learn each person’s work ethic and personality.

“You should be an animal person, a labor person and a happy person,” Rivera said, holding onto the panel of wire as Wolf, kneeling in the sand affixing clamps, chimed in, “Yes, we like happy people.”

Wolf, who started as an intern before she became a staffer, added, “This is so rewarding. I love it. I love coming to work every single day. Most people can’t say that.”

The rescue also is home to Sulcata tortoises (third largest in the world), island flying foxes (giant fruit-eating bats with 4-foot wingspans), Egyptian bats, ring-tail and brown lemurs, wolves and a variety of monkeys. There is no breeding of any animals.

All of the habitats were carefully constructed to meet the needs of each species. Such as, for example, the concrete “cave” inside of which the Egyptian bats could be heard peeping in unison.

In creating the new 1 1/4-acre tiger habitat, Stoner has a dream of incorporating some ponds and pools for the big cats to frolic in as they would in a natural environment. She pointed to several rock boulders, some as large as a refrigerator, and said they had come from Silver Springs after the animal exhibits were removed.

“We went there to get some of the cages, but they weren’t usable,” she said, “but I saw these gorgeous boulders and said we would take those off their hands. Most women love other kinds of rocks; I love these.”

She said she is hoping a local company or two might be willing to offer some coaching or assistance in creating pools and ponds, maybe with waterfalls, for the tigers and the bears. The rescue also could use some help with tree trimming.

As for the appeal for volunteers to help finish the tiger habitat, Stoner said it applies to individuals and groups.

“We have groups do it for building morale and team-building,” she said.

One way people can learn more about the sanctuary is by taking a tour. Tours are offered twice a month and accommodate six people in a Land Rover. The cost is $50. The sanctuary is not open to the public other than through the tours.

Volunteer guidelines can be found at forestanimalrescue.org, under the “Get Involved” tab, or by calling 352-625-7377.

When asked what she would tell people who are considering volunteering, Crane replied, “There is no more rewarding experience. You just can’t do any better. It will give your life more meaning. I would encourage anyone to do it.”

Here are a few highlights:

• We have rescued hundreds of wild animals with nowhere else to go, providing them with a safe and nourishing environment and the chance to heal emotionally and physically – once again learning to thrive. They receive lifetime care in a true sanctuary setting.
• Our robust internship program has taught young adults from around the world about the issues facing wild animals in captivity and what each one of them can do to make a difference, while they contribute to the health and welfare of our animal friends.
• 2016 saw the completion of our initial phase of construction at our new location and allowed us to begin the new year rescuing even more animals in need.
• Our second year of our “Bear Freedom Project” is a success. We are rescuing wild black bears, nurturing them until they are strong enough for release back into the wild where they were born. We work closely with wildlife officials to save these cubs and ensure they get the care they require. The 2016 cubs were just released this month!
• We are offering guided tours of the sanctuary by reservation for up to four people at a time, only twice a month. Tours can be booked right here on our website.

Until you can join us for a tour, you can access videos and pictures here or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/forestanimalrescue.

2017 – A NEW YEAR OF EXPANSION, GROWTH AND RESCUE

• As we enter 2017, we are beginning our next phase of construction and expansion; Bob Barker (the game show host) helped us to get the ball rolling with a $100,000 grant from his foundation. This allows us to begin construction of our vet clinic and state-of-the-art animal care building so we will be able to rescue more animals in crisis. With your help, we will raise the other half of the funds needed to finish the project in the coming months. No longer will we be forced to turn away so many of our animal friends in need.
• Now that we have completely settled in our new location, we are beginning to rescue more animals and expand our capacity going forward. We just rescued two bears and four tigers from a closed facility in Colorado. The bears will share our existing 4-acre habitat and we will be starting construction of a second acreage tiger habitat to give the new big cats the space they deserve as they are introduced to friends of their own kind. Here are photos of them as they arrived!

Of course, expanding the sanctuary to rescue more animals while continuing our high standards of nutritional and medical care for our beloved friends takes money.

Will you find it in your heart to help ensure that we can provide the spacious, natural homes these rescued animals need and deserve?

You can make a gift to help the animals securely online here

or it can be mailed to Forest Animal Rescue, 640 NE 170th Ct., Silver springs, FL 34488

If you wish, your contribution can be earmarked to:

• The facility expansion program for the animals’ privacy and rehabilitation
• The daily nourishment and medical care to sustain and enrich their lives
• The rescue and care of animals from desperate situations
• The completion of our Animal Care Building to provide the animals with an on-site veterinary clinic

Perhaps you would like to consider a special gift this season? You can be a Guardian Angel: a monthly gift to Forest Animal Rescue will help us worry less about how to provide the highest quality of care to the animals while continuing to expand the new facility

2017 will mark the beginning of a new era of service, safety and happiness for our animal family.

You are their hero! Thank you again for your ongoing friendship and support!

Forest Animal Rescue (FAR) is an accredited wild animal sanctuary. Founded in 1998, FAR has a strong history of rescuing wild animals from inappropriate captive situations and educating others about the plight these animals face in captivity. Their mission of providing lifetime care to nonreleasable wild animals has recently expanded to include rehabilitation and release of wild black bear cubs.

Forest Animal Rescue has almost 100 animals at their 80-acre sanctuary in the Ocala National Forest in Marion County. This wooded sanctuary provides forever homes to animals ranging from big cats to wolves, bears, primates and more that were born into captivity and had nowhere else to go.

On September 21, Two organizations, Tigers in America (TIA) and Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (TCWR), purchased the property and equipment of a Colorado based animal facility, whose owner was in ill health and wanted to ensure the well-being of the 110 wild animals on the property. He donated the animals to TCWR with the understanding that they would put the welfare of the animals first.

Many of the animals from Colorado are in need of veterinary care and an enormous amount of work needs to be done before winter sets in at the property in Colorado.

So far, TCWR has moved 27 big cats to their facility in Arkansas and TIA has committed to placing and transporting the remainder of the animals who need new forever homes to the best big cat sanctuaries in the U.S.; some of them will be making the trip to Florida before the Holidays.

Forest Animal Rescue is part of that combined effort. FAR is planning to accept two tigers and two black bears in desperate need of forever homes, and will be quickly building acreage habitats to give them the space and comfort they deserve right here in Marion County.

This project is an enormous undertaking and the cooperation and generosity of the animal sanctuary community cannot be overstated. This is an unprecedented showing of sanctuaries working together to make sure no big cat or exotic animal will be left behind.

Thanks to all of your outstanding reviews, we are a Top-Rated Nonprofit again this year on GreatNonProfits.org

We couldn’t have done it without you!

Keep the reviews coming and help spread the word about the sanctuary to help us continue our expansion.

The hard-working Alternative Break students take a pledge to perform community service instead of joining their partying classmates during spring break. They are a remarkable group of volunteers and have always accomplished amazing things for the animals

First to arrive were 10 students from the UCF for a week. The following week 15 hard workers from OSU and 10 more from UK joined forces to pick up where UCF left off.

They planted trees and thick landscaping to provide shade and visual barriers for the animals at the sanctuary. Then they dug holes 4-5 feet deep and helped to install some new 8′ tall fencing around the building site for our new Bob Barker Animal Care Building.

Stay tuned, more volunteers and photos coming this week!

Kisa, a Siberian lynx, was one of the lucky ones. She was among the very first animals we rescued when we started in 1998. She was very young…and was born at a fur farm in Canada, where she would have eventually been killed for her beautiful fur, but instead she moved to Florida.

She and her sister Sasha came together, joining Misha, another Siberian lynx that we had rescued not long before.

The three lived their lives happily at the sanctuary, thriving in the most natural sanctuary setting we could provide. They moved up to the Ocala National Forest with us two years ago (along with all of the other animals)

Sadly, last year we lost Misha and Sasha and now we have lost Kisa….

She was 17 years old and had a great life with her buddies at the sanctuary….but it still hurts to say goodbye. Kisa was the last of the original animals from when the sanctuary first started. It is a comfort to know that she was in excellent health right up to the end, but it till never gets any easier, these animals feel like part of our family.

These first few years after the move have been difficult. Since so many of our animals came to us when we first opened our doors, they have all grown old at one time. True sanctuaries always fill up quickly; we continued to rescue animals but were forced to slow the pace because we must ensure that we have the budget and ability to properly care for animals before we can accept them.

Our animal residents are continuing to age. We temporarily stopped rescuing animals during our ‘big move’ and have been in a bit of a holding pattern on that front until we finish the habitat expansions for the animals already in our care.

Although we are able to take in a few more rescues now we must be careful not to take our attention away from building the infrastructure and habitat expansions for over 100 animals already in our care. We will make careful decisions on a case by case basis, but I’m sure you will be seeing news of new rescues this year!

Last but certainly not least!

The University of Delaware Alternative Break group consisted of 40 students who worked extremely hard. They tried to complete the bear habitat and came very close…but we ran out of time. The completion of the project is finally within our grasp – thanks to the hard working volunteers from Delaware!

Thank you to all of our amazing Alternative Break volunteers – we couldn’t do it without you!

We will be organizing groups of local volunteers to work on specific days to finish the project – contact us about volunteering if you would like to help!

Of course, we can still use everyone’s help to pay for the materials that we need to complete the project, all donations are tax deductible!