News and Alerts » January 2008

AT PAWS, ANNIVERSARIES ABOUND AS SPRING APPROACHES

With the advent of spring, many residents at PAWS will be celebrating the anniversary of their journey to our sanctuary.

April 1st marks the first year for Nicholas and Gypsy at the Galt facility, and the first week in April will see Lulu, Winky and Wanda celebrating three years at ARK 2000; Ruby will be commemorating her first anniversary in May.

In Galt, Nicholas and Gypsy are gorging on the sweet, new grass, reaching far under their fence and leaving nothing within their expanded trunk area. We will soon begin preparations for their last trip—the short journey to their new barn and habitat at ARK 2000.

The tigers, lions, bears, leopard, bobcat and serval also graze voraciously, lying on their bellies in the warm sun. Alexander, the black leopard, sits in his tree framed by pink blossoms and Manfried, the Kodiak bear, moves through the thick yellow foliage of fresh mustard toward his special peach tree which is ablaze with bright pink blossoms. Manfried, who loves peaches, “planted” this tree with a peach pit that germinated from his poop. The tree is flourishing in his habitat and will provide daily servings of his favorite fruit during the summer.

Hoppy, our ancient steer, has survived the loss of his companion, Grace, and grazes alone in the west pasture as Harriet, the ostrich, moves along the north fence line pecking at bugs and plucking morsels of grass. The big pasture seems empty without Grace and Opie, Harriet’s male companion, who passed away during the winter. Spring is a time of renewal and also a time of remembrance for our friends who are grazing in greener pastures.

At ARK 2000, the Colton tigers lying on the lush grass, white bellies facing the warm sun, are a brilliant picture of orange, black and white framed in vibrant green. When they arrived in the summer of 2004, most had never felt grass or scratched a tree; now, they race down the hill, stopping to mark their favorite areas and claw the big pine tree or hiding behind a bush and stalking a companion. Later, these large carnivores will also be munching on the verdant salad bowl in their habitat, a spring ritual of regurgitation and cleansing.

The elephants at ARK 2000 move rapidly over the green meadows, their trunks curling around the tufts of grass, pulling them up and shaking off the dirt before transferring the delicious morsels to their greedy mouths. After grazing for an hour or so, Minnie, Rebecca and Annie lie down and snooze in the warm sun or move to the lake for a cooling swim and a mud bath. Wanda frequently joins them after her morning foot soaks; Winky prefers the tall grass near the barn and spends the day pulling up large clumps  and soaking them with her hay in her water fountain.