CARING FOR BIG CATS A LABOR OF LOVE.Byline: Sharon Cotal Staff Writer ACTON - You couldn't pay most people enough to go inside the cages of African lions to brush their manes manes (mā`nēz), in Roman religion, spirits of the dead. Originally, they were called di manes, a collective divinity of the dead. Manes could also refer to the realm of the dead and, later, to the individual souls of the dead. , take 400-pound Bengal tigers for a walk on a leash or feed chunks of meat to the big cats of the Shambala Preserve Shambala Preserve is wild animal preserve established in 1972 and located in Acton, California, a desert community. About Shambala is maintained by the Roar Foundation, founded by actress Tippi Hedren in 1983 as a 501(C)(3) nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable organization . in Acton - by hand. But those activities, and more, are all in a day's work (Naut.) the account or reckoning of a ship's course for twenty-four hours, from noon to noon. See also: Day for Shambala animal keeper Jesus ``Chuy'' Torres. The 41-year-old Acton resident moved from the family farm in north Jalisco, Mexico, 23 years ago and joined his uncle living and working at the preserve that actress Tippi Hedren Nathalie Kay "Tippi" Hedren (born January 19, 1930)[1] is an American actress with a career spanning six decades. She is best known for her role as Melanie Daniels in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds had recently opened as a refuge for big cats. In those early days, Torres had trouble sleeping, hearing the roars outside his cabin. But over the years, he has developed a love and respect for the big cats in his care. ``I always thought the cows were dangerous back on the farm, then I came here and saw these animals with their huge claws and big teeth,'' Torres said. ``But I started getting used to it and got comfortable with the cats. Now I love my job and I feel very lucky that they pay me to do what I love.'' After all these years, Torres' parents back in north Jalisco look at photos he sends showing him holding mountain lions mountain lion: see puma. and petting tigers and still think he's crazy. He tells them that operating heavy farm machinery is also a dangerous job. But machines don't chase you, they always reply. The Shambala preserve started out as a movie set for Hedren's 1981 film ``Roar'' but by the time the five years of filming were completed, the compound had become an important facility for big cats. All of the animals at the preserve were born in captivity and therefore cannot be returned to the wild. Many of them are castoffs from circuses, zoos or private owners who can no longer care for them. Some are retired from show business, such as the three tigers who starred in Exxon's ``Put a Tiger in Your Tank'' advertising campaign. Torres came to the preserve in 1978 after a damaging flood and went right to work making repairs and getting to know Shambala's residents, Hedren said. ``It was apparent very quickly that he loved the animals,'' she said. ``Chuy knows every single animal here. He knows about each species but, more importantly, he knows their individual personalities. I feel very fortunate to have Chuy here with us.'' With the help of Torres and the other keepers at the preserve, over the years Hedren has planted 800 trees and installed a pond and a brook complete with waterfalls This is a list of worldwide waterfalls. Africa Burkina Faso
But even the most peaceful-looking kitty can turn mean in an instant, as Torres inadvertently demonstrated recently when entering a cage to brush the lions, whose fur sheds in the spring. Most house cats don't come when called by their owners, but the adult African lions, Leo Leo, in astronomy Leo [Lat.,=the lion], northern constellation lying S of Ursa Major and on the ecliptic (apparent path of the sun through the heavens) between Cancer and Virgo; it is one of the constellations of the zodiac. and Remo, greeted Torres like an old friend when he casually entered the fenced enclosure to brush them. However, when two younger lions in an adjacent area got jealous jeal·ous adj. 1. Fearful or wary of being supplanted; apprehensive of losing affection or position. 2. a. Resentful or bitter in rivalry; envious: jealous of the success of others. and started roaring ROARING. A disease among horses occasioned by the circumstance of the neck of the windpipe being too narrow for accelerated respiration; the disorder is frequently produced by sore throat or other topical inflammation. 2. , Leo and Remo became very excited, roaring in response while Torres made a hasty hast·y adj. hast·i·er, hast·i·est 1. Characterized by speed; rapid. See Synonyms at fast1. 2. Done or made too quickly to be accurate or wise; rash: a hasty decision. exit. ``You have to have control all the time, because if you don't, they will return to their instinct, which is to kill,'' Torres said. ``I trust them, so I can work with them, but when they get excited their violence can be turned to you, and you have to get out of there when that happens.'' Hedren said things like the incident with the lions can be used to educate visitors to the preserve. ``I love it when they do this. This sort of thing wakes people up to the fact they these animals do not make good pets, because in a split second their instincts can kick in,'' she said. Torres had more luck taking Garth garth n. 1. A grassy quadrangle surrounded by cloisters. 2. Archaic A yard, garden, or paddock. [Middle English, enclosed yard, from Old Norse gardhr; see , a Bengal tiger, for a walk on a leash. All of the cats that can be walked safely are taken for a stroll daily, so that they can get out of their enclosure and see different things, Hedren said. ``None of us likes to stay in the same place all the time. That's a very important thing at Shambala, that the animals don't feel like they are in a prison,'' she said. Walking around can give a big cat an appetite, so after their stroll Torres hand-feeds Garth some raw beef from a leather pouch pouch (pouch) a pocket or sac. abdominovesical pouch one formed by reflection of the peritoneum from the abdominal wall to the anterior surface of the bladder. tied around his waist. Torres says ``Good boy,'' and keeps his palm flat as he offers up the morsels that Garth reaches up to gently accept. Torres does have a few scars on his hands from younger animals that had not yet learned the routine. His secret to staying safe is being able to ``read'' the cats by observing the size of their pupils and their body language. A small pupil indicates a calm, happy kitty, but the pupils get large when the cat is excited or mad. When the cats are jumping around, they are happy, but if they are crouching, be careful, Torres said. ``Over the years I've learned a lot. No matter how much I'm around the animals, I'm always learning more and more,'' Torres said. Torres lives at the preserve and is always on call, ready to break up fights, repair cages or administer medication to ill animals any time, day or night. ``It's not a 9-to-5 job. It's a mission, a passion,'' Hedren said of the job requirements at Shambala, but Torres doesn't seem to mind. ``I didn't have a family, so these cats are my babies. I don't mind giving my time to the kitties,'' he said. CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour AV edition only) Big cat keeper Jesus ``Chuy'' Torres and Garth the Bengal tiger take a break at the Shambala Preserve in Acton. Bill Dow/Special to the Daily News Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer (2 -- ran in AV edition only) Tippi Hedren takes in the tranquillity of a pond, also enjoyed by elephants, at her preserve for exotic animals. (3 -- ran in SAC Sac: see Sac and Fox. SAC - 1. An early system on the Datatron 200 series. [Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959)]. edition only) Garth went for a walk earlier with Tippi Hedren, founder of the animal refuge. |
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