The Big D -- Day 6

Today was cat day! We drove an hour north (on George Bush Turnpike... Cleverly named with no middle initial so as to honor two presidents with one toll road, I presume) to Wylie, TX to visit the In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Sanctuary. Not sure why it's named that as it really only harbors cats. Big cats (for the most part). Tigers, lions, cougars, bobcats, ocelots, and lynx to be exact. Lots of tigers.

Our guide, Betty, was amazing, and it was clear that she loves her job as a volunteer there. She mostly works with three Bengal tigers. Cleaning their living areas and working with them on training. The only training they do at the sanctuary is for the benefit of the cats' health. In other words, they train them to go into the "vet chute" (a pass through between living spaces that is not much bigger than the cat) and lie down. They teach them to stay still. They teach them to roll left and roll right. And they teach them to open their mouths. Because of that training, the vet can examine the cats, give shots, and do what he/she needs to do without anesticizing them for the most part. The cats are also taught to stand up on their back legs against the fencing of their enclosures so their undersides can be visually examined.

They all seem to be very happy and we'll cared for. The enclosures are large and clean. They are all double-fenced, with a walk-way between the two fences. The enclosures for the smaller (climbing) cats are enclosed above, as well. They have never had an escape.

The very first cat we saw was a Siberian... A white one. He was beautiful. He was the last one we saw before we left, too. He got a little agitated with our picture taking, I guess, and growled at us and reared back on his hind legs. Happy for the double fencing at the point. :)

We saw TONS of Bengal tigers. Lots of cougars. Several bobcats. And three lions. Two males and and a lioness. We even got to see one of the tigers playing with a barrel. Hubby took a video. It was actually up on the barrel rolling it like a lumberjack rolls a log! Pretty agile for such a large animal.

Apparently the sanctuary lost.a bunch of cats last summer to canine distemper. The Fort Worth zoo lost some animals, too. The cats aren't supposed to get canine distemper, but they did. And it spread and claimed lives. It was apparently devastating to the staff there.

Anyway, it was a wonderful two hours, and I would recommend touring it or supporting it to anyone. :)

We went back to the hotel for about an hour and then went over to visit Hubby's grandma for the last time before we leave. She was so happy to see us again. She even took pictures of us with a digital camera before we left. Not bad for 93 years old!! ;)

Tomorrow: breakfast with some family and then not sure what we will do until we need to be at the airport.