Here at Crown Ridge we love to have fun! Even though we never physically go in with out tigers, we do interact with them quite a bit. Today Izzy was feeling quite playful. Whenever he wants to play his eyes get really big. As we were running along the fence with him he starting hopping on his front paws like a bunny. This is a relatively new behavior that he has exhibited. The more excited he is, the higher he hops up and down. Izzy is our resident goofball for sure. Alexis was also feeling a little silly today. To catch our attention she started rolling around playing with her feet. She loves to pull her back feet up to her mouth and chew on them. So we gave Alexis some attention too so she wouldn't feel left out. We also tried something new with Izzy and Alexis today. Instead of giving them a snack of meat we tried giving them some milk and they loved it! It's always fun trying new things with the cats to see who likes what. Now all of the cats are huddled into their hay beds trying to stay out of the snow. We hope your staying warm as well!

October 29th was our first "Pumpkin Toss" to the tigers! The day before we carved holes in a bunch of pumpkins (you never know what you're going to be doing at the sanctuary!) to stuff meat into. We had our VIP tour stuff the pumpkins with meat and then tell us where they wanted the pumpkins placed in the yard. During our 1pm tour we let the cats out into their yards to explore the pumpkins. We also tossed a few pumpkins to the cats as well. Mo, as usual, didn't seem to care about the pumpkins on his platform or pool and just went to sleep. Izzy snifffed each pumpkin and then played with the pumpkin we had carved his name into (he must be able to read). He also played with some of the pumpkins floating in his pool. Gracie and Thor sniffed all the pumpkins but didn't show too much interest. Thor eventually picked one up and started to lick the meat out but soon lost interest. Alexis, on the other hand, had a blast! She loved the pumpkins even if they didn't have meat in them. She took one of the pool and ran off with it, tossing it into the air and rolling around with it. Alexis also licked all of the meat out of each pumpkin. So all in all it was a lot of fun, but I think Alexis had the most fun of all!

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Sometimes we all need a nap...

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Due to lack of exotic animal regulation laws another tragic accident has occured. Private ownership of animals cannot guarentee the safety of the animals and people involved or the best circumstances for animals. Here is the ews report about exotic animals that escaped from a man's "animal park" in Ohio. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/police-say-animals-escape-from-ohio-exotic-farm-that-houses-lions-bear/2011/10/18/gIQAVSOevL_story.html Don't let this happen in Missouri! Let's fight for the rights of our animals to remain wild and not pets.

Also help tigers all over the nation by watching and commenting after this video. Big Cat Rescue has made this video about closing the generic tiger loop to help thousands of tigers in captivity.

The sanctuary would like to thank all the 3rd graders of Festus Elementary for visiting us this Thursday and Friday! The tigers were super excited to see all of the kids.  The classes got to make boxes with meat in them and then watch the tigers open them. The tigers loved opening their boxes and made a mess all over their yards with them. We hope that all of the kids and teachers had a blast because we sure did! We look forward to seeing you again next year!

Thank you to all of our supporters who came to International Tiger Day! 153 people attended and the sanctuary raised around $500 for the tigers! We hope everyone had fun and learned a little bit more about tigers in the wild and the challenges they face. Kids enjoyed facepainting, tiger crafts, Fizzy Izzy Root Beer and other games. Adults enjoyed the free beer and wine tasting, scavengar hunt and tiger tours. Fun for the whole family! So once again, from all the tigers, lion and staff at Crown Ridge Tiger Sanctuary, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

International Tiger Day is coming up!

Don't forget to stop by the sanctuary next Saturday (Sept. 24th) from 11am-3pm to celebrate International Tiger Day! Tigers will be celebrated around the world in efforts to save the endangered species from extinction.

Enjoy games, crafts, bake sale, free snacks, gift shop, tiger tours, a chance to throw a bone to the tigers, scavengar hunt, Fizzy Izzy Root Beer and more! It's only $5 to get in or FREE if you bring one of these items: Outdoor hoses/nozzles, brooms, latex gloves - medium and large, two way radio, tools - new or used (drill/bits, pliers, staple gun, vice grips, etc.)

The staff and tigers of Crown Ridge Tiger Sanctuary hope to see you there!

This morning we found a flat rock in indoor holding. At first we were confused how it got into the alley way but we soon figured out Alexis must have kicked it under the mesh. As soon as we slid the rock under Alexis immediately started to bat it around. It looked like she was playing hockey! She played with it quite a bit but when she got too rough with it, it fell apart. Leave it to Alexis to find the joy in the little things!

Have a HAPPY Labor Day weekend! We will be open for tiger tours Saturday and Sunday from 11am-12pm and 1:00pm-3:00pm. We will be closed on Monday for the holiday, so make sure to stop by this weekend!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:

Our International Tiger Day celebration is September 24th and we need your help! We need volunteers to serve food, check people in, make Fizzy Izzy floats, and more. If you are interested please contact Jeri Meeker at jmeeker@crown-ridge.com. If you can't volunteer you can always stop by to say hi to the tigers!

Just like any normal sisters, Gracie and Thor have moments of fun and moments of not being able to stand each other. This morning was a little bit of both. Thor snuck up on Gracie and caught her off guard so Gracie wanted to get even. Despite Gracie's blindness she chased Thor all of the yard, around the pool, under the deck and around the trees. When Gracie finally caught Thor they had a small boxing match. A few growls and hisses were exchanged and then they went to nap in seperate parts of the yard. But after only a few hours the girls made up and are now sleeping happily on their platform together.