Mia

Mia

Name:

Mia

Breed:

Amur Leopard

Personality:

Mia proves that any generality about a species is, at best, misguided. While leopards are considered among the most dangerous...

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Sanctuary News

Meyote and dakar get moved to their new home at bear orphanage


After a lot of hard work by IEAS staff and volunteers and the generous donors that helped make this possible, the black bear portion of Bear Orphanage is complete. Meyote and Dakar, who are now a year old, enjoy their new home at Bear Orphanage. They have spent their days exploring the five-acre habitat on the ground and in the trees. It didn't take them long to get situated in their new place either. They have already found themselves a den to sleep in during the night.

Now while these little bears are enjoying their new home, there is still work to be done. We still have to complete the grizzly bear portion of Bear Orphanage and finish the three observation decks along the perimeter of the two habitats. We hope to have Bear Orphanage complete by July. However, that is dependent upon weather and manpower. Once Bear Orphanage is complete, we will begin taking tours around to see these bears in a more natural setting. But why wait until July for a tour? Spring is here. You can still sign up for a regular Tour of IEAS and visit the felines and grizzly bears. We have weekend tours on Saturday at 11:00 and 3:00 and Sunday at 11:00.

Check out the video below:

 
You can also watch a video of the Meyote and Dakar at this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2WPtF_9QX8

About Us


WHO WE ARE

Barnum International Exotic Animal Sanctuary, Inc. ( IEAS) was founded in Boyd, Texas in 1988 as a 501(c)(3), nonprofit tax-exempt corporation. IEAS's current mission is the care and welfare of its animal inhabitants, as well as educating the public about their needs. The inhabitants include bobcats, cougars, jaguars, leopards, lions, tigers and bears among other species. As of April 2007, sixty-one felines call IEAS home, with spacious habitats, pools and houses. The employees and volunteers who care for the animals give of their time and talents to ensure the quality of life to which they are entitled.

What we do

Our Mission: The purpose and goals of IEAS are to provide a permanent sanctuary for exotic animals that have been abused, abandoned, neglected, confiscated, or previously owned by people unwilling or unable to provide for these magnificent beings. Additionally, IEAS educates the public through school programs, tour lectures,support for conservation programs, and public appearances about the value and worth of these sensitive, intelligent and perceptive animals, so that their future, as an important part of our world, is insured. We are committed to strengthening and promoting conservation education and other avenues to foster conservation in which we can participate.

WHY DO WE EXIST

ZanzibarIt is a fundamental question that one can ask: why is there a need for a sanctuary for abandoned, abused and/or confiscated exotic animals? Well in recent times one can find the answer weekly just by watching TV or reading the newspaper on occasion. It seems that there is a proliferation of incidents involving exotic animals all across the country, whether one reads about the 24 big cats confiscated in New Jersey, the tiger kept in an apartment in New York, or the incident in Arizona where a keeper was mauled and seriously injured by a tiger while she was cleaning the compound. The story that stands alone for horror, is the case where dozens of big cats were confiscated in Southern California in unbelievably terrible condition, and authorities found a number of dead cats littering the buildings located at the same facility. Click here to read more: Why Do We Exist?

HOW WE DO IT

WhoofersOf course, we give the animals the very best food that is appropriate for their needs, mixed with minerals and vitamins that are necessary for them to have a well-balanced diet that satisfies all their nutritional needs. We also give the animals very large habitats with a variety of elements that take into account their species-appropriate utilization of space, such as ramps, swimming pools for all tigers and jaguars, trees, perches, climbing poles, and a variety of enrichment items. In addition, we satisfy the animals' emotional needs with a unique program we call "Emotional Enrichment" . Exotic animals are as individual as humans. Sure, there are some generalizations that can be made about a specific species, but there are many more distinctions from one individual to another within that species. So, we work with each individual according to its personality and emotional needs. In general, we have our staff and volunteers treat each animal with the respect and dignity that would be accorded another human. Care is taken not to agitate, irritate, or unduly excite any animal. Our Animal Behaviorist physically interacts with a large number of the large cats. Some of them have never had direct contact with a human. Most of the cats that have had direct contact previously considered it adversarial, as training methods of domination/control were apparently used. We find that most of the cats respond surprisingly well to our method of utilizing only affection, trust, and respect in direct interaction. They obviously enjoy and want positive emotional interaction. We want to caution the reader that without extensive experience, this approach could potentially be very dangerous, and we do not advocate it for anyone that has not had a great deal of experience and training. Read more...