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TIGER TOUCH is an exotic feline sanctuary, located about 70 miles east of Reno, Nevada, in the United States, on about 10 acres of land. With an elevation of just over 4,000 feet, the climate and terrain are very suitable to the mission of the Founders and Directors of TIGER TOUCH…to love and respect all life, and especially exotic felines…to reduce individual suffering and vanishing species, and to encourage the idea that many species can be our human companions, rather than our captive aliens, by encouraging responsible private stewardship of endangered exotic felines.
The Founders of
TIGER TOUCH are Mary Walker, Nola Fletcher, Barbara Williamson and John Williamson. TIGER TOUCH is funded directly from the pockets of these dedicated Founders, who feel their energy, flexibility, and goal should go towards their mission, rather than into fund-raising efforts. And just who are The Directors at TIGER TOUCH ?? Why, the large exotic cats who have such a vested interest in the commitment and efforts of these humans, of course!
But there is so much more
to their story, and to help you better understand TIGER TOUCH ,
here is our exclusive interview with John Williamson.
HDW: John, thank you for taking this time with me to tell your story. Let's begin with, what prompted you to start TIGER TOUCH ???
JW: Well, the idea goes
back many years but began in earnest after we rescued five large
felines in our area from a terminal situation and committed ourselves
to caring for them. Close contact with these cats brought home
to us the desperate plight facing ALL big cats, wild or captive.
We also realized that our
long association with research into human violence put us in a
unique position to address the main issue surrounding big cats…that
of their dangerousness to people. We saw this issue as a singularly
profound barrier to their survival. In the wild, it sets them
apart as unwanted predators, mostly to be hunted. In captivity,
this issue of dangerousness severely limits their opportunities
for care. So, with these things in mind, we decided to create TIGER TOUCH to enable us to focus on our insights, while in the
constant presence of big cats and their own intuition and intelligence.
HDW: Can you tell us a
little about each of your Founders???
JW: Barbara (Williamson)
and I are retirees from big business who still use our business
skills, but now to do more of the things that are really important
to us. At the top of this list is our love of big cats and our
gratitude for what they have given us over the years. It's our
pay-back to them to help those we can to live decent lives and
survive as a species. That's what drives us and gives us our
sense of purpose…I'm an engineer and Barbara is a business
person. We're both very comfortable and familiar with complex
projects and long term commitment, so TIGER TOUCH is an extremely
rewarding project for us to put our energies and talents into.
In our community there
are several people who, at one time or another, worked with the
big cats that we rescued. Two of these people, Mary (Walker)
and Nola (Fletcher), graciously offered to help us at TIGER TOUCH .
Both are young women with an extensive background in caring for
homeless and/or helpless animals. Their most valuable contribution
to TIGER TOUCH is their wonderful inner calm and their ability
to empathize and communicate with animals without using their
voices. The cats all adore them for this.
In addition, Mary and Nola
play a critical role in TIGER TOUCH by being able to identify
and interpret behavioral changes in the cats with uncanny accuracy.
This is due to their both being able to cross many of the major
boundaries that have traditionally separated human and cat.
This gift of theirs has been vital to our development of protocols
and nutritional programs geared towards successful human rearing
of these cats.
HDW: How did TIGER TOUCH come to be located in Nevada???
JW: Essentially, we always
wanted to move to the desert for its dry, crisp climate and slower
pace of living. The small town near Reno that we live in now
suits us well and is a great place to pursue our interests in,
and passion for, CATS!
HDW: John, how would you
describe your main goal at TIGER TOUCH ???
JW: Our main goal and
mission now is to encourage greater captive stewardship of endangered
feline species within the private sector. As time runs out for
the wild populations of many species, there are so many responsible
people around who would love to care for an exotic cat or two.
The model program we are working with and fine-tuning brings
these two factors together to provide "safety net gene pools"
that are much larger and more efficiently managed than the charters
of traditional zoo facilities and the economics of the wild habitat
allow.
Until recently, we weren't
sure this was possible. Now, with some of the wonderful research
done by Dr. James W. Prescott and others, we are VERY enthused
and feel that it may be only a matter of time until this is accomplished.
HDW: Please tell us about
the exotic felines that you currently have at TIGER TOUCH …
how many, and what kind are they???
JW: We have ten exotics
at present; a male Bengal tiger (Detonator); a female Siberian
tiger; both female and male African lions that show the rare Barbary
traits; two female cougars; two bobcats; a Siberian lynx; and
an African serval. The lynx and the serval are our personal companion
cats, the ones that live in our home with us and even travel with
us!!
HDW: How do you find these exotic animals to bring to your sanctuary???
JW: With the exception
of the companion cats, all our present cats were rescued from
nearby areas where they were in danger of being killed. If we
were able to care for more, we could bring in literally hundreds
of big cats who desperately need shelter from mistreatment or
euthanasia. It's a sad situation often made worse when people
with good intentions try to care for these cats, only to find
they haven't the resources. Then the cats suffer even more as
they are killed or passed from one caretaker to the next.
HDW: What are some of
the processes that you go through with these felines to help them
to become more attractive as companion animals to people who DO
have the resources and the desire to care for them???
JW: Although there are
exceptions, most adult cats coming into sanctuaries have suffered
abuse and neglect. Unfortunately, there is very little that can
be done to help them become trustworthy companions after they
have suffered this way at the hands of humans. The feline brain
and psyche are much less malleable than a human's, and we all
know how difficult it is to treat and cure the various emotional problems and psychosis' of humans! The most one can do for these troubled cats is to simply love, respect, and care for them. They will
always be dangerous due to their unpredictability, even though
they also may be able to show great affection to humans.
To have a companion cat
that is trustworthy, predictable and less dangerous, several critical
factors must be carefully attended to during the first few months
of its life. Then after that, conventional training methods are
needed for another year or two, depending upon the individual
cat. We are now making the early rearing information available
to select people who are willing to make a life-long commitment
to a companion cat…one which can be added to its species
gene pool and bred under genetic management if that becomes necessary
for species preservation.
(HDW's note: John is referring
here to the "Large Feline Survival, Gene Pool Diversity
and the Human Touch: The Role of Private Captive Stewardship
in Species Survival", by James W. Prescott, Ph.D. In this
essay, Dr. Prescott provides detailed documentation and recommendations
for human rearing of big cats when they are separated from their
mothers at birth and hand-reared. These recommendations include
having one, constant human surrogate mother, with constant skin
to skin contact with the newborn feline; providing as closely
as possible a normal social group environment; i.e., "littermates";
nutrition that comes as closely as possible to the biological
mother's breast milk; socialization experiences with peer large
felines; and supplementation of the biological formula milk with
tryptophan, a pre-cursor amino acid essential for the development
of brain serotonin.)
HDW: How do you locate and screen responsible people to whom you will entrust the care of these exotic cats???
JW: Well, it's certainly
more difficult than screening for human adoption! The main problem
is providing enough education so a person can understand what
to expect and make their OWN judgment about being suitable. After
that, there are issues of financial stability, lifestyle, and
responsibility to deal with. Clearly, we cannot do all we're
suggesting, even though it is fun to raise baby cats, especially
tigers! To create sufficiently large back-up breeding pools in
less than a lifetime, however, will require a number of dedicated
breeders to produce these special cats destined for a very special
group of people.
HDW: Do you ever plan
to have TIGER TOUCH be "open to the public", or is this
contraindicated in your program???
JW: No, we have no desire
for a public operation. That runs counter to the very concept
of a "sanctuary". The cats we have do enjoy attention,
but not from crowds. We treat our situation here more like a
community resource where people who live here and love big cats
can visit and enjoy quiet time with them. Everyone benefits that
way; cats and people alike.
We are considering a new
facility especially equipped to raise less dangerous big cats,
mostly sub-species of tigers on the edge of extinction. We're
about a hundred percent sure of the science now , but there are
still the matters of funding, politics, and securing what amounts
to government acceptance of our formal program proposal. It's
not just a matter of raising cubs. It's having a suitable structure
within our world society; a safe and sensible place for them that
embodies a long range view toward their future and their well
being.
Right now, no big cat is
truly safe. In the wild, they face loss of habitat, disease,
poaching, man's pollution, and senseless hunting. For some, it
is only a matter of a decade or less despite herculean preservation
efforts. In captivity, they face perhaps even more cruel threats
from man's politics, shortsightedness, economics, and a fearful
public created from the negative images presented by our media.
HDW: We'd love to hear about some of your success stories!!!
JW: Peggy Sue, the Siberian
lynx, is a good example. A Siberian lynx is a formidable cat
who, in the wild, can take down prey much larger than themselves.
Like all big cats, they consider children prey and can be very
dangerous around them. Peggy Sue's early rearing was in accordance
with about fifty percent of the protocols we now consider essential
to fostering a low level of dangerousness in big cats. Even so,
though she will play rough if someone wants to, she can be completely
trusted with children and babies, showing deference to their youth
much as human parents do. She runs completely free in our home,
and is quite considerate of people and other animals. She loves
to travel with us and play "ambassador". She cares
for her companions as much as they care for her. There are other
successes here, but they are partly recovered cats who can now
be handled, but are not completely trustworthy.
HDW: Since 1998 was the
"Year of the Tiger" for many of our readers, please
tell us about "Detonator", one of your Directors, and
a magnificent, rare Bengal Tiger currently at TIGER TOUCH !!!
JW: Well, maybe the best
way to describe Detonator is to say that he is the most intelligent
cat we have ever known. He has met the challenges in his life
with unswerving good will, NEVER with malice. He is the unquestioned
mediator of both cat and human grievances. He communicates.
He believes in fun, yet manages the affairs of the compound with
the utmost tact and diplomacy. Regrettably, no one bothered to
teach him that people are fragile, and can't laugh with a tiger
sitting on them!
HDW: How can people contact
you to find out more information about TIGER TOUCH ???
JW: We can be reached
by:
E-MAIL: catman@phonewave.net
PHONE: 01-702-423-8277
FAX: 01-702-428-1772
MAIL: TIGER TOUCH , Box
1240, Fallon, NV 89407, USA
HDW: John, thank you so
much for this wonderful interview! We invite all interested readers
to log on to the TIGER TOUCH website, located at: http://www.tigertouch.org.
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