![]() ![]() Catherine Twiss was an infamous breeder and black-market dealer who was running from the law. What turned the tide was the appearance of a woman on their doorstep in 1991. They knew their backyard could offer only so much for exercise with the limited space and were speaking with a friend who owned property in Eureka Springs. A while after receiving Bum, they took in another lion, named Sheila.įor over ten years, the Jackson’s back yard in Hope, Arkansas was home to Bum and Sheila. The Jackson family built a large enclosure in their backyard and began care for the young lion. After a time, the gentleman realized he could not care for the animal as it needed and reached out to the Jacksons for help. This lion cub had been left as payment on a debt owed to a friend of the Jacksons. ![]() In 1978, Don Jackson, a former Dallas Zoo employee, along with his wife, Hilda and their daughter, Tanya, acquired a lion cub named Bum. I spoke with Cheryl King, the Promotions Coordinator at Turpentine Creek, who shared many eye-opening bits of information beginning with the history of how the refuge was founded. Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge is currently home to almost 100 exotic big (and a few small) cats that have been rescued from neglect and abuse from an industry prone to making that big buck via the exploitation of these magnificent creatures, as well as a few unrealistic “pet” situations. You can hear the roar of their residents up to five miles from the sanctuary. Oh my! Truly you don’t need to be startled like Dorothy and the other beloved characters in the Wizard of Oz, but it is true that there are many exotic big cats and bears in the area, specifically at a place that is located about seven miles south of Eureka Springs in the Heart of the Ozarks called Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (TCWR). The Ozark Mountains near Eureka Springs, Arkansas are full of lions, and tigers and bears. ![]()
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