US Airways - July 2013 - (Page 115)
Call of the Wild
Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge
gives exotic cats a permanent home. By Nancy Oakley
T
anya Smith recalls
growing up with lions
in the backyard. Her
parents raised the two
big cats, Sheila and
Burn, during her childhood in Texas
and later Hope, Arkansas. When, in
1991, a woman showed up at their
door with 42 more, the Jacksons
immediately understood their life’s
mission: to provide a permanent
sanctuary for the neglected animals.
“We felt they were heaven-sent,”
Smith says. “To euthanize them was
just wrong.” An acquaintance offered
temporary shelter on a tract of land
near Eureka Springs, and by 1992,
Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge
was born.
Twenty-one years and 450 acres
later, with Smith as president, it’s one
of the largest refuges of its kind in the
U.S. and ranks among the state’s top
10 attractions. Pretty impressive for
a nonprofit that relies on private
funding.
Its residents — more than 130
exotic felines, primarily lions, tigers,
cougars, leopards, and bobcats — live
out their lives in wide-open natural
habitats. The 35,000 annual visitors
can stay in a safari-style lodge or in RV
campsites and enjoy daily walking and
trolley tours, feedings, and an outdoor
stage for special events. The big draws,
says Smith, are the “oddities — ligers
and white tigers. And hearing the lions
that roar in the night.”
Graduate interns are key to running
Turpentine Creek. Since 1997, about
350 of them have trained at the refuge,
and many have forged careers as veteri-
narians or zoologists, a source of great
satisfaction for Smith. “Not only are we
saving the animals,” she says, “we’re
educating people along the way.”
Graduate interns
(above) — mostly
biologists and
zoologists — are key
to running the refuge,
home to tigers and
other big cats.
phoToS courTeSy of TurpeNTiNe creek wilDlife refuge
TuRPENTINE CREEK
WIlDlIFE REFuGE
239 Turpentine
Creek Lane
Eureka Springs, AR
479.253.5841
turpentinecreek.org
facebook.com/
turpentinecreek
wildliferefuge
usairwaysmag.com
july 2013
115
http://www.turpentinecreek.org
http://www.facebook.com/turpentinecreekwildliferefuge
http://www.usairwaysmag.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of US Airways - July 2013
US Airways - July 2013
Table of Contents
CEO Letter
From the Editor
Did You Know?
Making It Happen
Hot Spots: Family-Friendly Vacations
Wine & Dine: The Other Portland
Great Tastes: Benjamin Steakhouse
Wine & Dine: A Crafty Measure
Diversions: Fresh as You Please
Great Tastes: Savor
Great Escapes: Now Resorts & Spas
Adventure: Climbing Mt. Rainier
Travel Feature: Grand Cayman, the Epicure's Island
US Airways: Top Dogs
Special Section: Northwest Arkansas
Golf: Primland, a Course Apart
Special Section: North Carolina High Country
Puzzles
Readers Resource Index
Your US Airways Guide
Video Entertainment
Audio Entertainment
U.S. and Caribbean Service Map
International Service Map
Airport Terminal Maps
US Airways Fleet/Customs & Immigration
Passenger Info/Contact US Airways
US Airways MarketPlace®
Window or Aisle?
US Airways - July 2013
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