News from Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge

Join our Facebook Page by becoming a Fan... Get photos and up to date information.   We have over 100 videos on our Youtube Channel. Click on the Youtube logo below to start watching them today! Click on logo above to get started.   We Need Your Help - Donate Today!   Cats of the Week - Carrie   Carrie arrived from a private owner in Brownsville, TN.  She had been owned by a 53 year old man who passed away from a heart attack.  His 21-year old daughter was left his estate, including care of the 4 year old caracal.  Since Carrie was very aggressive to the young woman, she contacted a local vet clinic which temporarily housed Carrie until a permanent home could be found.  At first the clinic had a hard time getting Carrie to eat, but after an adjustment period she started eating again. Carrie resting on her den. Carrie is a caracal. Here is some info on caracals. With recognizable black tufts above their ears and a beautiful reddish-brown coat, the caracal can be found throughout Africa. Their name comes from the Turkish word karakal, meaning "black-eared." Also called the Desert lynx, caracals are very similar to the true lynx. Caracals have long slender legs that are perfect for leaping and jumping. They have been known to jump up to 10 feet vertically to catch birds mid-air. Their eyes have a distinctive black line running down to their nose, and their chins and bellies are white. On average caracals weigh 35-40 pounds and stand 17 inches tall. It has been said that the Desert lynx is the fastest feline of this size. Caracals can be found in dry areas (hence the term desert lynx) all over Africa, the Middle East and Asia; however, the numbers have been dropping throughout Asia. Their habitats include: dry woodlands, acacia scrub, mountain areas, and savannahs. Largely nocturnal, the caracal hunts by night. Preying on mostly rodents, birds, dik-diks, fawns, and antelopes, the caracal will sometimes drag their prey into trees to avoid competition. They are very solitary animals, occasionally they will form small groups consisting of adults and young. Their estimated lifespan in the wild is 16-17 years.   Our Weekly Video - click below   Corvetta and Zora Move To Compound If you have been at the refuge in the last week or so you notice that we have two more servals in the compound. Zora and Corvetta lived in one the enclosures next to Hilda's house and our offices. They were rescued from MO after never producing any offspring. When we rescued them they didn't even have names; we were pleased when the Corvette club in Eureka Springs decided to sponsor them and then held a raffle for their names. We moved them in the compound between Bowden a male serval and Carrie a female caracal. Everyone seems to be intrigued by each other; Corvetta has taken notice of Bowden her male neighbor and Carrie has taken an interest in both of her new neighbors. The new area and increased amount of activity around them has made Zora and Corvetta a little more active and they are out of their den more often. We gave them a fire hose bench to relax on and they are quite frequently seen snuggling on the bench together. They have a red ball hanging in their cage and I haven't actually seen them hit it but I have seen the ball swinging suggesting someone was playing. Come out and see all the animals enjoying the nicer weather and just a reminder on Sunday, March 13th at 11 am we are letting Goober into his new larger enclosure with many new things to investigate, come and watch the fun!