It’s been a little more than three weeks since I have started my internship here at Big Cat Rescue, which seems to be a good time for a bit of a reflection.

What stands out first and foremost for me is the love and dedication everyone here has for the animals! It’s all about caring for them, making sure that they have the best life possible in captivity and standing up for their rights. I jokingly call us “the servants” and it makes me laugh when I see Sabre lounging lazily on his platform while the interns scurry around, carrying buckets of dirt or fill the mud across his enclosure with mulch.

But it also scares me to know how loosely defined the rights for the big cats are, and how it is still legal to own an exotic cat in more than half of the US states.
So, here is a plea from me to my friends in the US. Can you please help by signing this petition and by spreading the word:
https://www.votervoice.net/BCR/Campaigns/30111/Respond

Thank you so much!!!
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Some of you might be curious about my day-to-day life here at BCR, it is very different from my life at home 🙂

Mornings:

• 6am / 7am – Get up and have a cup of instant coffee; sometimes bottle-feed the kittens
• 8am – Check in for work
• Cleaning cages of the smaller cats (bobcat, lynx, serval…)
• Short lunch break (usually a sandwich or wrap)

Afternoons:

• Carrying buckets of dirt and fill holes
• Clean up empty enclosures
• Weeding
• Mulching
• Backing up tours
• Prepare food for all cats (once a week)
• 6pm / 7pm – Go home

Evenings and nights:

• Bottle-feed the kittens (sometimes)
• Dinner (often soups or anything else that can be heated up quickly)
• Hang out with my roommates

Sometimes I also help with off-site events, which usually last all day. This is a very nice change from the regular work, since I get to wear nice clothes and makeup 😉 It also reminds me of fundraising events for Berkeley Humane, which makes me feel in my element.
On my days off, I love to wander the sanctuary and take pictures, to study for guiding tours or to just hang out at home and write blog posts. These are some of my favorite photos so far.