Cloe
Cloe Snow Leopard
Female Snow Leopard
Born 5/11/97 - Died 3/8/2011
Cloe is an interesting combination: a very shy, but curious, snow leopard. She spends most of her days inside her air-conditioned den. However, even on hot days, she can be coaxed out for a tour by her favorite keepers as long as the guests keep quiet.
When she comes out, she keeps her eyes focused on the keeper and blocks out the tour guests. While not shameless for attention like her cougar neighbors, she seems to crave it nonetheless. At dinnertime she comes over and is more interested in "chuffing" at her feeder than in the food itself. In the evenings, both Cloe and Hercules will be outside. While her neighbor is much more showy and animated, she sits there majestically, unamused by his buffoonery.
Snow Leopards are extremely endangered. It’s estimated there are only 4,000 – 7,000 left in the wild. In spite of their threatened status, an individual was able to purchase Cloe as a birthday gift for his wife. Cloe is just one example of the trade in exotic animals, a practice so rampant some experts say it rivals the illegal drug trade. Today, Chloe lives at Big Cat Rescue in a 1,200-square-foot habitat complete with air-conditioned den and rocky ledges. Although somewhat shy, when given ice cubes for enrichment, her curiosity takes over and she paws and plays in them like an overgrown kitten.
Tribute to Cloe the Snow Leopard
I shut off the Snow Leopard cave air conditioner for the last time tonight. Cloe the Snow Leopard had just left her exquisite body and was bound for that place where all good cats go when they die.As I walked to the office, the chorus of lions stopped me in my tracks to listen. An over-sized butterfly began circling me and then perched on a branch right above my head for a long moment before disappearing high into the boughs of the tree and darkening sky.I felt it was Cloe; happy to finally be free and wanted to share the moment with you. She kept circling before stopping to say, "Good-bye" and leaving.Thank you, everyone for giving her, and all of these cats the best lives possible.....Carole, Founder Big Cat Rescue
I cannot believe she is gone!!! I cleaned her enclosure yesterday and spent an extra long time with her. I sort of knew by the look in her eye. I told her it was OK to go and that we would always love her and never forget her, and she responded with the Elvis lip and the grunt that Herc would do to me all the time. Except Cloe never did that before. I guess that was her good-bye to me. Thank you to Gale for assigning me to clean leopards yesterday. Who knew it would be my last time with this be
autiful, majestic creature? Godspeed Cloe, I hope you are running with Herc and when you lay down, you wrap that gorgeous tail around your face to keep you warm...FOREVER LOVED AND ALWAYS MISSED....Regina, Volunteer Senior Keeper
Beautiful Cloe, now at rest. Thank you to all who took great care of her, and loved her so much....Pam, Volunteer Partner
Oh Cloe, was that talk with the "Lion Statue" a message to Hercules to tell him you were on your way??? That is what Hercules did the day before he died... he went to his "Lion Statue." This is again a very painful loss. Cloe was our beautiful "Princess." NOBODY will ever forget her and all her friends who are now enjoying her company. I wish I could visit their world and tell them all how much we miss them and love them!I know they all are resting in peace now with no more pain and FREE! R.I.P. Beautiful Cloe! Marie, Volunteer Senior Keeper
I guess maybe I didn’t see what most saw when they were with Cloe. Of course, she was beautiful and yes, she was intriguing. But, to me, she embodied everything wrong with wild animals in captivity. She always made me face the question, “why am I here?”More than any other cat, Cloe seemed discontent in a cage. I think she knew she was there because she was a prized possession, a rarity, an endangered species. With every glimpse of her, I couldn’t help but face the harsh truth that, with enough money or determination, man can imprison any form of wildlife. She was reclusive for a reason….she didn’t want to be in a cage.Cloe helped galvanize my determination to continue this fight. Sometimes, my eyes glaze over when I read the statistics of all the animals disappearing, all the animals being traded, all the animals being abused. But then, all I have to do is think of Cloe. Her spirit wills me to continue the fight.To her, I owe thanks for guiding me in this direction. To her, I wish boundless joy in her final freedom…..Julie, Senior Keeper
Chloe, so shy and secretive 5+ years ago when I first was able to meet and care for you. Over time and especially in this past year, I have come to know and love you for the amazing almost mystical creature you are. I am sorry that this relationship had to bloom due to the ever challenging meds delivery. I loved your sense of quiet humor,even when you were sick, and the funny antics we had to go through to beg, plead and cajole you into taking the medicines you needed. I will forever remember you lying flat on your back on your rocky outcropping with one paw on the wall and your tail hanging free and looking at me upside down! The pain is great now but you are FREE and joining Hercules and Zoe. You are now at peace, gorgeous one! It cannot be said enough, you will be dearly missed, but never forgotten! Lisa, Volunteer Senior Keeper
Cloe you will be forever missed. You were such a beautiful cat and I smiled every time I got to see you. I will always remember you. You and Hercules have fun roaming free....Teri, Volunteer Partner
You were the most majestic cat. It was always such a special treat when you graced one of my tours with your magical presence. You will always be loved and never be forgotten. Now you are free to scale the highest peaks of heaven with Hercules and Zoe, no more pain only freedom and joy! Kim D, Volunteer Keeper
Cloe, I didn't have the chance to know you for very long before you passed, but I consider myself extremely lucky and privileged to have known you, if only for that short spurt of time. You were always shy and elusive, but there were a few times when I was able to catch of glimpse of that gorgeous silver fur or the end of your perfectly groomed tail before slinking away into your den. There was one time, however, when I got a closer look at you and that beautiful, majestic face. I will always remember the skepticism (yet curiosity), in your large, gleaming eyes. That brief experience is definitely one of the highlights of my experience at BCR as an Intern. It was truly a pleasure to have met you and to see you climbing along the rocky part of your den.Thanks for everything! Chrissy, Intern
Chloe, I was lucky to catch occasional glimpses of you before you went to your private place. It was always like a present you gave me and I was honored that you gave me this gift.I will never forget your beautiful face and hope you are happier now that you are reunited with Hercules. You will be missed by all. Diana, Volunteer Partner
Cloe, Cloe; You chose to leave us as the weather warms and the trees come alive. Now you'll romp in "angels gardens" with Zoe, Herc, Shaq, Venus + Sultan. With your eyes full of life again, you're finally free again. We'll miss you...Rosie, Volunteer Senior Keeper
Cloe Snowy, what a valiant fighter you were. You were strong and survived your kidney stones and urinary tract infections. You suffered through meds being delivered in every meat imaginable, but you kept struggling, even when people around you knew it was time, you kept fighting.
I've had the pleasure of sharing some finer moments with you Cloe, like the time I was closing lockouts, and you hopped up on your rock so you could watch the approaching tour group arrive, only to hop down as they walked up and retreat into your cave. I thought to myself you were saying "Talk to the Tail"!
I had the pleasure, on a few occasions, of finding you sprawled atop your platform perch, although you looked most comfortable lying along the rock wall to your cave.
We were all worried when you left to go to the vet's office that day. We were all glad to see you come back that night, and I got to spend some time with you, trying to keep you awake, and encouraging you to sit up. I didn't want to leave you that night until I knew everything would be okay.I had been talking to my husband earlier that week about the Snow Leopard Trust (which we joined on a monthly donation basis last year in memory of Hercules after he passed). I mentioned it was March and I hadn't noticed the monthly withdrawals coming out and I wasn't sure if I would need to re-enroll for 2011 or if we automatically stayed enrolled. Well, the day after Cloe came back from the vet visit, I got home from work and in the mailbox was a letter from the Snow Leopard Trust (and my 2011 supporter sticker) thanking me for my continued support. I took that as a sign "everything was going to be okay" but later realized that was actually a sign from Hercules that he was calling Cloe back to him.Be free sweet Snowy. It was a pleasure to know you....Meredith, Volunteer Senior Keeper
12/19/2016 Carole Baskin writes: I became Hercules the Snow Leopard.
I’ve come to really look forward to Sundays now, as I take advantage of the time I used to spend at church in praying and meditation. Yesterday’s meditation took me to the peak of the Himalayan mountains where I became one with Hercules Snow Leopard.
At first I was cold, but then I became the blood that seeped through his veins. I could feel me, coursing through him, becoming “me” in the form of a snow leopard. As his blood, I could feel myself reaching every cell in him, first from the inside out and then in whole. Once we had completely merged, I could again feel the world around me.
I felt the snow crunch beneath my huge, fluffy, snowshoe-like paws. I could feel the wind on my nose and blinked against the sharp gusts. I felt warm all over though because my coat was perfectly designed for days like this, and it was a beautiful day too. I could see for miles and miles and miles. The bright blue sky had only wisps of clouds that looked like the feathers of a great swan.
I noticed Cloe and Zoe Snow Leopards walking with me. They were silently, breathtakingly, stunning. All I could do was stare. I could hear the hum of the Universe and it diverted my attention to gazing back out over the distant, snow covered mountains. I could see past them to the stars, the galaxies and the beautiful colors beyond.
From that space images of relatives past came to me.
First my father’s image (Vernon Stairs) appeared. Our ice blue eyes locked across the ether and I thought about how he had built Big Cat Rescue into a peaceful haven for these many displaced exotic cats. I thanked him for doing so with such precision, creativity and care, that millions of people around the world are daily awed by the beauty of the place and the wonderful homes we’ve been able to give the cats.
If not for his 20 years of toiling at his craft here, we would not be the example that others strive to achieve. We would not be able to first mesmerize and then educate those who see the cats in these natural looking enclosures. It is the perfect combination of the natural life they should have in the wild, and the sad fact that they are caged, that gets our message across so well.
I then saw Momma Jacquie (my mother’s mother Jacqueline Norris) and thought about how her shrewd, yet fair business practices were the example that made it possible for me to take on the challenge of caring for over 200 exotic cats over these past 24 years. If she had not been my example to mimic, of someone who was driven to create a financial empire, I would not have been able to carry the sanctuary for the first 11 years when it cost far more to run than was provided by donations.
I thanked her for showing me that hard work pays off. I thanked her for showing me that taking the high road always leads to better business. I promised her I was still working on being beautiful and elegant like she was. She wanted me to grow up to be a movie star, like the ones she grew up with; Carole Lombard, Lucile Ball, Mae West. I wonder if she’s happy with my silver screen being Facebook?
Then I saw my maternal grandfather, BigDaddy (Floyd Norris) and thanked him for showing me how to love even the most unlovable. I acknowledged his great patience and quiet demeanor that conveyed nothing but absolute love.
Next I saw, in great contrast, my paternal grandfather, (Harold Stairs) who always seemed to hate my mother and I because of her religion. He didn’t seem to bear the same ill temper toward my brother, but maybe he held out hopes that Chuck would grow up to be like him. Thankfully, that didn’t happen, but there were still lessons taught by my German grandfather that were equally important.
Sometimes people teach best by their bad example. His example of being intolerant of those he considered inferior taught me to be tolerant. His example of being a bully to his wife, taught me to be respectful to my spouse, in contrast. He had a great love for animals, in his own strange way that has also helped me in the work I do now. He was a farmer who raised bees, rabbits and cows. My favorite memories of him was to watch him milk the cows and shoot the milk across the barn to the waiting mouths of his dozens of barn cats. They would leap up and catch the stream, never missing a drop.
Despite being poor, I’d watch him cut open a twenty pound bag of Purina cat chow and pour it out into garbage can lids, turned upside down, to feed his many strays. I remember the last of those cats, an old deaf, white cat named Monk, who seemed to be his soulmate.
He raised rabbits for sale to the butcher and that’s where he and I had the most stress in our relationship, as I’d try to save them from being loaded into the van to go to market. He loved those rabbits. He devised clever penning and denning for them, to give them comfort, and would handle them all like they were his precious pets…and then send them to market. I didn’t understand how he could do that, and still don’t, but it helped me to understand that there are a lot of people like that.
They claim to love animals, but they eat them. They claim to love animals so much that they want to farm them; yet they are raising them to be killed. They claim to love their pets, but send them to the pound when they move, or get a job, or a mate or a baby.
It’s probably the genesis of my own peculiarity; which is a deep rooted feeling that there are cats and then there is cat food. None of that makes sense, but I thanked him for awakening in me the understanding that we are all flawed and that we are all here to help each other be better souls.
His wife, my paternal grandmother, (Sarah Stairs) was just plain crazy for most of my life, but she was French and had a great love of music. She was an opera singer who gave up her career to marry and become a mother of four. Perhaps she could hear that universal song that resonates throughout space and time. It was clear she could hear voices that no one else could. From the time I was about 11 - 15 we lived with her and then next door to her and my role was to keep her from wandering off.
My father put her to work in his furniture business so he could keep an eye on her. She gave away more money than he made, because she couldn’t make change and was easily fooled by unscrupulous customers, but it kept her busy, and happy and my father was okay with that. Despite the harsh treatment that she received from my grandfather’s words, and the way the public used her for their own gain, she was a happy soul and a great inspiration to be happy, no matter what your lot in life. I thanked her for that.
Of course, this whole time tears are streaming down my face, and I’m heaving great sobs of gratitude for those who were instrumental in shaping who I am, but more importantly for their part in creating what Big Cat Rescue is. It was healing to reconnect with them during this time of meditation. It gave me renewed strength to deal with the challenges ahead. It made me even more appreciative of the opportunity we have to make the world a more kind, loving and healthy place to live.
There are countless people still living who have been, and still are, critical to the success of Big Cat Rescue’s mission to end the trade in exotic cats as pets, props and parts. Maybe future meditations will allow us to meet on that windswept mountain top, and feel the connection over space and time, that reminds us we are all ONE.
