Zoe

Zoe Snow Leopard

Female Snow Leopard

Born 1997 - Died 2003 

Zoe Snow Leopard

Tributes to Zoe Snow Leopard

Matt’s tattoo of Zoe Snow Leopard

“By their very nature, snow leopards are very shy animals.  But, for some reason, Zoe never tried to hide when I was near.  When I was approaching or sitting nearby at Scratch’s cage, she would always sit at the edge of her cage and stare at me.  To get me over by her, she would chuff at me.  When I would finally go over and see her, Zoe would just sit next to me at the edge of her cage.  Hercules, the male snow leopard in the adjoining cage, has always had a dislike for me, and Zoe's sister and cagemate, Cloe, was always indifferent to me.  But, for whatever reason, Zoe saw something in me that she liked.In August of 2003, Zoe did not come out at feeding.  I fed a few more cages, then went back to check on her.  I found her in her den box….that was the saddest moment of my life.After Zoe was gone, it was obvious Cloe missed her.  She kept looking for her sister, and life-long companion, but could not find her.  I would sit with Cloe, and this formerly standoff-ish cat soon bonded with me.  We helped each other deal with the loss of Zoe.  Now Cloe and I share a very close relationship.    It just goes to show that for every cat we lose, there is another that needs our love and attention”…….Matt, Senior Volunteer Keeper

Carole Baskin Dec. 19, 2016 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.

More Memorials at https://bigcatrescue.org/category/memorials/

Previous
Previous

Czar

Next
Next

Cat Tales 2003 December