seeing as they had no direct connection to the enclosure. The required the minor adjustment leopards being moved closer to the enclosure and erecting and using connecting tunnels, similar to those for the tigers and lions. This minor adjustment decreased the stress the black leopards went through when they had to be transported from their previous cages to the enclosure. The other aspect of BCR that is so well delivered by the volunteers that provide the educational tours is that of empathy. Not empathy for human to human, but for the cats. Understanding that BCR is providing a sanctuary that provides the cats as close to the environment that they were truly born to be in, as it can, evokes empathetic feelings in all cat lovers. To paraphrase Pink, is feeling with someone else, sensing what it would be “empathy like to be that person [in this case a big cat]” (Pink, 2005, p. 153). The educational mission of BCR is rich and should be explored more by the organization. Teaming up with the Hillsborough School is an excellent start. In 2009, about teachers “40 and administrators visited Big Cat Rescue to learn about the nonprofit organization’s mission and how donations from local schools could benefit” (Pastor, 2009). From this beginning, BCR continues to partner with the schools in providing workshops and other educational opportunities to teach and educate those about their mission and the cats. In my opinion, what BCR is lacking is more mainstream marketing. Unfortunately, there is a cost to advertizing in the papers, online, and on mainstream TV. Having been a life-long resident of Pinellas County, I had never heard of BCR until seven or eight years ago. And, since I consider myself pretty adept at local and current news & events, I think not knowing about BCR shows they could expand and enlarge their marketing for educational opportunities, volunteerism, internships, and visitors. Some further suggestions I would provide to them would be to seek out partnerships with St Petersburg College Veterinary Technology Program, University of Florida undergraduate Veterniary
seeing as they had no direct connection to the enclosure. The minor adjustment required the leopards being moved closer to the enclosure and erecting and using connecting tunnels, similar to those for the tigers and lions. This minor adjustment decreased the stress the black leopards went through when they had to be transported from their previous cages to the enclosure. The other aspect of BCR that is so well delivered by the volunteers that provide the educational tours is that of empathy. Not empathy for human to human, but for the cats. Understanding that BCR is providing a sanctuary that provides the cats as close to the environment that they were truly born to be in, as it can, evokes empathetic feelings in all cat lovers. To paraphrase Pink, “empathy is feeling with someone else, sensing what it would be like to be that person [in this case a big cat]” (Pink, 2005, p. 153). The educational mission of BCR is rich and should be explored more by the organization. Teaming up with the Hillsborough School is an excellent start. In 2009, about “40 teachers and administrators visited Big Cat Rescue to learn about the nonprofit organization’s mission and how donations from local schools could benefit” (Pastor, 2009). From this beginning, BCR continues to partner with the schools in providing workshops and other educational opportunities to teach and educate those about their mission and the cats. In my opinion, what BCR is lacking is more mainstream marketing. Unfortunately, there is a cost to advertizing in the papers, online, and on mainstream TV. Having been a life-long resident of Pinellas County, I had never heard of BCR until seven or eight years ago. And, since I consider myself pretty adept at local and current news & events, I think not knowing about BCR shows they could expand and enlarge their marketing for educational opportunities, volunteerism, internships, and visitors. Some further suggestions I would provide to them would be to seek out partnerships with St Petersburg College Veterinary Technology Program, University of Florida undergraduate Veterniary
ResearchProjectBigCatRescue.docx