Special Events at Safe Haven Rescue Zoo

Photo: Matthew B. Brown

BY KRISTEN KABRIN

Safe Haven Rescue Zoo is a wildlife sanctuary located in Imlay. We provide rehabilitative services and permanent placement for wildlife in need. We respond to assistance requests from state and federal agencies, law enforcement, veterinarians, and concerned citizens.

Many of our wild residents are former exotic pets. Several have come to Safe Haven as the result of major rescue efforts coordinated by agencies and sanctuaries nationwide.

Why do we put so much effort into our special events? While there are many reasons, we think Max, one of our rescued cougars, speaks volumes on the importance of bringing awareness to our organization.

Max’s Story:

The feel of the sun on my face, the earth beneath my paws, the tall grass swaying along my flank—these are the simple pleasures I never knew I was missing! The first ten years of my life were spent in a cramped and filthy 10 x 12 stall in a privately owned barn warehousing many other exotic cats just like me. For ten long years I could catch only a glimpse of the outside world, a hint of a fresh breeze, sometimes, through our single grimy window. Although a cougar can live twenty years or more, I had no expectation of that as I watched my fellow inmates languish and sometimes die. Dirty water, not enough food, no veterinary care, it took its toll on us. Sometimes we even lashed out at each other. If I stood on my hind legs to look out the window, I risked injury from my neighbor, a much larger and stronger African lion. Each lonely day passed like all the others—I paced my cramped quarters, I worried about my neighbors, I faced the high stall walls surrounding me and I wondered if there would be food today.

Photo: Matthew B. Brown

But I am one of the lucky ones, one of the survivors. Rescue came in time and now my life here at Safe Haven is beyond anything I could have imagined. I have room to run and play, to chase my own boomer ball at top speed, to pounce from hiding and scare my laughing caregivers, to dance through the grass and bask in the warmth of a sun so bright I have to squint my eyes. I have a healthy diet and endless fresh drinking water. I can rest well in the clean straw of my protected den – no more nightmares of the long arm of the lion next door reaching out towards me while I sleep! Oh, I still have lions for neighbors, but it is not at all the same. A safe and secure distance away, Kovu and Ifaw are interesting neighbors to watch and listen to. The sights and smells and sounds of Safe Haven, my new family of lions, tigers, servals, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, lynxes, and yes, even another cougar or two, are becoming comforting and familiar. We trade our stories quietly at night, a low trill exchanged between enclosures, a roar at past indignities, a growl at remembered hardship, the peaceful purr of thanks. We all remember and we are all grateful for a Safe Haven future full of joy and happiness.

Max was one of nine other cougars, nine African lions, and one tiger rescued from a Texas pole barn, discovered after the owner passed away from cancer. The cats were housed in 10 x 12 horse stalls with one single window—never going outside.  

Upcoming events that will help Max and his fellow Safe Haven residents:

Month of October
Location: Rapscallions Seafood House and Bar
Eat at Rapscallions during the month of October and mention Safe Haven when paying your bill. Twenty percent of the food portion of your tab will be donated to Safe Haven at the end of the month.

October 12, 2013
Tiger Dash!
Time 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Location: Safe Haven (Imlay, NV)
Activities: 5k race/walk, vendors, enrichment demonstrations, guided tours of facility, lunch, and silent auction
Cost: varies from $10-25 per person for race; Vendors-$50
Must complete registration form: www.safehavenwildlife.com

November 2, 2013
Open House
Time:  2:00-6:00 p.m.
Location: Safe Haven (Imlay, NV)
Activities:  guided tours, enrichment demonstrations, hors d'oeurves and beverages.
Cost: FREE

November 17, 2013
Full Moon Tour
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Safe Haven (Imlay, NV)
Activity: Tour of facility and enrichment demonstrations
Cost: $15 for adults, $5 for kids 12 and younger (Advanced registration is required)

Safe Haven is a Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) verified wildlife rescue sanctuary. GFAS collaborates with other US accredited animal rescue groups when a facility is shut down or in this case, animals discovered in need of immediate placement.  Safe Haven provides these "forever home" to abandoned and illegally owned exotics to allow them to finish their lives in dignity.

Contact:
E-mail: safehavenwildlife1@gmail.com
safehavenwildlife.com
Telephone: 775-538-7093

Reno Man Wins Nevada Magazine’s 2013 Photo Contest

Nevada residents sweep Grand Prize and 2nd through 4th Places.

"Light Glyphs," by Neil Lockhart

Neil Lockhart, owner of Neil Lockhart Photography based in Reno, is the Grand Prize winner of Nevada Magazine’s 36th annual Great Nevada Picture Hunt photo contest — the feature story in the publication’s September/October 2013 issue.

The winning image, titled “Light Glyphs," is an epic nighttime scene of Lagomarsino Canyon. One of the state’s most intriguing collections of petroglyphs, the site is located in the Lousetown area north of Virginia City. “The image was created by light-painting the rock formations with a large portable spotlight, as well as a small Mini Maglite for the glyphs themselves,” says Lockhart, who has a passion for night photography. He strategically included the Milky Way. “I can only imagine how bright the light of the stars must have been at the time the glyphs were created,” he adds.

In addition to the Grand Prize, there were 2nd Place, 3rd Place, and 4th Place winners in the magazine's 2013 photo contest. Carson City resident Jarrod Lopiccolo took 2nd with his stunning "Life Guard Off Duty" photo, taken at Sand Harbor on Lake Tahoe's northeastern shore. The 3rd Place photo, "Rhyolite Ghost Town" by Wayne Posner of Las Vegas, also landed on the cover of the current issue. Like Lockhart, Posner used a light-painting effect on the "Ghost Rider" sculpture at Rhyolite’s Goldwell Open Air Museum. Rhyolite is a ghost town in southwestern Nevada, not far from Beatty.

Reno resident Michael Lindberg took 4th Place with his photo of Sand Mountain Recreation Area, titled "Star Dust." The gigantic pile of sand, east of Fallon, is a popular ATV destination. “I went in February 2013 during a cold weekend in hopes of seeing zero motorized vehicles,” Lindberg says. “Unfortunately, there were still plenty of people, and I had to hike all over to find sand that had not been touched. Luckily my sweat and determination rewarded me with this scene.”

To view the winning images and Honorable Mentions, pick up the September/October 2013 issue at national bookstores and where magazines are sold in Nevada, or visit nevadamagazine.com. Look for information in a future 2014 issue covering submission rules for the 2014 photo contest, or check back regularly at nevadamagazine.com.

Also in the September/October 2013 issue

Photo by Wayne Posner

The current issue is also Nevada Magazine's first Sesquicentennial Special Edition. Nevada is celebrating its 150th birthday in 2014, so the magazine will honor the sesquicentennial over the next eight issues, through November/December 2014. Author and historian Ron Soodalter is writing a series of history stories that covers Nevada's past. Part I of Soodalter's two-part "Pre-Nevada" series covers the Indians, explorers, miners, and settlers who paved the way for Nevada's rise to statehood.

Also highlighted are a southwestern Nevada ghost-towns tour, spectacular fall images, more on the changing face of downtown Las Vegas, and a new tavern in Reno that pays homage to Nevada's birth year of 1864.

Historical Nevada Book Now Available

In honor of Nevada’s 150th birthday in 2014, Nevada Magazine is publishing a special book titled Historical Nevada: 150 Memorable Images in Celebration of the Silver State's Sesquicentennial. This 160-page publication is a great way for Nevadans and Nevada enthusiasts to celebrate the state's heritage. The cover shows the Virginia & Truckee Railroad as it was in 1876 Carson City.

The book also pays homage to Nevada Magazine's annual Nevada Historical Calendar, because the 150 images showcased are the most intriguing and memorable from 36 years of calendars (1978-2013). "We carefully scanned and edited the photos to preserve their original attributes," says Nevada Magazine Publisher Janet Geary. "We know you will enjoy this nine-decade journey through the different eras that shaped Nevada and helped create the state we know and love today."

From 1870s Virginia City to 1950s Las Vegas, Historical Nevada illustrates the Silver State's rise from a sparsely populated mining mecca into a world-renowned tourist destination. It also includes a Foreword by Richard Moreno, who was the Nevada Magazine publisher from 1992 to 2006. He has authored a number of Nevada history books, most recently A Short History of Carson City, and he is currently a professor at Western Illinois University.

Each book is $29.95 plus $6 shipping and handling. To order, visit nevadamagazine.com, or call 775-687-0610. Nevada state employees can get the Historical Nevada book for $25 by e-mailing carrie@nevadamagazine.com or calling 775-687-0610.

2014 Nevada Historical Calendar Now Available

The 2014 Nevada Historical Calendar, produced by Nevada Magazine, is now available for pre-order. For 36 years, Nevada residents and enthusiasts have enjoyed the award-winning wall calendar full of black-and-white photographs from years gone by. It also makes for a great holiday gift.

An 1876 scene of the Carson City Capitol is featured on the cover. The 2014 calendar features many more images from Nevada’s past, including a few from the early days of the Comstock, famous writer Mark Twain's cabin in Aurora, an 1860s photo of Austin, and an 1870s photo of Eureka. All of the inside calendar images are from Nevada's first decade of statehood.

Each calendar is $14 plus $4 shipping and handling. To order, visit nevadamagazine.com, or call 775-687-0610. Nevada state employees can get the 2014 Nevada Historical Calendar for $11 by e-mailing carrie@nevadamagazine.com or calling 775-687-0610.