Dr. Lamar Hunter has just joined the Carolina Tiger Rescue team as a wildlife veterinarian. After he graduated from NC State’s vet school, Dr. Hunter studied under Dr. Angela Lassiter at Carolina Tiger Rescue. He helps with physicals, medical procedures, and loves seeing the animals improve under the care of the awesome vets at the rescue. Dr. Hunter enjoys working with all the animals at Carolina Tiger Rescue, but his favorite is the lions.
Dr. Hunter’s Blog 3/30/20
Mama Serval has been cleared from quarantine and moved to an outdoor enclosure! When animals first come to Carolina Tiger Rescue, they must spend at least their first 30 days in quarantine. Quarantine is important for many reasons. It gives keepers and the veterinarian a chance to ensure that the animal is healthy and does not have any illnesses that our other animals can pick up. If he or she is sick, we can treat them in quarantine and prevent the illness from spreading. Each animal in quarantine receives a physical from the veterinarian which allows us to get a baseline on their health. During the animal’s time in quarantine, keepers also get an idea of what their personality is. Some animals show their personalities immediately and others need a little bit of time to adjust. Their time in quarantine allows them to settle into sanctuary life a little bit before they continue adjusting in their outdoor enclosure.
Mama Serval became more comfortable with the keepers while in quarantine. She even approached the fence to take food off of treat sticks! Mama passed quarantine and was released into her outdoor enclosure yesterday morning! Zoey Serval moved into an enclosure next to Beau Cougar, and Mama moved into Zoey’s former enclosure. This space is across from Carolina, Caprichio, and India Tiger’s enclosure and just down the path from food prep. Mama cautiously emerged from her transport crate but was soon exploring her new space and climbing on her platforms! I am so happy to see Mama enjoy a sunny enclosure in the great outdoors, a much better home for a wild cat than a New York apartment. To read about Mama’s journey to Carolina Tiger Rescue, read Keeper Stripes’ previous blog post. Well, that’s all for now. Have a paw-sitively great day!