Predator Pets (2018) Season 1 Episode 3
Predator Pets (2018) Season 1 Episode 3
From conservationists and rescuers to an Australian snake man, this episode is packed with action! We meet Jill and her animal family at a sanctuary and home to a large variety of exotic animals. We meet Gary, a daring reptile owner who has a collection of venomous and non venomous snakes and we venture to The Cats Survival Trust, where we meet Dr. Terry Moore who cares for a number of wild cats.
#documentary #animals
From conservationists and rescuers to an Australian snake man, this episode is packed with action! We meet Jill and her animal family at a sanctuary and home to a large variety of exotic animals. We meet Gary, a daring reptile owner who has a collection of venomous and non venomous snakes and we venture to The Cats Survival Trust, where we meet Dr. Terry Moore who cares for a number of wild cats.
#documentary #animals
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00Humans have had a close relationship with animals for thousands of years.
00:26Scientists agree the domestic dog has been a trusted pet for around 15,000 years, and
00:31cats became part of the household from 10,000 years ago.
00:35And now it's estimated there are at least 600 million pet cats in the world.
00:41Exotic pets have also been kept for thousands of years.
00:46It's well documented that the Egyptians kept baboons as pets, and exotic animals kept in
00:51the home feature in many ancient texts.
00:55In modern times, the keeping of exotic pets has increased.
00:59A staggering statistic is that there are more tigers in the U.S. alone than there are in
01:04the wild.
01:09Animal owners truly believe they are playing a role in preserving the numbers of exotic
01:13animals.
01:14But on the other side of the debate, there are those who believe it is a cruel practice
01:19to keep any animals in captivity.
01:22This series explores the issues from both sides, from those who know the dangers, but
01:30see the benefits, to others who condemn the keeping of exotic pets.
01:35Their stories follow.
01:40In Abney Park Cemetery, North London, there is an unusual gravesite, a sleeping lion,
01:45a memorial to Frank C. Bostock.
01:48Frank was a showman who toured with exotic animals throughout Europe.
01:52In 1893, he moved to America and connected the masses with these amazing creatures.
01:59He is credited as being the first person to bring a pet lion to the U.S.
02:04Frank was known to have been mauled several times, which is thought to have contributed
02:08to his early death in 1912 at the age of 46.
02:13Was this where the owning of great cats as pets began in the U.S. and continues to this
02:18day?
02:19And as you can see here, this little pet squeaky lion makes a wonderful house pet.
02:25The danger factor is always there with these large feline pets, as this old clip shows.
02:31Watching it is a little unsettling, but it isn't enough to stop more and more people
02:36seeking the unusual as a pet.
02:39Animals are family, and it doesn't matter if it's a tiny little house cat or, you know,
02:46a lion or tiger or a bear, you have that connection with animals regardless of size.
02:58When I was young, I used to think I could save the world, and I was always dragging
03:03home misfits, and I worked at a veterinary clinic for a while, and don't put the dog
03:08to sleep.
03:09I'll find him a home.
03:13Jill Carnegie's passion to save animals has become her lifelong mission, but her focus
03:18is not just about rehoming the neighborhood dog.
03:22In the town of Sharon, Wisconsin, the Valley of the Kings Sanctuary is home to a large
03:26variety of exotic animals.
03:28Abused, abandoned, retired, and injured, these large pets aren't for the faint-hearted.
03:35And for Jill, having a rebellious streak has led her to this amazing work.
03:42When I was a child, I was always dragging things home and getting into trouble.
03:47My mother hates animals.
03:49She's 96 years old.
03:50She's still alive.
03:52And we had many, many discussions about animals, and I ended up getting married young when
03:58I was 17 to basically get out of the house.
04:02And I married a guy because he had a horse, which is really stupid.
04:08And then we ended up here.
04:10I divorced him in 96 and then remarried Jim, who loves animals as much as I do.
04:16We've been married 20 years now.
04:20Jill and Jim are dedicated to looking after the welfare of their animals.
04:28Sanctuaries are common in the U.S., so there's a need to rehome.
04:36In captivity, big cats have been known to attack humans with devastating results.
04:43This horrific scene is testament to what can go wrong.
04:47A man trying to feed a couple of circus animals finds out the hard way that a tiger is a predator
04:53and one that can strike at any time.
04:56The defense is a couple of wooden poles, but the man struggles to save his hand.
05:07For minor injuries to permanent disability and even death, it's never wise to assume
05:12a big cat is a tame animal, no matter where you might find it.
05:17In Jill's sanctuary, there's no crossing of the boundaries, even if one of the residents
05:22was once a family pet.
05:25This is Janie.
05:26She's grumpy.
05:27She hasn't been here very long.
05:36She's from a lady in Texas who has cancer, and she couldn't care for her.
05:42She was a pet, and she actually adored the lady.
05:46She's still adjusting.
05:47It'll take her time.
05:49The interesting thing is I can come out and she's fine with me.
05:53I can give her treats and talk to her, and she rolls over.
05:56I don't go in with her.
05:58I wouldn't trust her.
06:02She's actually a very sweet cat.
06:04She just doesn't like a lot of people.
06:07She feels threatened.
06:12She's got to adjust living with a few girls down here, which she's not crazy about.
06:17Eventually, she'll have a buddy, and we get a male lion in, and then we do vasectomies
06:24because we don't believe in breeding.
06:28Then she'll be happy.
06:29Howie.
06:30Hi, girl.
06:31This was someone's pet.
06:36They lived in Florida.
06:38She is about 17 years old, and she's been here ever since she's been about five.
06:45She lived in their house until she was about four or five years old, and she had to run
06:50to their backyard, and then they had to move, and no place would allow them to have their
06:56lion.
06:57Come on.
06:58Come on.
06:59There we go.
07:00What a good tiger.
07:01You're such a good tiger.
07:19He's one of the biggest tigers we have, but we have one that's even larger.
07:25He's 17, so he's not a youngster by any stretch.
07:29He's been here since he was four months old.
07:32He was somebody's pet in Big Bed, Wisconsin.
07:35They bought him illegally from a breeder in Arizona, and then they realized when he was
07:41about four months old that the furniture and the kids were not safe, and so they did the
07:46right thing and brought him out, and then they said, we will never get another exotic
07:50again, so thank God for that.
07:55Probably at least, I would put him 11, 1200 pounds easily.
08:01Yeah, he's massive.
08:04There is no doubt Kubla is one very large animal, and with that size comes a big appetite.
08:12Tigers rely primarily on sight and sound for hunting.
08:16They will see you long before you have any idea they've been sizing you up.
08:21A tiger can consume almost 100 pounds of meat at a time.
08:26Large prey are no barrier.
08:33Even if you've been working with your trained cats for decades, you can never trust a tiger.
08:43It only takes one shocking moment to change your life to near death, as this Spanish circus
08:55trainer found out during a performance.
09:03Kubla doesn't have to go on the prowl for anything but more affection, and with Jill
09:07around, that's a given.
09:09He's an absolute love bug.
09:10He doesn't have a mean bone in his body, but you always have to remember that they're
09:15trained and never tamed.
09:25They are who they are, and even a good one can cause serious harm, so you just don't
09:30want to, especially the older I get, I guess I get smarter too.
09:36Yeah, we always take tons and tons of precautions, and in 44 years, we've never had an injury,
09:42never had an escape, never had anything happen, knock on wood.
09:46And everything that's come in, as babies get huge like this, I think because we feed every
09:52day, we don't believe in fasting them, and they get an enormous amount of calcium and
09:57vitamins and absolutely everything that they need, where a lot of private people don't
10:03have a clue what the animals should get.
10:06We've gotten cougars in with rickets, others with broken bones, and just all kinds of horrible
10:13things.
10:14So a zoo will take ground meat, put it on a little platter, slide it under and take
10:19it away, so they don't have anything to chew on, and then maybe one day they'll give them
10:24bones, so they can chew on a bone.
10:27The zoo cats that we've gotten in have had slab fractures, really bad teeth that our
10:34vets have had to put back together again.
10:37These guys, the ones that have come in when they're young that we've raised, even when
10:42they're senior citizens and we knock them out, their teeth are absolutely pristine,
10:46because they get everything that they need, the hide, the bone, just everything, plus
10:52they get supplements.
10:55Jill feels right at home with these enormous cats.
10:58These are her adored pets, but when the need arose, she took a big step out of her comfort
11:03zone to start welcoming large Syrian grizzlies to the sanctuary.
11:09So gentle, yeah, which at first I was like grizzly bears, I don't think so, and when
11:15I saw them and how gentle they were, I'm like, okay, this could be doable.
11:24Jill's not at ease with these enormous bears, but is growing to like having them around.
11:30However, choosing to hang out with these massive predators inside the cage, knowing they're
11:36capable of suddenly turning on anyone, isn't a choice for most of us.
11:41Is this bravery or a death wish?
11:53Bears are aggressive.
11:54Camping in their territory is a risk to you and your property, and yet many people have
11:59these same bears living in their homes.
12:03Deaths from bear attacks are rare in the U.S.
12:05On average, three people per year are taken, which makes the odds of being killed very
12:10small.
12:11But does this risk increase with more exposure?
12:23While Jill devotes her life to caring for her pets, there also comes that heartbreaking
12:28time when you need to say goodbye.
12:31We hold the record for the oldest living felid in the world, and that was Sammy.
12:36He lived to be 36 years old, a purebred Sumatran tiger, and he was a little butterball the
12:42day we put him to sleep, sadly, but his hips gave out.
12:45So when the quality of life is gone, then it's time for them.
12:50We cremate all of our big cats and our other animals, that way no one can dig them up 100
12:56years from now and get them.
12:58I'm like King Tut with the grapes, so.
13:06This is Huggy.
13:07This is the one that I have to put to sleep, but it's really killing me.
13:13He's an old man, he's in multiple organ failure, but it's his time.
13:18He's 22 years old.
13:21It's heartbreaking, even though you know it's the right thing to do, you know.
13:26This time next week, he'll probably be passed on to Rainbow Bridge.
13:31Yeah, but I'm going to miss him.
13:35I will absolutely miss him terribly.
13:39It's really hard.
13:40I have a lot of favorites that are buried here.
13:43I had lost my son in 1998 in a car accident, and he's buried here, and this is where Jim
13:49and I will be buried as well, because we want to be with those we love.
13:53I don't want to be in a human cemetery, it just doesn't feel right.
13:57I love the elderly and I love the misfits, that's really where my heart is.
14:02And when a cat is old and senile, they forget they eat, so you feed them and ten minutes
14:08later they're like, hello, I didn't eat today, and you got to give them some more, and that
14:13goes on all day.
14:16Jill is a seasoned conservationist.
14:19Her motivation is about rescue.
14:23It's so amazing.
14:24When they're rescued, they're completely different than one you've raised as a kid.
14:29They are so grateful, and the exotics are exactly the same way, because we loaded these
14:34animals up and they know they're going to a better place instantly.
14:39This certainly is a better place with superior conditions than where these animals have come
14:43from.
14:45For Lena and her mate, Thena, their lives have improved remarkably.
14:50We have a little triple tiger here, this is one of my favorites, this is Lena.
14:55She came out of the same seizure as in Indiana, and the SWAT team was there, they had all
15:02their long guns, and it was pretty scary.
15:08Here she comes, here she comes.
15:10And as you can see, her knees are really bad.
15:14Hi.
15:15The way she walks.
15:16Hi little pumpkin.
15:17Hi.
15:18How are you?
15:21This cat and this other cat over here, they lived in circus roll crates.
15:27Six foot by four foot, maybe five foot, their entire lives.
15:32They were in a dark barn, no light.
15:35We had to use bolt cutters to open all the locks, because it had been ever since.
15:40They were just prisoners in those little areas.
15:44When Lena came, she would sit, and she could kind of paddle around like this on her feet,
15:49and then she'd do this, like stargazing.
15:52And now as you can see, she can run, and she can play, and our vet is amazed that she gets
15:58around as well as she did, because it was not expected at all.
16:04But she probably will never live to see old age, because of her handicap, but for the
16:10time that we have with her, we'll do anything and everything for her.
16:15But this owner that owned this cat, it was horrific.
16:19He was an older circus mentality kind of person, and then once a year he'd roll the wagons
16:26out for the neighborhood kids to see, and then roll them back into their dark barn.
16:32He would take a stick and just scoop the poop out, and all over the floor in there, it was
16:37awful.
16:39It's probably one of the worst seizures that we've ever been on.
16:43It was absolutely horrific.
16:47This is the other one that came with Lena, that lived in a circus roll crate.
16:53This is Dina.
16:54She was very young to begin with.
16:57When we got her, she was about 18 months old, so she wasn't left in that condition, like
17:03this one was for six years, to become neurotic.
17:07Most of the neurotic behavior is gone now, which is great.
17:11But she doesn't seem to have been scarred at all, as far as being abused like that.
17:18She's really got a cute personality.
17:20She's very outgoing.
17:21She does have broken teeth from grabbing the bars where she lived, and she was really thin
17:29when she came.
17:30He is so sweet, but even though he's got hybrid in him, you can't trust them.
17:36They have a switch, because they've got the wolf in them.
17:40But he's a very sweet boy.
17:42He loves his attention.
17:44He loves his cuddles.
17:46Yeah, you're a good boy.
17:49We lost his sister to cancer when she was three.
17:52Hi, Milo.
17:54I think he's eight or nine.
17:57And it's very interesting, because we have a couple volunteers that he hates, and he
18:03will actually charge the fence to eat them.
18:06Yes, it's amazing.
18:07I mean, like, he knows you guys are all animal people.
18:10What a good boy.
18:14Like many homes, there's often a need for renovations, and the Valley of the King Sanctuary
18:19is no different.
18:20Nestled on 10 acres of farmland, the sanctuary was established more than 30 years ago.
18:25And as more funding comes through, the better the conditions become for these majestic creatures.
18:32If every sanctuary in America did not have big cats and was empty, and they had a place
18:39to go, that would be my dream.
18:42I would tell you, if we could buy the property that's around us, I would give them, if we
18:49had the money, two, three, four, five acre pens.
18:52That would be the ultimate.
18:54It'd be awesome.
18:55The interesting thing is, is when they come from an area that they have a small pen, and
19:01you give them a larger pen, they're so happy and content with what they have because they've
19:06never had a large area.
19:08The one lion that was kept in a circus roll crate her entire life, we just moved her to
19:15the big area up in the compound, and she didn't know what to do.
19:21She would stay in the small area, and she would kind of look around.
19:25She wouldn't play with her toys.
19:26She wouldn't roar or vocalize.
19:29And it took her about two weeks to figure out, okay, so I can go over here, and oh my
19:34gosh, I can go over there too, and oh, there's a toy, and now she's playing and acting like
19:38a normal animal.
19:39So it's kind of like you have to get inside of their heads to kind of rearrange their
19:47thinking that, okay, it's okay to have that much room.
19:52Jill and her husband are very committed to ensuring their beautiful animals have a great
19:56second chance to a much improved life.
20:01You come to the point you can't save them all.
20:04It's not humanly possible.
20:06But if everybody took care of their own backyard and did what they could, that the world would
20:13truly be a better place.
20:15So everyone who comes through our gates, we make a lifetime commitment to, and they're
20:20here forever through thick and thin and illness and whatever.
20:25And I know that the time that we need to let them go, that they had a good life for
20:31the time that they had with us.
20:36Well, yeah, I get bitten every day.
20:37Well, probably not every day, but once a week.
20:39And that's because I breed pythons.
20:41I breed young snakes that are harmless.
20:45Pythons don't have any venom.
20:47Some snakes may be technically venomous, but not that bad.
20:51So I've had a few bites that I don't count.
20:54If you get to the point again, I've had four intensive care visits.
20:57So four times the word's been a bit touch and go.
21:00Every time it was something I did wrong, yes.
21:06And when you do something over and over, sometimes it's complacency sets in.
21:15Just how close would you get to a snake to feel the snake's body slithering against your
21:20skin?
21:21Even experienced snake handlers, like this one in Cyprus, who removed the snake from
21:26the neighbor's backyard, can run into a problem.
21:28Yes?
21:29Yes.
21:30It's spotty when you jump because you can't see anything.
21:37The adrenaline factor is huge, but the consequences can make for a very bad day.
21:42However, when you're performing for a crowd, it's all about the showmanship.
21:51This one here is a tiger snake and potentially very, very lethal if it bits you.
22:09Because this one's captive bred and it's useful to me and I'm never giving it any reason
22:16to bite me.
22:17Snakes aren't designed just to bite for no reason.
22:21If it did, it would be, yeah, a bad day.
22:24It's potentially one of the most lethal land snakes in the world.
22:32He won't just bite you.
22:33This is a misconception.
22:34He doesn't want to bite you to get away.
22:36So often you won't get a warning, you'll hear a rustle in the bush and that's him already
22:39getting away.
22:42Eighty percent of our hospitalized bites, people trying to catch and kill the snake.
22:46It's simple.
22:47People think they're dangerous because they've got to deal with this dangerous animal and
22:51they deal with it by getting a shovel, trying to kill it, and then they realize how quick
22:55and agile these animals are when it's too late.
22:59Australian Gary Davies has had a fascination with snakes since he was five years old.
23:04He knew he wanted to be a snake man.
23:07Over the years, he gathered a collection of the most venomous, including the tiger snake,
23:12king brown and death adder.
23:14Add to that a few different species of pythons and lizards, and you've got a rather uncommon
23:19assortment of pets.
23:21For Gary, this passion for reptiles has led to a career working with snakes and educating
23:26the public.
23:27But quite frankly, it seems Gary prefers snakes to humans.
23:32Well, honestly, what a man and his snake do in the privacy of their own snake shed is
23:38a different story.
23:40In public, I don't go handling snakes in order like this.
23:45It's just to show you that they are not, you know, red hot killers that are out to get
23:50us.
23:51Naturally, I'm not his prey.
23:53Tiger snakes are far from violent or aggressive animals.
23:56In fact, if you're going to learn snakes, tiger snakes and king browns are one of the
24:01most quietest, easily chilled snakes of the venomous snakes there are.
24:08If you're new to snakes, perhaps starting with a couple of Australia's most venomous
24:12isn't for the beginner.
24:13They may be laid back and chilled out, but you don't want to be surprising them.
24:19You keep within boundaries.
24:20I'm not doing anything to cause this snake to actually bite me.
24:24And he is close, getting close to full grown now.
24:28But it's not about size.
24:29Venom, it doesn't come down to size with venom.
24:31You know, you need a mil of venom.
24:34It doesn't matter how big the snake is.
24:37You know, it's not like, oh, he's too big to handle, no.
24:39That one there is, it's going to give you, you know, a bad day, as bad as anything on
24:44the planet can, as far as venom, you know.
24:47I don't recommend it as a pet.
24:48If you want to like snakes, there's a whole lot of less toxic snakes, you know, safer
24:53snakes to keep.
24:55But if tiger snakes are your thing and you've got to that stage, then, then great, you know,
25:01I'm all for it.
25:02But I just don't suggest it for someone thinking about a pet snake.
25:05No, don't think of a tiger snake.
25:07Don't think of a venomous snake.
25:09I think keeping venomous snake is something you evolve to and you get to, rather than
25:13trying to aspire to.
25:17If you're thinking a tiger snake might be off the pet list, after all, it is one of
25:22the top three most venomous land snakes in Australia, then you may be interested in the
25:26King Brown.
25:27It comes in much lower on the danger scale, at around number six.
25:32This is a King Brown, particularly huge for a King Brown.
25:38Might not be able to hold up, but it is a venomous snake that's very, very active.
25:43Yeah, he's going to be a lot more active.
25:45He wasn't captive bred, he was actually wild caught under licence, but he has got used
25:51to me and that I don't hurt him, so he's in the process of calming down very well.
25:56But it is a process thing where this one, I won't give the same sort of luxuries as
26:00I would that tiger snake.
26:01It's just understanding your own animal again.
26:05He can turn around and bite, but he's slowly learning since he's been caught that, oh well,
26:09this guy's not too bad.
26:12If you're a snake in captivity, you don't get to choose your owner, but Gary is a role
26:17model for responsible pet ownership.
26:21For one, he's a reptile feeder, so he'll feed on other snakes.
26:25He's pretty good at catching and killing, overpowering even death adders, other venomous
26:29snakes.
26:30I'd never keep him together with another snake, especially if he's hungry.
26:44Great tip for the uninitiated.
26:46It pays to do your research.
26:48Snake ownership is serious business.
26:50There's a lot to learn in order to stay safe.
26:54The king brown is the largest member of the black snake family, so he's not actually a
26:57brown snake.
26:58But because he's often brown in colour, they've called him the king brown.
27:02The other name is mulga snake, which is probably a better name.
27:06If you got bitten by this, you'd name black snake anti-venom, not brown snake.
27:11They're very widespread, so they're found right throughout the whole of Australia, except
27:16for the very southeast and the very southwest.
27:18Now, a big one of these can push three metres, and that's probably the kimberley forms.
27:23Ones in the kimberley are the biggest, and you grab one of them by the tail in the wild,
27:27and you know you've got a snake when he's three metres long.
27:30A snake that big, and with the name king brown, that's where he gets these reputation from
27:34them.
27:35Everything that happens, people talk about, oh, do you hear about the king brown?
27:37And these are stories that have been exaggerated because it sounds such an aggressive animal.
27:42Sounds so big.
27:43Yes, it's a perception of deadliness.
27:45It can be dangerous, but again, I think we carry the legends a lot more than the actual
27:52reality deserves.
27:55If they're not natural predators, they're going to bite out of fear.
27:58Now, you can break down that fear.
28:01They're not scared of you so much.
28:03There's no reason for them just to bite randomly.
28:06Fear is quite possibly the number one reason why you would be bitten.
28:11If you see a snake sliding through the bush or accidentally step on one, there's a really
28:15good chance you're going to panic and perhaps end up in the hospital.
28:20Even with all of Gary's experience, he's admitted to a few close calls.
28:25I've been handling venomous snakes for well over 25 years.
28:29Anytime you get bitten is because you've crossed a line, you've been complacent, and hopefully
28:36that brings you down to earth and you see your mistake, or else you're just going to
28:39make it again.
28:44There's always an adrenaline rush when, like you said, you know it can go wrong in a second.
28:51You've got to be dead if you don't get adrenaline out of that.
28:53Now, hold a tiger snake like this, I mean, you've got to be dead if you don't get some
28:56sort of adrenaline rush.
28:58But that's not the right reason to keep them, to keep them for the beauty of the animal.
29:03You're working with these animals, you've got to have the understanding there's certain
29:06lines you don't cross.
29:07You've got to respect that potential risk.
29:09There has to be a knowledge of it and an understanding that if I make a mistake here, this is going
29:14to end badly for me.
29:17There's a hot zone.
29:18So while you're in that hot zone, when you're in a hot zone, that's where the potential
29:22is, you stay out of that and you're quite, you know, he's not lurking, waiting for you.
29:26Well, not if you're a good keeper, if you lose them around the house and they're just
29:29lurking somewhere you don't know, but a good keeper with snakes, he's got an enclosure
29:32where he lives and, you know, you know when it's, you're in a dangerous position and that's
29:38when you've got to be switched on.
29:40Owning any pet that is considered a limb unusual often comes with risks, risks that can be
29:45fatal.
29:47But it can be an adventure for the seasoned unusual pet lover.
29:51You can potentially keep one as a pet, but you have to show the authorities, take the
29:56right steps before they deem that you're safe enough to keep one.
30:00I would never suggest anyone keeping king browns or tiger snakes unless they've kept
30:04snakes for a long time and they actually know quite a bit about venomous snakes.
30:08You can only really learn that by experience.
30:12But the adventure side is getting out there in the scrub and actually finding these animals
30:17and that's my passion, finding king browns in the field, in the wild and watching what
30:21they do and that's where our learning comes from, you know.
30:25So I guess that's my passion, but everyone's different.
30:27If you're convinced you're ready to proudly own a pet snake, then moving to a non-venomous
30:32variety is a great place to start, although they can still be a bit of a handful.
30:38Meet Bob.
30:39He's an older python.
30:40His name's Bob, but I've had him about 14 years from birth and he's been around people
30:45his whole life.
30:46He works with kids and in crowds and often if I'm standing close to someone who's holding
30:50him, he will come over to me and he doesn't love me, I have no doubt, he doesn't love
30:55me and has affection for me, but I'm a familiar scent to him, just like if he had a hollow
31:01log in the wild, it's a familiar place, it's a familiar scent.
31:06Bob is likely to reach a maximum length of four and a half to five meters, but all of
31:11pythons have been known to get up to six and a half meters or more.
31:15That's a lot of snake to keep your eye on.
31:17Me and Bob, often there's things that happen around my house that people would think strange.
31:22I'm making a sandwich with him around my neck, seems strange to some people, I guess, quite
31:27normal around my house.
31:28I guess sometimes people think of pets as something that you can cuddle and grab hold
31:35of.
31:36Now that's to me not necessarily true, you know, you don't have to pat an animal, you
31:40can still have a pet and just enjoy it for what it is.
31:44And I think that maybe that's a line that some people call something's a pet because
31:48they can cuddle it at night and give it a hug.
31:51Some animals don't necessarily want to be hugged, but does that make them not a pet?
31:56If you're looking after them, you keep an animal in captivity and you give it all its
31:59needs and you look after it and it's a healthy animal and you get enjoyment out of it, then
32:03to me that's a pet.
32:05You've got to have respect and they can be dangerous, but there's so many things in this
32:08world that can be dangerous, you know.
32:10Some people get married, god, now that's danger there, you know, each to their own really.
32:18Some people think that reptiles are easy, especially snakes, easy pets to keep and I
32:22don't like that attitude because you think you're going to get a pet because it's easy
32:25to keep, then that's probably the wrong reason to get them.
32:28They can be easy once you understand their needs, but sometimes their needs aren't as
32:32simple as people think.
32:33A lot of people think, oh, you just keep them warm.
32:37Keeping them warm, you can kill them by overheating them.
32:40I do what I love.
32:43Since I was five years old, I loved snakes, so if I could turn my life into a snake, that's
32:48what I did.
32:49But again, it comes down to some people keep it just for their own ego, especially when
32:54it comes down to, well, predator pets or things that are potentially dangerous.
32:58Often the person's keeping it just to say, look at me, you know, and I think that's the
33:02wrong sort of person.
33:03And often they're the ones that make mistakes.
33:06And in this game, the problem becomes ours because someone keeps things for a wrong reason.
33:11If they get bitten by a tiger snake, they make the news.
33:14And there's knee jerk reactions that come to the rest of the hobby.
33:18Everyone that keeps these animals has to get affected by the weakest few.
33:25So to me, I always believe that people, if they want to keep venomous snakes, particularly
33:30as long as they know what they're doing and they are doing it for the right reasons, not
33:36just to be tough or look at me, because that's just going to end wrong sooner or later.
33:51People see these cats on Disney films, you know, they all look all friendly and I want
33:56one of those.
33:58And what happens?
33:59I want one.
34:00And oh dear, it attacks me.
34:05It's destroyed my house.
34:08Oh, I don't want it anymore.
34:13That's the pet side.
34:14But then a number of these private breeders are doing the job properly.
34:18Dr. Terry Moore knows cats.
34:21In fact, he loves cats so much, he has devoted his life to ensuring the survival of a wide
34:26number of species.
34:28But don't be fooled by the fact that Terry is in the enclosure with this Temex Golden
34:34Cat.
34:35These cats are quick and can attack.
34:37However, in the right hands, they can be mostly controlled.
34:41And there's the African Golden Cat, which is much more orange.
34:49Keeping cats in captivity, there's the pluses and the minuses.
34:53If they're doing it properly, and there are a lot of private breeders in this country
34:56that we work with, a lot of the private breeders work with zoos and are providing livestock
35:02for show in zoos so that people can come along and just understand why we need to protect
35:08them.
35:09But then you've got to differentiate between the people who look after the animals properly
35:13and the ones who just want them for status.
35:15You know, I've got this cat.
35:17Having one as a pet, I'm sorry, this isn't going to work because very few of these cats
35:25are friendly enough to be classed as a pet.
35:34These cats are all in good hands at the Cat Survival Trust.
35:38While the trust is focused on long-term conservation of cats in the wild, this 12-acre property
35:44at Hertfordshire, England, is a haven for unwanted and surplus wild cats from zoos
35:50and other collections where cats have proven to be too much of a handful.
35:56When I was studying at London University back in the 60s, I was actually working part of
36:01the time for my uncle's firm in aviation insurance to pay my way, and one day I went into Harrods
36:09and there was a South American margay for sale for £300 and I thought about this.
36:15I thought, that's a nice cat and for the wrong reason, to have it as a pet.
36:22And I went away and got the money together and three weeks later went back to buy it,
36:27but unfortunately Lady Fisher of Kilverston Wildlife Park beat me to it.
36:32But between 66, which is when I saw this cat, and 75, I accumulated so many books about
36:39wild cats and realised that there were 37 species of cat, not just your lions and tigers,
36:45but such amazing cats as Pampas cat, and Andean mountain cat, and sand cat, and Irremote cat
36:54and so on, which I'd never heard of, I mean they weren't in the school curriculum.
36:59So I really got into this and felt, well, something ought to be done.
37:03And realised very quickly, after a few years, that sadly there wasn't a rescue operation
37:09in England to take surplus and unwanted cats.
37:12So a group of us got together and in 75 we formed the charity, basically to look after
37:18unwanted and confiscated cats from illegal collections.
37:22He's getting a bit heavy to hold and you've got to be careful when you're holding him,
37:29it's uncomfortable for him.
37:30The Eurasian lynx is an interesting one.
37:33The Scandinavian, there are about 2,000-3,000 left.
37:37The Central European are 2,000-3,000 and the Italian down to about 40,000.
37:44This is a Central European, so with 2,000-3,000 left is not good.
37:50He's only really friendly with four of us.
37:53We used to allow people in with him, but not anymore.
37:57He picks up on the slightest element of fear and gets quite aggressive.
38:13Working with these animals requires a lot of knowledge on what makes them tick.
38:17We wanted to study cats in the wild.
38:20We wanted to find some ways of perhaps preserving cats in the wild, keeping them safe in the
38:24wild.
38:25We wanted to provide an educational service.
38:29The first 30 years were pretty difficult, although in 1992 we did manage to buy 10,000
38:34acres of virgin forest in northeast Argentina with five species of cat living free in their
38:40own environment.
38:41In the future, we want to buy more natural habitat because keeping animals in their own
38:46environment is by far the most economic, most ethical way.
38:50And of course, to save cats, you've got to have that entire ecosystem intact.
38:56Any part of that food chain is out and the cats are going to die.
39:00There is no doubt the work that Terry and his team of volunteers do is vital to survival
39:05of many cat species.
39:08The jaguar is in danger, and the work at the Cat Survival Trust is about helping animals
39:14like Athena, affectionately known as Jags.
39:20But we all know looks can be deceiving.
39:24Jaguars are only found in South and Central America.
39:27They're quite different from the leopards.
39:30They're much bigger, much chunkier, and much more dangerous.
39:38They'll take crocodiles out of the rivers and just crunch them.
39:43Give her a whole deer, and there is nothing left.
39:46I mean, she will eat the skull, the hooves, absolutely everything.
39:50I go in with all the cats here with the exception of the jaguar and the amulet leopards because
39:55she was already an adult when she came.
39:58I didn't have the chance to build a relationship with her, and she wouldn't know her own strength.
40:05She'd want to play hard.
40:07The unpredictability of a pet in captivity is never something to be ignored.
40:13As with all the cats we keep here, she's probably the most dangerous.
40:25Cats are potentially dangerous and not ideal as pets in any way.
40:48Big cats have an enormous appeal as a pet, particularly when they're young.
40:54They are playful and often have many of the enduring characteristics of a domestic cat.
40:59However, when you think what a domestic cat can do to a small mouse, you'd have to be
41:04mindful that the time may come where you could end up being the big cat's human mouse to
41:09torment and tease until your last breath is taken.
41:14Perhaps these cats are far more spectacular in the wild than in your backyard, but for
41:20these cats to roam free, a lot of work needs to be done.
41:25Keeping cats in captivity is a sort of stopgap.
41:30Let's face it, most of the wild places where you find cats are being wiped out.
41:36There's just too many humans.
41:38We need oil.
41:39We need minerals.
41:40We need metals.
41:41We're destroying the habitat, and so every species is seeing falling numbers every year.
41:47The way it's going, we could lose every single species, not out of cats, but everything else.
41:54Research and breeding programs are vital to save these animals.
41:59Zoos have played a major part in education, allowing people to understand why animals
42:06are important.
42:07There are some very good zoos who do a lot of conservation work.
42:11You know, they breed certain species in captivity and then release them back into the wild.
42:16For the good zoos that have lots of information, lots of placards and posters all about why
42:24we have to save animals, that's great.
42:28But I think what we have to do is look really seriously at the zoos that are underfunded,
42:33that aren't looking after the animals properly, and they should be closed.
42:40So the question is, in the future, so many of these cats that have many subspecies, how
42:46relevant is it to say, right, let's save all of the different subspecies?
42:50The pumas, they're originally, they're thought to be 29 subspecies.
42:55So when you've got a species like the puma, what you find is that those that are living
43:00near the equator are much smaller.
43:03Those living away from the equator are much bigger and much chunkier, and their fur is
43:08much thicker.
43:09Sadly, because jaguar need much stronger enclosures, this is a much thicker wire than you would
43:16keep any of the other cats that we have in, zoos can't generally afford to build a huge
43:23enclosure like this with this extra cost added to the wire.
43:29She's now unfortunately too old to breed, and because the Jaguar Stud Book have said,
43:36if we breed a load, where are we going to put them?
43:38Because zoos can't afford to build this sort of enclosure anymore.
43:42So there is a restriction on breeding.
43:44Generally speaking, stud books are there to make sure that we don't get surpluses in official
43:50collections.
43:51And that's very sensible with the jaguar, because there's a fair number left in the
43:55wild, although as they destroy more and more forest, we're losing habitat at such an amazing
44:01rate, and ultimately some of the subspecies could disappear.
44:06Whether you're looking at these cats thinking, I want one as a lovable purring pet, or if
44:12you feel you should get on board to help save many species of big cats, it's clear the survival
44:18of these incredible animals is up to the human race.
44:21We've hunted to the point of extinction.
44:24We've destroyed habitats, but we can still make a difference.
44:28My number two is more than capable of taking over.
44:32We have a number of volunteers who potentially could take over in future times, and we're
44:37very lucky.
44:38We've had a lot of volunteers in the past who are emailing me quite frequently.
44:44Are we in a position to have them back?
44:47They don't need much money, they just need enough for food and clothing and bits and
44:51pieces.
44:52We're at a situation now where we know a number of our supporters have left quite
44:57substantial sums to the charity, not only to keep it going, but also to buy more natural
45:04habitat in countries around the world.
45:08So I feel pretty happy about the current situation with the Trust.
45:12We don't have any debt here.
45:14The property is effectively owned by the charity now.
45:18I don't have any fears in the future.
45:20Too many animal collections don't think ahead, and that is one problem with people who keep
45:25exotic cats as pets.
45:27What is going to happen when they die?
45:29What is going to happen when they can't look after them anymore?
45:32But with the huge number of people who keep private collections of all sorts of animals,
45:38they really need to think this through, because the only option is to put them down.
45:44And then what was the point of having them in the first place?
45:47People who keep these animals, a lot of them will have friends and relatives come and see
45:50the cats, will learn more about why the cat is endangered, and that will all help towards
45:58people in the future providing funding for new projects, particularly in the wild.
46:03And certainly we found by having cats here that when we bought our 10,000 acres of forest
46:08in Argentina, people were very happy to support it because they saw the cat and they saw why
46:15we wanted to save the cat in its own habitat.
46:45For more UN videos visit www.un.org