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#updated it to reflect that
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To continue the theme of "wtaf is up with that sanctuary that feeds bears Twizzlers and camels Mountain Dew", here's another recent social media post I find rather concerning. Who the heck is giving cheetah - vulnerable animals with a very small population - to a sanctuary that is rabidly, openly anti-zoo and anti-conservation breeding?
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The reason this stands out to me so much is that there just like... are not cheetah in sanctuaries in the US. Most cheetah in the US are part of a breeding program, either AZA's SSP or ZAA's AMP - it's not common to find them in even unaccredited zoos, much less newly moved to sanctuaries. Of the 400-some cheetah I found doing the big cat census in 2020, there were less than 10 in facilities that branded themselves as sanctuaries. So where did these cats come from?
What's more, okay, there's no trace of these ladies on social media before now. The Wild Animal Sanctuary is normally very open about their acquisitions, and no facility they've gotten animals from since their last USDA inspection has had cheetah. I haven't heard about any imported cheetah recently either, which is another thing you can check for this facility, because the majority of their rescues are imported from all over the world.
There's another weird thing about this post, too. Look at the language. It's all very "here's a cheetah! they're very happy outdoors in their nice habitat." And if you're not facility with this institution and their messaging, you might not catch why that's odd. This facility emphasizes, in every post they can, that their animals are rescued from horrible no-good very-bad abusive situations. Normally they name and shame if they can, or talk about how they came from the cub petting industry or private exploitation or such. There's none of that in this post, and it stands out because of it - especially because it's the first time these very rare, very charismatic big cats are being shared with their audience.
So where the heck did these cats come from?
Whelp.
Turns out the answer is AZA-accredited zoos. And whew, man, does that raise some questions.
Luckily these girls have some pretty distinctive names, so I was able to find them in the international and regional cheetah studbooks pretty easily. For both cats, the most recent listing in the studbooks was at AZA-accredited zoos in Texas: in 2020 Dahlila was living at Caldwell Zoo, and in 2022 Jaina was at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center.
Now, we don't know for sure that Caldwell and Fossil Rim are the facilities that chose to dump their cheetah in a sanctuary. There's some important context to know about exotic animal ownership and how animals leave AZA SSPs. General practice is that large charismatic mammals aren't bought and sold at AZA zoos, especially SSP animals, so animals sent out to other facilities for breeding or exhibition are moved around on loan. Sometimes their ownership changes with the transfer, but not always - it really depends on the species and how much control each facility wants to have over their animals. On top of that, the ownership of offspring sometimes alternates by litter or individual between the institutions that own the parents. When they're part of a cooperative breeding program none of that matters very much because all the animals are managed as a single population and moved as required for breeding and to fill empty display spaces. Where it's relevant is when an animal is removed from the SSP population - at that point it's totally up to the facility that owns it to choose where they live, as long as they send them somewhere AZA agrees is providing a reasonable standard of care. (This will be important in a little bit.)
So what we can tell from this situation is that Jaina and Dahlila were, for some reason, probably excessioned from the SSP in the last couple years. And whichever AZA facilities owned them decided to send them to The Wild Animal Sanctuary instead of finding a display-only placement at a zoo or safari park or similar facility.
Since I started writing this post, TWAS confirmed the origin of these girls in a Facebook comment.
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I have real concerns about what appears to be an emerging trend of exotic animal exhibition facilities using sanctuaries as a "dumping ground" for their elderly or extra animals, in order to prioritize space for breeding or more desirable animals. I can't prove it yet, but there's been just enough weird transfers to have caught my attention. (In some cases, there's a good reason - sometimes all the habitats designed for the physical needs of elderly animals of a certain species already are full, and it's better for them to go somewhere they can exist more easily rather than trying to retrofit their current habitat - but it isn't every case). And here's the thing: many sanctuaries, like TWAS, message about how they have to exist to take all the discards from the zoo industry. In recent years that hasn't really been accurate, and historically, it did happen but not as commonly as it's portrayed. So... if that's true... and it's a bad thing... why are sanctuaries encouraging it by taking the animals zoos are transferring out to free up space? You'd think they'd want to say "find space in your own institutions and only call us if there's a crisis." (Money. The answer is money. Every new intake is used for marketing and drives additional donations.) Heck, why are zoos playing into that narrative, when they're frequently rebutting attacks claiming they discard the animals that aren't useful or aesthetic anymore?
All of this actually makes a lot of sense given how short on space all the AZA SSP programs are. Both in general, and for big cats, there are not enough spaces across accredited zoos to hold all the animals needed for sustainable populations. (This is why AZA just recently re-imagined their SSP programs, which is a whole other complicated mess that I am working on a writeup about). Recent political shifts within AZA corporate leadership have also discouraged collaborations between AZA-accredited zoos and non-AZA facilities, so while 20 years ago it would have been fine to move extraneous / non-breeding cats to smaller unaccredited facilities for display, that's less of an option. Which leaves sanctuaries as kind of the only politically appropriate option. This would also explain why the text of the post is so weird: there's probably a contract in place to prevent using their images to bash zoos.
The problem with sanctuaries as a solution for housing extra animals is, well, the quality of care they provide. If you haven't seen me say it before: sanctuaries are as varied in their expertise and function as zoos. In the case of The Wild Animal Sanctuary (and their other facilities, like the Refuge these cheetah are at) everything I have learned about them indicates that their animal care is highly questionable. Which is a problem, because - as mentioned earlier - AZA-accredited facilities are required to follow a responsible population management policy, which means ensuring that animals they send outside of AZA go somewhere that gives them high-quality care.
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TWAS is an organization that prefers to feed big cats at multiple facilities frozen meat puree "frisbees" by chucking them over the fence. They don't have any way to separate co-housed cats to prevent conflict during feeding or resource guarding, because they don't build their enclosures with any sort of shift or lock-out areas. It's also unclear how they remove food waste without a way to shift animals out to go find it. (For bears they drive in on a truck into the habitat and then go on foot to clean, but I don't know if that's done with the big cats once they’ve been released from quarantine pens.
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(These are my photos of food in carnivore habitats at TWAS this summer. Given the pest accumulation on the meat frisbee and the fact that I visited early in the day, it seems probable it was at least a day old.)
This is an organization that is ethically against training their animals for any reason: it's literally written into their statement of purpose as a “true sanctuary.” It's also described below, in a recent book published about the facility.
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That policy means these cheetahs will not have a recall behavior, will not be trained for medical examinations or as a way to lower stress for procedures, and will not get the mental enrichment and interaction they're used to from regular training sessions. According to the book, medications are delivered on a long spoon / tongs tucked inside the cat equivalent of a pill pocket. (Which anyone with a pet cat knows falls apart as a plan if they're sick enough to not feel hungry).
I'm pretty sure there's no heated shelter for the large carnivores or bears at TWAS. The main shelter for animals at the Sanctuary is single-entrance concrete culverts buried underground far enough they're supposed to maintain a constant temperature all winter.
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Sounds nice in theory, but with no second exit animals can get trapped down there, and there's no way to monitor them when they're inside. I don't know what type of shelter the Refuge provides, but it probably isn't much different. Even the quarantine spaces - smaller outdoor kennel-type pens with three exposed mesh panel walls - have no heat, and just an above-ground culvert block for them to curl up in. While cheetah are surprisingly adaptable to cold weather, winters in Colorado can be very harsh for prolonged periods of time.
As far as I know, most of the animals at facilities TWAS runs don't get regularly changed, novel enrichment. I've certainly never seen much in the habitats other than climbing structures when I've visited their main facility over the years, and most of their messaging around “toys” is semi-permanent furniture like giant telephone wire spools or a suspension bridge for climbing. I think some of the bears get balls? The messaging from TWAS is that their animal care is better because it's close to a natural life in the wild. Animals can be animals! When returned to their wild roots, animals shouldn't need anything from humans and are happier that way, etc.
When animals come to the Sanctuary (or the partner facility, the Refuge) they're literally chucked into a big fenced-off piece of land and left out there to "be cats" without human interaction except for feeding time and observations. Which is the polar opposite of what these cheetah are used to! AZA cheetahs, even those that aren't program animals, are intensely managed. They're used to regular human contact, frequent training, and constant enrichment. So what's "normal" for a wild cat is a far cry from what these cheetah girls have always known. That's not better - that's a loss of quality of life.
I don't understand how moving animals to places like TWAS is in line with AZA's Responsible Collection Management policy. I don't understand how AZA facilities think the type of husbandry the facility describes providing is acceptable. If another zoo utilized half the same care practices, they'd be drawn and quartered by their industry peers as well as by the public - and rightfully so. I don't understand why anyone wants to send animals there, based even just on what's easily observable. I don't have more information or really a conclusion, just that’s what's observable from an external vantage point is upsetting as heck and I worry for those cheetah girls.
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mjulmjul · 1 year
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Katya / Goncharov
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sofiaruelle · 2 months
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Guess what finally came in the mail!!!!! My copy of Seasons of the Valley fanzine and these gorgeous lil goodies!!!!!!
Thank you so so much, @seasonsofthevalley for having me as a guest artist!!!
Also big shout out to my fellow contributors and the amazing mod team!!!!
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wigglebox · 6 months
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Suptober [Extended] - Day 19 || Birthday 🥳
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sparring-spirals · 8 months
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im still thinking about that moment last episode where they're planning how to approach dancer and we got:
Ashton: "yeah we should go in with a ginger approach, make sure she doesn't run"
Imogen with complete sincerity, immediately: "so should i just go and calm her emotions right away?"
Ashton with zero judgement or concern: "that, or i was going to pin her down, but that's cool too."
and then when FCG naturally panics over why are we attacking dancer they both turn in sync to be like! No!!! not attacking. restraining. 👍 :) like what. you're both. mildly messed up on exactly the same wavelength here. i love them both so much. what do you mean overkill. this IS my ginger approach. I'm Doing The Job By Whatever Means Necessary Why Are You Yelling.
Something something two people who have spent their lives learning to suppress their flinch/doubt reflex when in a crisis. Out of a horrible necessity. Those two Problem Solving together with a casual sort of callousness. and looking at each other like 👍? 👍 meanwhile FCG is in the background going "wait we're talking about attacking her???" "no of COURSE not, just restraining!" god i adore them.
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popfizzles · 4 months
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Style Two Sketch Chibi for @de4d-sug4r 💗
×××
[Ko-Fi] || [Etsy] || [Commission Prices]
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gabrielferaud · 1 month
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the reveal
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techtow · 1 month
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Love is nothing ,Without action.
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lilaspose · 20 days
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Stephanivien: 😰
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airanke · 5 months
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This super tiny sprite turned out so nice!!! The saddest thing is that if you are primarily a mobile Tumblr user, you won't really ever see it on the blog itself - but I love it!!!
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refundtheticket · 6 months
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i decided it would be a good idea to do some minor differences to make my guys unique (so i can do art trades) lol so percy gets a cool scar, anny's face stickers are canon and baxto gets curly fur to reflect the irl dog he's based off of. hooray!!
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distortedmoondisc · 7 months
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Do you ever think about the parallels between Rinne and Aira
Not only they have a shared interest in protecting Hiiro and ensuring his well-being/growth as a person, (and it's extra interesting given how Aira sort of dislikes Rinne for how he dealt with Hiiro in general—by leaving him alone at their hometown and disowning him in the summer of the MDM—, so even though they have the same interests and goals regarding Hiiro, they aren't exactly friends nor like each other — though this is mostly from Aira's part, because Rinne does like Aira and even acknowledges him as someone important to Hiiro that he must keep in his life), but Aira kinda is what Rinne used to be, before his dreams of becoming an idol we're crushed by the new rules of ES.
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!! Main Story, Episode 171, "Revolution"
I've seen many people talk about how Rinne and Aira would get along because they're both idol otakus, but I believe that's a common misunderstanding of Rinne's character, because Rinne isn't an idol otaku (at least not anymore). He doesn't like the current idol system and the way Ensemble Square is running the industry. That's why he tried to change it by force in the !! Main Story by acting out. This is different from Aira, who loves the idols born from this system, and is a participant in the ES system that is going to hurt the industry in the long run (because ES is mass producing idols like a factory, stripping them from their own individuality and what makes idols especial in the first place — which is why Aira likes idols to begin with! Because they're different from ordinary people!)
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!! Main Story, episode 220, "Despair"
Aira is aware that the idol industry isn't perfect, in episode 171 he even acknowledges that the mass production of idols similar to items of consumption made in a factory is wrong and it strips idols from their beauty and value, but he doesn't have the insight and first hand experience with heartbreak as Rinne had, so he doesn't have the motivation to protest or change the way ES is running the industry. They both love idols and dreamed of becoming one, but Rinne isn't an idol otaku, because he can't be a fan of idols mass produced by the current system.
What Rinne does instead, is support underground idols that would otherwise be trampled or forced to disappear by ES because they don't fit their sets of standards (and because ES has monopoly in the idol industry, they can easily do this without much repercussions or public outcry) and gives them his protection. This is explained throughout the course of the story of Night Club.
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Nigh Club, Epilogue 2
Aira tries to impersonate an ideal idol persona, as the ones he watched when he was younger. He wants to embody a model idol and inspire others as idols inspired him in the past. Rinne used to be similar, but ES arbitrarily destroyed his solo career making him lose that dream, and that's why he embodies the wild and rebellious persona he portrays on stage, which is a complete opposite to how a traditional idol should act (and this is a constant point of conflict between him and other idols, such as Himeru; Himeru tends to scold Rinne for being so wild and doing whatever he wants because it goes against what is expected of an idol, but in Night Club he comes to understand that this is Rinne's soft way to protest against ES, despite having lost to them in the first part of the !! Main Story).
(Sometimes, I wonder if Rinne is happy being the wild and playful self he is with Crazy:B, or if he would prefer to be on stage as an ideal idol like he used to do years ago....)
However, despite their differences and the dislike/intimidation Aira might feel towards Rinne, he admits he understands his feelings and where he comes from, and that he can't help but to relate to him due to the fact that they both love idols. Aira scolds Rinne in episode 220 "Despair" to make him stop his pity party, but later in episode 224 "Flutter" he comforts and encourages him instead—telling him that he should not give up being an idol, because he recognizes that Rinne loves idols as much as he does, and that he still has a reason to live because he has fans of himself and of Crazy:B waiting for him among the crowd, meaning that he is still loved and accepted by someone, despite all the wreckage he had caused.
(And if I'm allowed to get personal for a moment, I just need to make emphasis in how important Aira is to the development of the Amagi brothers in the last arc of the !! main story, and this scene is a perfect example of that. Aira is the one who encourages Rinne to join the others on stage and sing, and after that it is Hiiro that pushes Rinne to give that step which finally leads them to perform on stage together 🥹)
So as we can see, Rinne and Aira have a lot of similarities, but they act in completely different ways due to their circumstances. They have similar backgrounds as idol lovers but they have different views and feelings about the industry and the profession, (however, they seem to share the same ideals as to what an idol should be, and love the same type of ideal idol inside their hearts). Adding to that their shared most beloved person, Hiiro, and how the two of them want what's best for him but they have a point of contention due to Rinne's bad actions in the !! Main Story, and their relationship becomes x10 more interesting, and I wish we talked about it more!
And we know Happyele hasn't forgotten about them, because Aira appeared in Rinne's recent relationship chart, just below Hiiro.
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(also, a little unrelated, bu i think it's funny that despite having a heart to heart at the ending of the main story, their relationship is still "want to tease him" and "he's a little scary" ahdks Aira, who scolded Rinne in front of hundreds of people in the MDM, regressed to feeling intimidated and troubled by him. A couple of friends commented that it was probably because Aira had a burst of courage in the MDM because of the severity of the situation, so he had the determination to call out Rinne, a senior that he particularly feels intimidated by, publicly without second thought. It is canon that after the fact, Aira admitted that looking back on the MDM he felt embarrassed for doing such a bold thing. Idk, it's just something i find very interesting and fun about their dynamic www)
So this leads me to believe that they haven't forgotten about the history these two had in the main story, and all I can do is just wait for them to expand on their relationship and dynamic more eventually in some future event.
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absolasks · 8 months
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... It was strange how something so small could leave them so shaken up. Stupid, really - it was just a lost skitty, but their voice - it was hearing another voice for the first time. A real voice. Not one filtered through a screen or the crackle of vinyl static. Though quiet it rang in their ears like a gunshot, breaking the silence they'd grown so accustomed to. It was a viscerally unpleasant thing to experience.
Their own voice was soft as they spoke. No need to be loud in a place as quiet as this.
"I can't offer you much help, I'm afraid. Retracing your steps may be a good place to start? Though, it may also leave you even more lost than before… My apologies, all I can promise is that staying here will not do you any favours."
A dull ache in their horn told them someone else was approaching.
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[@ivywing, @ask-the-shiny-pokemons]
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the-last-teabender · 1 month
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Heeeeey so
For those who didn't hear
I'm now an editor for The Black Archive.
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phnmnt · 2 years
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Shen Yuan shixiong AU - Part 17
A few months later...
After arguing with the Sect Leader a dozen times over trivial things, Shen Qingqiu secludes himself in his bamboo house, refusing to allow in anyone besides Mu Qingfang, Qi Qingqi and his head disciple, Shen Yuan. His master refusing to come out, Shen Yuan takes over the Qing Jing peak teaching duties until further notice. Suddenly ten times busier than usual, Shen Yuan has next to no time to think about the main scenario of PIDW slowly unfolding. He wakes up everyday before sunrise, training with Ning Yingying by the pond and goes to sleep only after completing his reports. If it wasn’t for Luo Binghe helping him out with a few things, sleeping would’ve simply been impossible. But still… He’s so tired.
A few weeks pass this way and Shen Yuan’s dark circles deepen, worrying his shimeis and shidis. Then the inevitable happens: as he’s explaining Qi gathering to a group of younger disciples, his whole vision goes dark, his whole body shutting down out of pure exhaustion. Shen Yuan wakes up only the day after, Mu Qingfang sitting by his bed with a book open on his lap. Hearing him move, Mu Qingfang raises his head and smiles. “Yuan shizhi should take better care of himself.” Shen Yuan stays silent, his eyes stopping on the empty desk in the middle of the room. Mu Qingfang follows his gaze. “Don’t worry, your shizun requested to bring the remaining reports to him. A few of your shidis came by earlier to move them.” Shen Yuan finally feels his whole body relax. He lets out a sigh. “Thank you Mu shibo.” Mu Quingfang softly shakes his head. “I knew your shizun was throwing a tantrum. This shibo of yours apologizes for not intervening sooner.” He then makes sure Shen Yuan’s condition is stable before getting paper from his qiankun bag to write down a prescription.
As Mu Qingfang is busy getting the first dose ready, Luo Binghe barges in. The latter's eyes fill with tears upon seeing his shixiong’s exhausted face. He quickly greets his shibo with a polite bow then kneels by his shixiong’s bed with trembling lips. “Shixiong, I-” “I’m sorry I worried you, Binghe.” This effectively shuts Luo Binghe up. Shen Yuan knew this boy’s nature and refused to make him feel guilty because he himself didn’t speak up to their shizun when he should have. Luo Binghe’s expression turns complicated for a moment. Before he’s able to open his mouth once more, Mu Qingfang stands up from the small desk and tells Shen Yuan to drink his medicine.
The small bowl is still in Mu Qingfang’s hands when they hear a scream.
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 8.5 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16
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