Takoma was purchased for $150 along with Divinity from an individual named Carolyn Scholl. Carole's WOES Safari Guide tells us, "(His owner) had seen the "Big Cats As Companions" video and knew he would have a good home here, so she asked if we could buy  he and Divinity from her, which we gladly did." Carole says that Takoma was born 6-1-1995 and came with Divinity. The WOES Safari guide tells us that Divinity was raised for 3 weeks by the lady who originally bought both Takoma and Divinity, so if they came together they were both with this lady for 3 weeks. She then says Takoma arrived at BCR on 6-6-1996. How can Takoma be raised by someone else for 3 weeks and arrive at BCR at less than a week old? Is this just another lie? See Divinity.

In Carole's now version of Takoma's story she attempts to deceive her donors by omitting the name of the video she made promoting big cats as companions and then changes "could buy" to "could take". 

It is also interesting to note that her inventory says these two cats arrived on 7-6-95 while their bio reads 6-6-95. Can Carole be trusted to be truthful about anything?

There was more than one Takoma listed in Carole's USDA papers. One, formerly called Aztec, came from Grady McGee in 1994. This Takoma was probably the one bred to Pipsqueak to produce Lakota who was born 4-14-95.  Unless you believe that it is honest to buy cats from individuals and then change their story to make it appear that they were rescued, Takoma was not rescued, nor was Divinity. Since you do not rescue cats to breed them and make more cats, the other Takoma, Pipsqueak, and Lakota were also not rescued.

The Evolving Stories

Wildlife On Easy Street 1997

"a male Bobcat came to Easy Street in May 1995 with Divinity. He is without any doubt our prettiest Bobcat."

Wildlife On Easy Street 1999

"Date of Birth: 6/1/96

Takoma came to Easy Street in May 1995 with Divinity. His owner became ill and unable to care for him. She had seen the "Big Cats As Companions" video and knew that he would have a good home here, so she asked if we could buy he and Divinity from her, which we gladly did. He is without any doubt our prettiest Bobcat. He is so dramatically spotted that we have been asked if he is an Ocelot. He is also as lovable as he is gorgeous! He was neutered in 1998. It was a difficult decision to neuter this cat because of his magnificent heritage, but Bobcats are not endangered and there just aren’t enough good homes available for these cats to justify breeding them."

Big Cat Rescue (present)

"6/1/95 - 10/14/10
Arrived at Big Cat Rescue 6/6/95

This photo was taken when Takoma was just a "kitten" (maybe a year and a half old) and was in the tour waiting area, which was then referred to as "the back yard," thus the name, "back yard bobcats."  

Takoma came to Big Cat Rescue in May 1995 with Divinity. His owner became ill and unable to care for him. She had seen our video and knew that he would have a good home here, so she asked if we could take he and Divinity from her, which we did. He is without any doubt our prettiest Bobcat. He is so dramatically spotted that we have been asked if he is an Ocelot. He is also as lovable as he is gorgeous! He was neutered in 1998. Bobcats are not endangered and there just aren’t enough good homes available for these cats to justify breeding them.

Most of our bobcats were rescues from fur farms.  The deal our Co-Founder made with the three fur farms we discovered in the U.S. was that he would pay top dollar for every cat and kitten they had as long as the fur farmer would agree to never buy and breed cats again for slaughter.  It came at a time that the public outcry was against the fur industry.  Many of these animals were purchased at auctions where the uncaring owners were dumping the cats with no concern about their welfare.  

There is much controversy over whether we did the right thing by paying the ransom for these cats.  We still accept many unwanted cats each year, but do not pay for them and typically require that their owner surrender their license, in an attempt to keep people from just trading in their cats each year for a newer, cuter model.  We have to turn away more than 100 cats each year due to a lack of space and funds and the lack of regulation of the exotic pet trade. Read more about our Evolution of Thought HERE"