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State Seizes Underweight Lion, 5 Tigers

By Anthony Allred / News Channel 8

This lion is one of five big cats taken to a shelter to recover from malnutrition.

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By JAN HOLLINGSWORTH and RAY REYES, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 10, 2007

SEMINOLE - Six malnourished big cats, once part of a downsized Citrus County attraction, were transported Friday night to a Pinellas County wildlife shelter in hopes of nursing the animals back to health.

"These cats haven't had anything to eat for a long time," said Vernon Yates, who operates Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation in Seminole. "They were on the road to dying."

State wildlife officials seized four rare female white tigers, one male orange tiger and one lioness that once were displayed at Wild Bill's Airboat Tours and Wildlife Park in Inverness, along the Withlacoochee River.

The seized cats were being kept on property at 6 N. Robin Hood Road owned by Susan MacKay, the widow of attraction owner Wild Bill MacKay, said Kenneth Holmes, investigator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The tigers and lioness each weigh less than 200 pounds, about half what a healthy member of their respective species should, said Steve DeLacure, an investigation supervisor with the wildlife commission.

"I'm surprised some of them are even standing," he said. "I think they're probably infested with parasites."

Susan MacKay was not at home when the cats were seized by the state.

The case will be referred to the state attorney's office. Holmes said Susan MacKay could be charged with failure to meet nutritional requirements for captive wildlife. The penalty for those charges carries a maximum $1,000 fine, a year in jail or a combination of both, DeLacure said.

MacKay could not be reached for comment late Friday.

Officials have been inspecting the cats' welfare for almost two years, Holmes said.

In August, state wildlife agents, who inspect and license facilities that harbor exotic animals, seized one sickly cat and issued a warning about the others, DeLacure said. On Friday, he and Holmes checked on the animals and found their conditions had declined significantly.

"They're almost to the point you could call them walking skeletons," said Yates, the wildlife rehabilitator. "They're tremendously underweight. It's disgusting."

Agents determined immediate action was needed to save the emaciated animals and DeLacure placed an urgent call to Yates, who will nurse the animals and board them until a court determines their fate, he said.

"They need a good worming and a lot of groceries," DeLacure said. "I think they can pull through."

Researcher Buddy Jaudon contributed to this report. Reporters Jan Hollingsworth and Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 865-4430.

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