Mark Thaler stands in front of the tiger habitat at Black Pine Animal Sanctuary in Albion. Thaler, who has had a lifelong interest in big cats, began volunteering at Black Pine 16 years ago. CHAD KLINE
Posted: Sunday, February 16, 2014
ALBION — Mark Thaler has loved big cats — tigers, lions and the like — since he was a child, but put that interest on hold when his career took him in other directions. Then a business venture brought him to northeast Indiana from Colorado in 1993, and he discovered Black Pine Animal Sanctuary. “I was working in Fort Wayne, and I heard about this place and decided to come up and have a visit and was able to get close to the big cats and meet the big cats,” said Thaler, a volunteer at Black Pine for 16 years. “They needed help, and I was able to pursue that dream of working with the big cats.”
Eventually his partners in the venture moved back, but Thaler stayed behind, moving to Albion in 1998. “I likely would have moved back to Colorado had I not learned about Black Pine,” Thaler said.
Thaler serves Black Pine as a senior keeper and is vice president of its board of directors. He spends at least 10 to 15 hours per week volunteering.
He works part-time for a communications company and also has his own business, giving him flexibility with his schedule. “Whenever I have extra time, I can make that available for the park,” he said.
Thaler provides routine care for the animals such as cleaning and feeding, and he helps build and repair the habitats at Black Pine. He also participates in many animal rescues and, as a senior keeper, is one of the first to respond in an emergency.
All his training has come on the job, Thaler said. “There really isn’t a place where you can learn to work with the big cats like that,” he said. “It’s not really something that you can get in a classroom.”
Thaler realizes working with such animals carries risk. “You always have to re-check locks and doors. You always have to know where your hands are and be watching the cats at all times,” he said.
However, Thaler said he is able to develop bonds with the different cats. “Each one has their own personality, just like a house cat. Some like to be talked to, and they’ll come up to the fence and rub and chuff,” he said. “Some of them like to play, and the tigers of course like water, so we have pools for them. We’ll even put bubble bath in there once in a while in the summertime, and they’ll play around in the suds. “We have two leopards here that I helped raise since they were young cubs, and so I’ve been able to watch them grow to nearly 12 years of age.”
He also is rewarded with the satisfaction of helping the animals at Black Pine. “They didn’t choose to be born into captivity, and many of them are severely abused animals that we rescue,” he said. “It’s really a labor of love and the satisfaction of giving these animals a better life.”
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