- including a 700lb Siberian tiger - and lets them cuddle in his bed
- Carl Bovard lives with 14 big cats including two lions, six tigers and a lynx
- He lets them all live in his Florida home before they go into outside enclosure
- The half-blind sanctuary owner has been bitten on the nose by a leopard
- He wrestles with the big cats and carries their meat straight to them
He has been bitten on the nose by a leopard and had his shoulder separated after wrestling with a full-grown Bengal tiger. But
Carl Bovard, who is blind in one eye, believes living with 14 big cats
including two lions, six tigers and a desert lynx, is a risk worth
taking to raise awareness about endangered species.
They
all spend time living in his Florida home before moving into the
outside enclosure and are seen clambering over the pool table and
cuddling up in his bed.
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Carl Bovard, who is blind in one eye,
believes living with 14 big cats including two lions, six tigers and a
desert lynx, is a risk worth taking
Playing pool with Tyson an eight-month-old African Caracal at his home in Melrose, Florida
After
an accident left him blind around 13 years ago, Mr Bovard realised the
main thing he missed was seeing animals – so when he regained sight in
one eye he adopted his first two tiger cubs.
The
43-year-old set up Single Vision – his educational, non-profit company –
nine years ago and welcomes tours to his house and 274-acre garden in
Melrose where his animals live with him.
'There
are many dangers that come with keeping these animals and you've just
got to take all the precautions you can to stay safe,' said Mr Bovard. 'There's no doubt about the fact that death would be the worst outcome from this. I know I'm dicing with death.
Mr Bovard set up Single Vision his
educational, non-profit company nine years ago and welcomes tours to
his house and garden where his wild animals live with him
Sanctuary owner knows he is dicing with death every time he cuddles Sampson a five-year-old Siberian tiger
He enjoys playing and wrestling with Sampson in his back yard, even though he weighs more than 700lbs
'Instinctively they just know to go straight for the vitals – when I'm with them I never give them a free shot at my neck.'
Mr
Bovard plays rough with the tigers, allowing them to recreate the
honing of the natural hunting talents they would develop in the wild –
but that does not come
without its drawbacks.
'I've
had a leopard bite me on the nose and I had to get that sewed back
together. I've also had my shoulder separated, he added. 'I
was playing with a few of the cats and another decided to join the fun.
He ran at me and they can get up to around 50 miles per hour in a
couple of strides – that hurt. But
when they're growing up they play really rough together in the wild.
It's how they hone their natural instincts – I can't deny them that.'
Every
Sunday, Mr Bovard treks to the local Walmart, where he picks up about
1,500lbs of meat for the week as his big cats can get through 200lbs in a
single sitting. This is around $400 for food per cat. He then stores the meat in six freezers in a shed by the alligator cage.
Every Sunday, Mr Bovard treks to the local Walmart, where he picks up about 1,500lbs of meat for the week
The big cat enthusiast with Mayham a three-year old Cougar, who lived in his home before moving to the outside enclosure
Playing 14-month-old lion Leo and 13-month-old Siberian tigress Summer in his backyard in Florida
His
biggest tiger is a Siberian named Samson – he weighs more than 700lbs
and is over nine and a half feet tall when he stands on his back legs. Despite the fact that Samson could tear him in two with one swipe of his massive paw Carl still carries his food right to him.
He added: 'Some people use a guillotine system to feed their tigers but I walk the food right in. I have a great relationship with the animals but it changes when I have food in my hands. They
become very territorial. I like to keep my distance from them – I don't
want to push it, they snarl and growl when you go anywhere near them
but that's their natural instincts.'
He
currently has two lions, two bobcats, three cougars, two Bengal tigers,
two Siberian tigers and an Asian black leopard in his backyard. The
future of his facility and others like it across the USA is being
challenged by a petition seeking a federal ban on licensees who allow
the public to have direct or physical contact with big cats.
Despite the fact that Samson could tear him in two with one swipe of his massive paw Carl still carries his food right to him
The future of his facility and others
like it across the USA is being challenged by a petition seeking a
federal ban on licensees who allow the public to have direct or physical
contact with big cats
Despite
the controversy that comes with keeping and breeding big cats in
captivity, Mr Bovard believes his organisation is helping tigers and
lions.
'Having these cats in captivity and being able to show them off gives people a chance to get a passion for them,' he said. It
is essential that we keep them in captivity to create that passion in
people and make them want to help these beautiful animals. People say to me – they belong in the wild but my question to them is – what wild? There are seven billion people on this planet and we are destroying the habitat of these animals. Pretty soon the only tigers left are going to be those in captivity and they may need to be used to repopulate the wild. I
do what I can to give these guys the best lives possible and I want to
work to ensure more tigers and lions in captivity are better treated.'
With Sita a six-year old Asian Black Leopard, one of the animals he believes his organisation is helping
The sanctuary owner lets the big cats live in his home, but says they will never be domesticated
He currently has two lions, two
bobcats, three cougars, two Bengal tigers, two Siberian tigers and an
Asian black leopard in his backyard
Before they go out into the enclosure in Carl's back garden all of his animals live in his modest Florida home. He
added: 'Your furniture pays the price as they're very destructive but
it's important that they are socialised before going into the yard.
'We've got to get them used to being around people and other animals so inside the home is the best place for them. But as much as they are socialised they are still wild animals with wild instincts – these big cats will never be domesticated. But
we have tigers and lions living together now – they would never
encounter each other in the wild and I don't think they would get along
if they did.'
The 43-year-old plays rough with the lions and tigers, including Nala a five-year-old lioness
Before they go out into the massive
enclosure in his back garden, all the animals live in his Florida home,
including Fury a three-year-old Cougar
Despite the controversy that comes
with keeping and breeding big cats in captivity Carl believes that his
organisation helps the animals
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