Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge efforts have been recognized after successfully acheiving their mid-point goal of recovering 34 cats with a matching funds grant from the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

The new funding will be dedicated to building twenty new habitats and offsetting transportation costs to complete the rescue effort. Members of IFAW will be visiting TCWR soon to view the new enclosures and participate in future relocation operations.

TCWR and the Crawford County Sheriff's Office started the nation’s largest big cat rescue operation on November 1. To date, eighteen tigers and one cougar have been moved to TCWR. In addition to cash donations, TCWR also needs volunteers and in-kind contributions to finalize new habitat construction.

For full details and donation information, visit www.turpentinecreek.org.