In-Sync Exotics, Inc.

There are 7,000 tigers in America in private hands, many of them survivors of the cub-petting trade where a cub has value for perhaps 100 days — and is then dumped or sold to a roadside zoo where they languish in cramped and barren cages for the rest of their lives. Tigers in America is a non-profit dedicated to helping unwanted or abandoned tigers find life-time homes at the best big cat sanctuaries in the U.S.

In-Sync Exotics is one of the best of the best, especially known for their ability to restore the health of the most desperately ill or injured big cats who nobody wants or is able to feed. In-Sync Exotics is also recognized as an outstanding sanctuary by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS Verified) and the American Sanctuary Association (ASA Accredited). And when other sanctuaries need help, In-Sync Exotics is more than willing to transport needy animals to other excellent facilities in the sanctuary community. No fanfare, no fuss — In-Sync is there to help. Whether it is a tiger needing a ride to the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch or lemurs and cougars going to Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation in West Texas, In-Sync’s rescue team will show up and safely get the animals to their new forever homes. Their first priority is always the animals.

A key demonstration of this is the outstanding veterinary hospital In-Sync built on site and their dedicated vet who works to ensure their big cats get the best medical care and therapeutic assistance possible. Very few rescued tigers arrive in perfect — or even good — health. Sheba and Mugale are two examples.

In 2013 Sheba was a nine year old tiger who had not seen another tiger for almost all of her life. She had lived in a very small enclosure at an Arkansa day camp with only concrete underfoot. Because Sheba had been badly declawed, she limped and suffered severe arthritis. Sheba's enclosure in Arkansas gave her little room and no natural surface to walk on. When she first arrived at In-Sync, Sheba was very disconcerted to find herself near other tigers. She eventually worked up the courage to go to the playground where she felt grass and soil under her feet for the first time. The veterinarians at In-Sync evaluated her condition, identified several avenues of relief, and determined that her paws could be surgically reconstructed so that she can now walk and run without pain. She has become a happy and agile tiger. Here Sheba is shown at her old home and now enjoying her life at In-Sync. One photo shows bone fragments removed from her crippled paws.

In 2016, 14 year old Mugale was rescued from a breeder and cub petting operation in Colorado, an historic rescue of 75 tigers and 25 other big cats we organized in the fall and winter 2016-2017. In-Sync was one of the first sanctuaries we called to place tigers because there were a number of them that had severe and pressing medical problems. Mugale appeared to have a spinal injury and could not walk. She was in a pen with 3 sisters and a male tiger. The Colorado rescue team had been able to isolate her and get preliminary X-rays that were difficult to decipher. In-Sync made a special trip to rescue Mugale, her sisters and Sultan, but Mugale's future was hard to predict. But with In-Sync's expert care, Mugale is now walking almost normally and she enjoys being on her playground with her siblings. Photo is of Mugale mid-recovery at In-Sync.

Since we first started working with In-Sync in 2013, together we have rescued 29 tigers, 5 cougars, 3 lions and 3 leopards from desperate circumstances: starving tigers and cougars from a private owner in Texas, lions from a failing roadside exhibit in upstate NY, a crippled tiger from an Arkansas day camp, cougars from a Kansas drug dealer’s abandoned wild animal hoard, tigers and leopards needing significant medical care and emergency surgery from a defunct breeder/cub petting facility in Colorado. Each cat’s story is both heartbreaking and inspiring. And in each instance, In-Sync Exotics has worked together with other sanctuaries to make sure no big cat or exotic animal will be left behind. We are honored to be able to work with the In-Sync Exotics team and proud to be a part of this amazing Sanctuary's accomplishments.

Kizmin Reeves
Tigers in America