Category Tiger bite

May 4 2013

KURT BECKELMAN’S TESTIMONY REVEALS BOTH HE AND PETER GETZ OPENED THE LIGER’S GATE TOGETHER AT SAFARI’S SANCTUARY

Safari’s Sanctuary’s owner, Lori Ensign-Scroggins, told the media and the public that Safari’s intern Peter Getz made an unfortunate decision, for some reason unknown to her, to open the gate to the liger’s enclosure during feeding time on October 29, 2008. This sworn testimony to the USDA on November 18, 2008, by Safari’s park manager Kurt Beckelman, confirms, as Ivy Cook previously reported, that it was a joint decision between both himself and Pete to open the gate to feed part of the deer carcass to Rocky the liger.   Kurt stated: “WE decided to open the enclosure gate and throw the meat (approximately 1 hind quarter) inside.  WE did this and Rocky grabbed the meat in his mouth, when for some unknown reason Pete reached out and pushed Rocky’s head with his hand.”  [CAPS added by us for emphasis] (Read more in the copies of the affidavit at the end of this post, as well as a copy of the sheriff’s report of November 5, 2008, with Kurt Beckelman’s statement, in which Kurt wrote:  “Both Pete & myself opened the door to Rocky the liger to give him a piece [of deer meat].”)

The following statements will correct false information provided in Kurt’s testimony:

Ivy Cook, not Kurt, was the one who applied pressure to Pete’s neck to try to stop the bleeding, using her shirt that she had taken off for that purpose.Kurt did not call 911. One of the parents from the tour group did. Kurt was too much in pain and couldn’t see because when he sprayed mace on Rocky, he got the spray in his own face, too.Kurt says Pete did not have his mace on him that day. Obviously, neither did Kurt or he would have been able to use it immediately instead of asking the community service worker first for water to spray on Rocky and then to get the mace from the cart. The truth is that the mace and a fire extinguisher were always kept ON THE CART, outside of the big cats’ enclosures even when staff and volunteers entered their enclosures to feed and clean them. There was a lack of common sense in planning for potential attacks from these large animals.

Kurt Beckelman is still park manager at Safari’s and in charge of the big cats.  And staff and volunteers still feed the cats meat by hand and enter many of their cages during feeding time (see the many photos we’ve posted on this page proving that).  Even though lockouts are NOW in place for more than half of the big cats (according to Lori, who is not reliable, when it comes to the truth, as we’ve shown repeatedly on this page), even back then, the ones in place were often not used.  Much of that work on lockouts was done in the last year, AFTER the revocation of Lori’s USDA license and the closing of the park to the public–four YEARS after the liger attack.  You would think it would be the death of a human being that would have enough of an impetus to get lockouts built on all of the big cats’ cages immediately, even if it meant doing a special fundraiser for that purpose.  But that would have meant admitting to the public that the practices in caring for and feeding the big cats were dangerous–that on a regular basis, they entered their enclosures to feed and clean their cages, while the animal was in the same space as the humans.   And Lori Ensign-Scroggins was unwilling to tell the truth about that.  Instead, she waited to do much about this important safety issue until the park was closed to the public, resulting in a loss of revenue. Only then did she became concerned–when the money stopped coming in.

October 29, 2008, was not the first time the gate to Rocky’s enclosure was opened to feed him. It had been done many times before, despite a lockout for him built and in place. That was only the first time when someone was injured after doing so.

Kurt was not a volunteer at the park–he was paid staff (paid cash by Lori under the table). He started working at Safari’s in 2001–so by 2008, he had been there about 7 years and started working with the big cats within the first year working there.

The statement that Rocky was observed after the attack and he appeared fine to Lori and Kurt is false. He was very agitated and his behavior scared Ivy and Johnathan, the volunteer who helped her take care of the animals on their own for the next two weeks.

We have more than 50 other pages of information from which to share from the USDA’s response to our FOIA request for all information about the liger attack and other information pertinent to it. We are also expecting notification from the USDA’s Office of Administrative Law Judge about the release of 67 other pages of documentation related to the liger attack and subsequent investigation. As we find time, we will post more articles to provide additional factual information, in the public interest of knowing the truth, something that Safari’s management has kept from the public all these years.

Kurt Beckelman's sworn affidavit JPEG pg 1 of 2 to the USDA re liger attack, testimony given Nov 18, 2008Kurt Beckelman's sworn affidavit JPEG pg 2 of 2 to the USDA re liger attack, testimony given Nov 18, 2008Kurt Beckelman's statements to Wagoner Co. Sheriff on Nov 8, 2008, about liger attack Oct. 29, 2008

Mar 30 2013

SAFARI’S SHAMMI THE TIGER thinks volunteer’s FINGER IS FOOD

Safari's Shammi the Golden Tabby Tiger

Kim Cooper had been volunteering at Safari’s for a little over two years when she was giving a guided tour in the fall of 2003.  Reaching out to pet Shammi, the golden tabby Bengal tiger, while looking in another direction and with her back turned toward the tiger, Kim was shocked by the big cat’s reaction, when Shammi bit the end off of her middle finger on her right hand. Shammi likely meant her no harm. Before 2007, treats were given to the big cats using a set of metal kitchen tongs. The look and feel of Kim’s long, artificial nails may have reminded Shammi of the feeding tongs and she could have thought she was in for a treat of a chicken leg.

This is another injury by one of Safari’s animals that should have been reported to the USDA, as required by federal regulations, but wasn’t. Medical personnel were told that Kim and a staff member were down by the river and had tried to stop a dog fight. That was the standby story for many of the bite injuries caused by Safari’s animals—it was a dog bite—to avoid having an incident reported to the USDA, which could result in a write-up and possible penalties.

A photo of Kim Cooper with her bandaged finger was taken at the park a day or two later. You can view it in the photo album attached to this post on Safari’s Truth Destination Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.438748216202870.1073741829.375092402568452&type=1

Presenting Safari’s Sanctuary as a safe and secure park, Safari’s park manager, Kurt Beckelman (who started working at Safari’s in 2001, just before Kim) told a reporter in 2005 that a tiger had never tried to bite anyone at Safari’s. As the person in charge of the big cats and supervisor over Kim, he would almost certainly have been aware of the biting injury caused by Shammi four years earlier. The news article followed a teen’s death from a tiger attack at an animal sanctuary in Kansas.

QUOTE

“Incidents such as the Kansas death are exactly why Safari’s Exotic Wildlife Sanctuary stopped picture-taking a year ago, said Kurt Becklman, a volunteer at the Broken Arrow park.

“Anything can make a cat turn, he said. “If the cat isn’t familiar with the person, then anything can kind of set a cat off. I’m not saying it will all the time, but there is always that chance.

He said a tiger has never tried to bite anyone at the sanctuary’s most popular exhibit.

The sanctuary is one of the parks that allows visitors to feed tigers. For $10, visitors can feed a tiger raw chicken with a long tong. Beckelman said a park guide is always between the fenced tiger and the visitor.”

END QUOTE

http://newsok.com/state-park-owners-urge-caution-after-tiger-attack/article/2908354

Regardless of the known dangers of working with large exotic animals, in particular carnivorous cats, Safari’s staff continued to enter many of the large cats’ cages and enclosures to feed them, sometimes directly from their hands to the mouths of these potentially dangerous animals. See photos of recent examples of this in the album connected to this post.

Safari’s owner, Lori Ensign-Scroggins, confirmed in writing this month that staff still do enter some of the big cats’ cages at feeding time but brushes the danger aside by describing those particular cats as “sweethearts,” giving a false sense of security, when the reality is—proven time and time again, there are no guarantees when it comes to undomesticated large carnivorous cats—whether or not a person is familiar with the cat or not. This is an excerpt of what Lori posted on March 9, 2013, to a KJRH news article about Safari’s to raise money and donations, in response to comments posted to the article bringing up serious issues at the park, including how big cats were fed. [Capitalization and punctuation are Lori’s, copied directly from the comment on the article.]

QUOTE

WE DO GO IN WITH SOME EXOTICS, ARE BUILDING LOCKOUTS FOR THEM ALL, BUT THE ONES WE RAISED ARE STILL SWEETHEARTS, AND ONLY A FEW OF US TRAINED PERSONS DO THIS… WE ONLY GO IN WITH A HANDFUL OF CATS WE RAISED. WE DO NOT TRAIN NEW PEOPLE TO DO THIS, AS WE ARE BUILDING LOCKOUTS AND ALL WILL BE HANDLED THIS WAY AS WE CHANGE. THIS IS NOT AGAINST THE LAW. YOU HAVE PROOF? I POST THE PICTURES, AND EXPLAIN EACH ISSUE DAILY! PROOF OF WHAT? ME LOVING THESE ANIMALS?

END QUOTE

http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/news/local_news/broken_arrow/Safaris-Animal-Sanctuary-in-Broken-Arrow-is-looking-for-donations-and-volunteers#ixzz2NWkWLzpz

In a 2003 Tulsa World article titled “Keeping exotic animals as pets can be dangerous,” Lori is quoted as saying:

QUOTE

“They play rough; it’s the nature of the beast,” Ensign said. “(The owners) truly believe they have bonded with an animal, but they’re never going to be tame. They’re wild animals.”

END QUOTE

Unfortunately, Lori and many of her staff are just like those private owners, when it comes to the exotic animals they care for. They think their personal relationships caring for and working with these animals will protect them from an attack, because the animals are “sweethearts” or were “raised” at Safari’s—ignoring the truth of Lori’s words “…they’re never going to be tame. They’re wild animals.”

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=78&articleid=031022_Co_zb1_keeping

Lori takes great pride in Safari’s having been around for 17 years. Despite that longevity, and despite the tragic death of intern Peter Getz following the liger attack in 2008, it wasn’t until the USDA revoked Lori’s license in the summer of 2012 and the park was subsequently closed to the public that serious efforts were underway to add lock-outs to more of the big cats’ enclosures and cages. When Lori and Kurt talk to the media, they give lip service to the dangers that exotic animals present, particularly large carnivores. There is a contradiction between their words and the reality of how the park is run on a day-to-day basis.

Mar 7 2013

AFTER THE LIGER ATTACK AT SAFARI’S SANCTUARY: IVY’S STORY

I have been asked on many different occasions why it took me so long to speak up about Safari’s/Lori Ensign, or what happened to get me to where I am just now speaking up about things involving her and/or the park. Here is my story……….

All supporting documents and photos to this blog post are available to read at Safari’s Truth Destination Facebook page through this link:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.430088733735485.1073741827.375092402568452&type=1

Image

I am assuming most of you have read my USDA affidavit by now, and know what happened what really happened that horrible day that Pete was attacked—not Lori’s false version of events (if not, you should read those three pages in the photo album attached to this post before reading more of this story). This is what happened afterwards……..

The night of the attack, my husband and I made it to the hospital, and before I could even get up to the waiting room, Kurt Beckelman (Safari’s park manager) met me downstairs and handed me a piece of paper with a name “Jonathan” on it and a phone number. He told me he was from out of Africa and that he could help me feed and take care of the park for a couple of weeks till things calmed down. I, still being in shock from earlier that day, thought I was going to be working with a guy from Africa. I asked Kurt if he spoke English, and Kurt said “Yes, he is from out of Africa.” I was still thinking the guy was from Africa and couldn’t get a clear understanding from Kurt. I had no idea that there was a sanctuary in Arizona that was called Out Of Africa….till the next day!

I made it up to the waiting room, and Lori asked me if I could pick up Pete’s sister and other family members, which I did. I don’t remember much of that ride to the airport nor back to the hospital. I think the ride back to the hospital with Pete’s family was quiet. I was still in shock, and Lori had admonished me earlier not to talk about the liger attack with the family, that she wanted be the one to discuss it with them.

Waiting around in the waiting room for news was awful. Tons of people were there, and Lori was on and off the TV giving interviews. Pete’s family was in his hospital room with him all of the time. Friends were in the waiting area. There were lots of hugs being given out, and lots of people crying. Most everyone at Safari’s who wanted to see Pete was able to go in to see him, one at a time. I wanted to visit with him, too, but I was prevented from doing so. My husband even asked Kurt if I could go back and see him. Kurt just ignored him. When I asked Lori, she informed me that since Pete and I were not close friends, I didn’t need to go back there to see him, even though I was the one to keep him alive till the ambulance got there! [Now I understand the most likely reasoning behind Lori and Kurt keeping me away from Pete and his family—to keep his family from learning about what really happened before, during, and after the liger attack. It is also possible that Lori was already contemplating placing the blame for the attack on me (the meaning of this comment will be made clear later in this story). Lori did know what had happened during the big cat feedings and the attack on Peter because when Kurt was talking to her on the phone to tell her about the emergency, I was close by performing CPR on Pete to keep him alive, and one of the parents from the tour group was on the phone at the same time speaking with the 911 operator. Lori left work immediately after getting the news and rushed to Safari’s, whisking Kurt away from the scene shortly after EMSA arrived.]

I remember I sat down on a sofa, and Kurt laid his head in my lap, and we fell asleep together, shortly after hubby waking me up to make sure I was ok, because he wanted to admit me because I had been giving CPR to Pete, and I was covered in blood, also I had been in shock. I stayed a few more hours after that, but there wasn’t much for me to do, so my husband took me home for the night. It wasn’t till the next morning when I was going through my blood-stained clothes that I realized that I had been wearing Pete’s green, zippered hoodie, and my jeans were ruined. Going through the pockets of the jeans, I found at least $200, not knowing how it got there. I had given the tour group’s money back to them before they left, after the tour was ended abruptly because of the attack on Pete. I had suggested to the teachers and parents to buy the kids some ice cream and take them to a park or something, to make up for it. My husband informed me that he thought he saw Lori and her mom slip something in my back pocket as they were giving me hugs, but didn’t think anything of it. This was fine, because Lori had actually owed me for two weeks back pay, as I was not a volunteer but a paid employee. [I was hired in spring of 2001 at a rate of $9 an hour, as advertised in the Tulsa World job classifieds. Several key staff members were paid by Lori to work at Safari’s. The highest paid one that I knew of was Kurt, who bragged he made $800 per month while I worked there. We were paid as “contract labor.” I’m not sure how much of the park’s money went to Lori’s personal benefit. We were all told not to tell anyone we were paid to work at Safari’s because it would conflict with Lori’s statements that all staff at Safari’s were volunteers and that all money donated to the park went directly to the care of the animals. She still insists that’s the truth of how the park operates, but I suspect that some of the staff are still receiving payment for their work and keeping it quiet from the public.] Looking back, I wonder if there was another intention behind Lori and her mom giving me that money that way, at the hospital, when I later discovered they were not telling the truth about Pete’s attack and when I learned they were trying to blame me for it (again, more about that later in this story).

That next morning (the day after the attack), I called Jonathan and asked him if he wanted to help me work the park. He agreed, and I picked him up. He told me about the sanctuary in Arizona called Out of Africa, and I laughed and told him I thought he was from the country Africa. Let me tell you, that man Jonathan, knew things I never learned in my 10 years of working at Safari’s! He knew his stuff. He knew the animals, and taught me so very many things! That first day just blew my mind! He also informed me that a few months before the attack, he came to Safari’s and was a paid guest, and Kurt was his tour guide. Jonathan said he had informed Kurt that someone was going to get hurt if they kept doing what they were doing. I remember him (Jonathan) shaking his head when he’d find a big problem and saying “I told him someone was gonna get hurt!”

Jonathan and I worked the park for about two weeks or so, with him teaching me numerous things. He and I came up with safety protocols and new observation methods, and made a list of stuff that should be dealt with ASAP. I was informing Lori of these changes as we went along, to which all she ever said was “if it makes it easier.” I just bumped that off because she was so busy with the media and Pete’s death. At the time, I didn’t realize she couldn’t be bothered or care less. I didn’t realize it, but I was pretty isolated from everyone but Jonathan. When Jonathan couldn’t help me, I had Kim Cooper, a volunteer for Safari’s, help me out. Then, one day, Kurt came back to work the park, and I was so happy to have the help, because it’s very hard for only two people to run that large of a park! I talked with Stacy (Lori’s husband) and told him I would prefer if Kurt stayed away from the big cats, and feed barnyard 1 and 2 instead. That worked great for a few days, until one day I noticed Kurt chopping up the meat for the big cats, and I thanked him for helping out. He informed me that he was going to feed the big cats. I asked him if Lori said it was okay for him to do that, and he looked at me and told me that it was okay with her, and he needs to do this to get past his issues. I informed him we don’t use the golf carts to feed the cats anymore, because the cats know that the carts are associated with food, and that we now use the cat walk, and we walk buckets down the hill to feed the others in cages in enclosures without cat walks. He informed me that the old way is how it has been done for years, and that is how it is going to stay, and no one has time to feed off the catwalk or walk up and down the hill a hundred times. We argued about it for a few minutes, until Jonathan stepped in and said to me “If he wants to kill himself, let him go ahead and do it. My advice to you, Ivy, is we see how this plays out just this once and make our decision afterwards.” Even though I had worked that park for 10 years, I knew when someone was more knowledgeable and more experienced then I was, so I took his advice. We helped Kurt feed the old way that day. After we were through feeding the big cats, Jonathan informed me that if Lori allows Kurt to continue to take care of the big cats, he does not want to come back ever. That night, I emailed Lori, and you can find a copy of my Nov. 15, 2008, email here:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/safaris-truth-destination/this-is-an-email-that-ivy-cook-sent-to-lori-kurt-jan-and-paul-just-three-weeks-a/376945389049820

Let’s just say, Lori’s response wasn’t pretty:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/tombbringer-crazed-sinnerspirit/email-from-loriobviously-she-did-not-understand-what-i-wrote-hertook-it-as-an-at/10151185762280857

[You can read more emails sent from and to me related to Safari’s during that time period in the NOTES section of this Facebook page.]

I tried one last time to get her to change how things were done at the park. I even let her know the new things we were doing, that were safer and better. She wanted nothing to do with anything I said. I had no choice, with Kurt scaring the hell out of me during feeding that day, and Jonathan refusing to continue to volunteer there because of safety concerns, and Lori basically telling me that nothing is going to change, and that I was a problem: I quit. I could not jeopardize my life, or get hurt. I’m a mother and wife first before I am a zookeeper. I was never paid for the last few weeks I worked at Safari’s. That $200 back pay (or whatever it was meant to be for), slipped in my pocket at the hospital by Lori and her mother, was the last payment I received from them. I was still owed approximately $500 in salary by the time I quit.

A couple of weeks later, I got a phone call from my attorney asking me a bunch of questions about Lori and Safari’s, and the day Pete died. I answered them honestly. He asked me if there were witnesses who could verify my story, and I laughed and told him about 50 preschool children and 20 adults that were with the tour group! He informed me that Lori was trying to sue me for wrongful death of Pete and that with the information I just gave him, she doesn’t have grounds to stand on. I couldn’t believe it! Lori was attempting to put the blame on me for Pete’s death, when I had nothing to do with the cause of the attack—not being present when it actually occurred because I was busy leading the tour. Kurt was the one who was with Pete, feeding the big cats that day. Kurt was the one who opened the gate to the Rocky the liger’s enclosure. [Contrary to Lori’s assertions to the public, the media, and the USDA, it was common for Safari’s staff to open most of the big cats’ enclosures, even Rocky’s, to feed them (still done to this day, if you look at photos we’ve posted on this page recently). If lock-outs were available, sometimes they’d get used but when in a hurry, then not—even when feeding Rocky. Rocky’s neighbor next door was the tiger Twister, who had an aversion to men in ball caps because his owner who abused him often wore one. Pete always wore a ball cap, which pissed off Twister. This animosity toward Pete rubbed off on Rocky, who ‘hated’ Pete. Almost everyone, including Kurt, knew how Rocky felt about Pete. It was one more reason that Kurt should never have opened the gate for him and Pete to feed Rocky that day.]

I went about my life, taking care of my family, and enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom. One day, I got a phone call from a friend, informing me that the USDA was looking for me. This was in 2011, almost two-and-a-half years after I quit. I asked her, “Why would they be looking for me?” My friend informed me that the USDA heard that I was out at the park the day Pete was attacked and wanted my statement. Apparently, Lori and Kurt never informed the USDA that I was on the scene immediately after the mauling attack and helped keep Pete alive until the ambulance service arrived. I simply emailed them the USDA to let them know who I was and that I heard they wanted to speak with me. The very next morning, on March 15, 2011, I had a USDA officer meet with me who took my statement. It took all day! I had no clue what was going on or the lies Lori and Kurt had told them. You can find my USDA affidavit on this page (in the photo album attached to this post) if you care to read it.

I did get back in touch with Kurt, because he was my best friend and even gave me away at my wedding. I loved that man so very much. I took my family out to see him at his house, and tried to reconnect the friendship that had been shattered. After a couple of months, I realized that he would never be the man I once loved, that he had become just like Lori and had decided lies and deceit were the better path to follow in life. I was (and still am) done with all of that, and I couldn’t have that in my life any more. It took me a long time to admit it, but the friend I had once loved so much is now gone and had died along with Pete that fateful day.

People ask me how it was possible that I didn’t know what was going on, that it was all over the news with Lori falsely stating that Pete broke protocol during feeding time. It is very simple. I’m not much for television, and my husband is a big video gamer, so if the TV is on, he is usually playing his video games, or we are watching the history channel or the DIY network. So, honestly, I did not see the news coverage, and if it was on the radio, I seriously would change the station.

I was advised that I was to testify in court on the USDA’s behalf, but when the date got closer, I found out Lori took a deal and would shut the park down instead of going to court and try and battle it out. Then I learned that she was trying to blame the USDA and everyone else for her misfortune, which angered me, because she knows that it was her fault, but refuses to take responsibility, and still does to this day.

For those of you who ask me, “How can you do this to the animals?” it’s really very simple. Those animals do have other sanctuaries to go to. I have personally called around and lots of sanctuaries have offered to take them in and give them loving and good homes. And some of those animals are in such poor health and conditions that the only humane thing to do is put them down, but as I have heard, a lot of them are slowly dying off out there. It’s very sad, but if I let my love for those animals blind me to Lori’s lies and her poor, pitiful-me act, then nothing will ever change, and someone else is going to get hurt. I don’t want anyone else to go through what Pete, Kurt , or I have had to deal with. It may have happened years ago, but it still affects my life to this day, and I still have nightmares. I could not live with myself if I stepped back and did nothing.

For those of you who want to know why I stayed around the park for so many years and turned a blind eye to Lori’s corrupt ways, I am not going to lie to you. Those exotic and majestic animals get to you. It’s like an addiction; they pull you in and it’s hard to break away. I’m sure many people who have worked at Safari’s or still do work there can relate to that and it could explain why they, too, stick around, regardless of Lori’s behavior. I’d have to say the main reason I stayed is because Kurt kept begging me back, and Lori promised me pay (it’s a very long drive from where I live to Broken Arrow).

If you have any questions, you may contact me through a private message through the Safari’s Truth Destination Facebook page. (You might have to ‘like’ the page first, in order to do so.)

Thank you for your time and understanding.

Ivy Campbell Cook