BIG CAT PROTECTION IS A FAMILY TRADITION

I remember that it was at church, many years ago, when my mother handed me a copy of National Geographic. She said it was a cousin of mine and commented on the strange coincidence that he and I both loved exotic cats so much.

On the cover of the magazine was a young man, holding a tranquilized cougar in the snow. The story inside was about mountain lion researcher who had been tracking the elusive big cats in Yellowstone National Park when he was killed in an avalanche. A couple years later this article appeared in Yellowstone Science. Somewhere, I surely still have that Nat Geo Magazine, but I don’t know where. It had been filed away and I didn’t think much about this long lost cousin until today.

Gregory Felzien would have been fifty this year. As I began researching the web, looking for details of his story and his photo, I was stunned to be reminded that he had died in February of 1992. That was about three months before Windsong the bobcat was born, and 9 months before Windsong’s rescue from a taxidermist would launch the world renown organization that is saving exotic cats, that is now known as Big Cat Rescue. This was Greg’s story:

Gregory Felzien Dies in Yellowstone Avalanche

From: The Jackson Hole Guide

A 26-year old Ohio man was killed in an avalanche in Yellowstone National Park Saturday while tracking mountain lions in the Lamar Valley area. Gregory Felzien of Bellbrook, Ohio was conducting mountain lion research activities in Yellowstone for the Wildlife Research Institute, affiliated with the University of Idaho at Moscow, according to Park Superintendent Bob Barbee.

After Felzien was reported missing Saturday evening, an air and ground search began Sunday morning, Barbee said. Searchers found Felzien’s car parked along the road, south of Pebble Creek Camground and near Mt. Norris, according to park Spokeswoman Marsha Karle. They followed Felzien’s foot tracks through a minimal snow cover and located his body in the avalanche area Sunday at about 2:26 p.m., Karle said. The avalanche path was about 30 feet wide, 300 feet long and five feet deep, she said.

Felzien’s body was transported by helicopter to the Buffalo Ranch in the Lamar Valley and then by ground to the Franzen-Davis-Bebee Mortuary in Livingston, Mont., according to Barbee. Officials blamed the slide on early spring weather, which resulted in extremely hazardous backcountry snow conditions. http://www.jhavalanche.org/fatalArticles/article/Felzien

The Family of Cat Protectors

Thanks to Ancestry.com and the fact that Gregory’s aunt LaDonna is still alive and was probably the one to give the magazine to my mother back 20 plus years ago, I was able to trace the connection between us. My mother, Mary Barbara Jean Norris Stairs, was born to Jaqueline Thompson Norris, who was born to Goldie Higginbotham, who was the sister to Grace Higginbotham, who was married to Floyd Grant Felzien, who were the parents of Grant Felzien, who was the father to Gregory S. Felzien.

Grace and Floyd Felzien had 4 children. LaDonna, Grant, Terry (who tragically died at age 20 in a car accident), and another daughter named Lorna. LaDonna's oldest son, JimPat named his son Gregory, after Greg Felzien because they were first cousins and very close. Everyone who knew him loved him.

So, Gregory, I have no doubt that you are with us every step of the way now, and surely have been for all these decades. I have to believe that you live on in all of us who are working to save wild cats from extinction by ending the captive trade that provides the smokescreen for illegal poaching. My awe at your dedication and sacrifice to protect some of the world’s most exquisite creatures is renewed today, and gratitude fills my heart.

Email to my mother, I think?

I don't mean to shake your faith, and I don't think this will, because a person either believes the Bible, based on faith, or they don't.

I believe God is much greater, more powerful and more loving than the one described in the Bible. I have felt so connected to and protected by God for so long that I just can't believe the God I know would condone slavery, inequality, war or the sacrifice of any innocent creature, including His Son, for the purpose of creating a bridge to us.

This is just a web page on the topic of authenticity of the writers, but it may be something you would want to begin to research, as you are looking beyond what we have always been told.

http://listverse.com/2014/09/08/10-theories-about-who-really-wrote-the-bible/

There were a lot of links in the text and I didn't research them yet. There are people who spend their whole lives researching every word, so I'm probably not going to discover anything earth shattering in my research.

I just prefer the God I know and love Who is always listening, always responding and always showering me with love. For the cats, Carole

Jamie Reports Jumanji Choking

Jumanji choked on his food this morning. His tongue turned blue and he passed out. I just happened to be there and slapped him on the back a few times which rousted him and he gagged the food back up. Please make sure his diet is cut into small pieces. I think he choked as a combination of the bigger pieces he had today and the meds he has been on which have a sedative effect on him. We have stopped all of his meds so we can see what his normal gait and level of alertness is. Then we may gradually add meds back in.

Please observe him eating this Saturday and Sunday to see if he has any further issues eating. If you were the Coordinator this weekend please reply to this email so that I know he will be observed this weekend. - Jamie Veronica

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views. If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story. The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story. My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion. Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk