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News for the month of September 2001

Infant Red Ruffed Lemur and The Sanctuary Goes Prime Time!

September was an exciting month here at the Sanctuary! In addition to the arrival of a new infant Red Ruffed Lemur, some of the Sanctuary's animals were filmed for a Discovery Channel documentary on Prosimian primates. As stated above, September was an exciting and busy month for David and myself. Early in the month we met with Mr. Nate Scripture, from the Primetime Production department of the Discovery Channel. Nate mentioned to us that one of Discovery's TV shows (Nigel's Wild Wild World) was working on a documentary on Prosimian primates. Nate being familiar with the Sanctuaries lemurs, wanted to know if we can work together in a filming project for Nigel's show. Of course we were very interested in helping so we set it up.

On September 26th, Nigel, Nate, and their film crew showed up at the Sanctuary. We all got to know each other as we talked about the various shots Nigel was looking for. It took about 2 seconds to figure out that Nigel was not only a great animal expert, but a true comedian as well. He had us in stitches from the get go! In any case, the first shoot was with the Black and White Ruffed Lemurs, Echo, Gizmo and I-Hop (We also named the female twin I-Hop this month). As Nigel explains some characteristics of man's "First Cousins", he has all three lemurs crawling all over him. He was great! Handling Echo and the twins like a pro as he charismatically speaks to the viewers with his head behind a leafy branch.

Since Nigel's show was on Prosimians, we all felt that the audience would be additionally educated if we were to film with the Sanctuaries Red Ruffed Lemurs and Bush babies (Bush babies are small nocturnal African Prosimian primates) as well. Once again, Nigel was fantastic! He got down on his belly, crawling around with the three Red Ruffed Lemurs, Durango, Betty and Wilma. The lemurs seemed to really enjoy Nigel's company! At one point, Nigel was sitting entangled with shrubs and vines as his head poked through branches with the Red Ruffed Lemurs surrounding him. It was quite a site. Nigel explained fact after interesting fact as the film crew rolled their cameras. The filming with the Red Ruffs went great and we all broke for lunch.

Later that night, we filmed Nigel with the Sanctuary's nocturnal Bushbabies (Galago garnettii). The cameraman got some incredible shots of Nigel with Zak and her 5-month-old daughter. At one point, as Nigel was speaking on their behaviors, Zak started hunting. She went from a calm, cute gentle little angel, to a stalking predator in an instant. In a blink of an eye, she snatched an insect from Nigel's hand. This was truly amazing to watch!

Nigel and his crew returned again on the 27th to take some still pictures with the Sanctuaries Tigers (Tundra and Clarence), Lemurs (Echo, I-Hop, and Gizmo) and the Bushbabies (Zak and her baby). They got some fantastic pictures and David and myself cannot wait for copies.

Speaking for both David and myself, I would like to say that it was a real pleasure working with Nigel Marvin, Nate Scripture as well as the entire Discovery Channel staff. The degree of professionalism and knowledge demonstrated by them is unmatched! We truly feel like the Sanctuary made some great friends during this experience. We would like to thank both Nigel and Nate for allowing Tiger Homes the privilege to participate in their attempts to educate and entertain the public on these remarkable animals!

Be sure to tune into the Discovery Channel on October 8th at 8:00pm and again at 12:00am to watch "Nigel's Wild Wild World". Featuring the renowned conservationist and naturalist Nigel Marvin. In this documentary, Nigel takes his viewers in the field to learn more about mans "First Cousins", the Prosimian primates. Please watch carefully as you will notice some of your favorite Sanctuary residents in their film debut.

In addition to the exciting time we had meeting and filming with Nigel and Nate, the Sanctuary also received a juvenile male Red Ruffed Lemur. We have been eagerly awaiting this infants arrival, as we desperately needed some additional genetics and companionship for our group. For the time being, we will be keeping this animal off camera so he can adjust to his new surroundings. Please keep viewing our cameras, as we will debut our new family member soon. In the mean time, David and myself hope you enjoy watching and learning about all of the amazing animals we call family here at the Tiger Homes Sanctuary.


Remember, there are many ways to help the cause. Here are a few.

1) Tell everyone you know about the website. By increasing the number of visitors, we increase the awareness of the danger these wonderful creatures face.
2) If you have a website, link to us - http://www.tigerhomes.org/
3) Submit our site http://www.tigerhomes.org/ to any webcam sites you may visit.
4) Make a donation to the sanctuary. There is an area on the gift shop for those who want to contribute.
5) Purchase items from the gift shop. They make great gifts and are for a worthy cause.
6) Adopt a pet. It's a great way to virtually own one of the sanctuary animals.

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Remember, our main mission is to spread an interest in saving wild animals and wild places but we can't do it alone.

Story by: Jason and David