We have an amazing new Director of Sales and her name’s Bonny Baldwin.  Every Wednesday, I’m turning the blog over to her so she can talk about all things and bags eco-friendly.  So heeeeeeeeere’s Bonny!

We’ve had a little fire problem in Southern California recently – maybe you’ve heard about it.

Anytime I hear about a fire in the Angeles National Forest my first thought is of the big cats housed at Shambala and at The Wildlife Waystation. These two sanctuaries, in different areas of the forest, have the stupendous responsibility and expense of caring for scores of lions, tigers, and other wild animals that aren’t easy to house, let alone to load into a truck when there’s a fire threat. And this time, both sanctuaries were threatened by the Station Fire. As of today, the evacuation orders in their respective areas have been lifted, yet regardless, this was a costly and stressful disaster for everyone.

The Waystation is the bigger of the two sanctuaries, though I haven’t seen it. I’d love to, it’s just that sanctuaries are very different from zoos, and you can’t really drop in on them. I have had the repeated pleasure of visiting Shambala, in Acton, during their scheduled tour dates, and it’s a fantastic and eye-opening experience! Shambala and the Roar Foundation are Tippi Hedren’s grand calling. For those not well-versed in Alfred Hitchcock films, Tippi is most famous for having starred in The Birds and Marnie. Though before you start thinking this is some kind of fancy celebrity scene, know that Tippi is likely to greet you in full makeup, yes, but also in jungle boots and with a shovel in hand to clean up tiger poop! (She’s our kind of woman.)

A few things I didn’t know or think about until I visited Shambala:

· A full side of beef doesn’t go very far when you’re feeding big cats – you’ve got to have a lot of freezers!

· Housing and moving big cats is complicated, partly because their politics are. If you think about how hard it can be to get domestic cats to get along, you can see where I’m headed with this. When they introduce a new cat at Shambala, it’s a big undertaking to keep all of the cats and people safe from potential territory disputes. And you just don’t always know if cats of any size are going to get along until you try….

· Tigers love to play in the water. And they especially love to play with balls in the water. What kind of ball will hold up to tigers’ play? A bowling ball! Seriously – sometime in life you’ve got to see tigers bowling in the water.

Tiger Messenger Bag

This week, then, I’d like to draw attention to the big cats at our local sanctuaries by drawing attention to our selection of big cat bags. Our striking Limited Edition Tiger Messenger Bag is now $64.50, which is 25% off, through September 15^th. If you’re more of a lion person, our entire lion rice sack collection is 25% off, too! And if you’re moved to do so, please support the animals of the Roar Foundation, and/or The Wildlife Waystation in recovering from this very stressful time.

All the best to you – Bonny