Tour Company to Benefit Big Cats
The Company:
Exotic Interactions’ goal is to bring valuable income to not-for-profit
organizations that take care of wild animals. Exotic Interactions currently
offers animal excursions in cooperation with Big Cat Rescue, Clearwater
Marine Aquarium, Florida Aquarium and Peace River Refuge and Ranch. In efforts
to market these unique offerings, Exotic Interactions also offers sightseeing
tours of the Tampa Bay area and includes stops at one of the animal facilities.
Karen's Bio:
Exotic Interactions is run by Karen MacNeill, an uncertified animal person.
She has spent hundreds of hours underwater at the Florida Aquarium scrubbing
exhibits and performing dive interpretation programs. As a “yellow
shirt” volunteer
at Big Cat Rescue (formerly Wildlife on Easy Street), she picked up hundreds
of pounds of exotic cat poo, created the first sanctuary map of over
100 cat-a-tats and put on an annual fundraiser. She has traveled three
times
to Brazil’s
Associacao Mata Ciliar to exchange knowledge with the staff there on
zookeeping, enrichment and diet and feeding skills as well as constructing
new habitats with whatever materials were on hand. She has worked with
the SPCA, No More Homeless Pets – Hillsborough County, Little Angels
Rescue, the Tampa Bay House Rabbit Society, Peace River Refuge – Zolfo
Springs, Back to Nature - Orlando, Suncoast Primate Sanctuary – Palm
Harbor, Mote Marine Labs - Sarasota and several other Southwest Florida
animal facilities to provide funds, volunteers or cooperative solutions.
Personally, her home has been a domestic animal shelter (proving what a
terrific husband she really has…)
with up to 21 animals at a time. She has fostered dogs, cats, rabbits,
ferrets, prairie dogs and provides an ongoing permanent home to cats,
dogs, ferrets, chinchillas, rabbits, degus and kinkajous.
A Sampling of a Recent Tour:
Exotic Interactions hosted the Sure Tire Company guests from the Vinoy
Hotel. Guests were from all over the U.S. as well as Mexico. The tour
started with highlights of downtown St. Petersburg with historical commentary
and accompanying video slide show. The first stop at the Salvador Dali Museum
gift shop perked everyone up, and as the bus crossed the bridge, some were
still trying to see either the matador or the Venus de Milo in one of his
paintings.
The second stop was the top floor of the Tampa International Airport
parking garage, where they could see a panoramic view of the entire Tampa
Bay Area. The weather was dismal; chilly and overcast. Reports from BCR
were of drizzle here and there.
Upon arrival at BCR, the sun broke through and warmed everyone up! After
a quick tour of the gift shop and introduction to Auroara, the guests
had a picnic lunch in the Florida sunshine lakeside at the beach. Although
the group was only a sampling of the convention that Sure Tire brought
in, the guests all giggled that those who missed the tour REALLY missed
out!
Cheetaro refused to wake up for the group, but Auroara was happy to come
and chuff with them. Khan even came over to check them out and regale
them with his presence.
Most of the guests were surprised to learn that so many of these beautiful
creatures are in need of sanctuary. They didn’t understand the idea
that someone would want an exotic cat as a pet and they never thought of
where the performing tigers might end up when they were retired. They were
truly touched by the dedication of the staff and the beautiful place that
they created and maintain for the cats.
Stops after the BCR visit always pale in comparison, but we do introduce
them to Ybor City for a cigar or café cubano, let them take pictures
of Plant Hall at University of Tampa, and take a stroll on the pier at Ballast
Point Park.
The final stop for the tour is usually Features Costumes, to give guests
a real taste of Gasparilla fever with all the costumes and beads. Unfortunately,
as the tour was on a Monday, Features was closed. Instead, a rogue pirate
kidnapped the busload at Ballast Point Park and whisked them back to
St. Petersburg and stowed them at his Vinoy hideaway.
For more information and to book a tour, click www.exoticinteractions.com