Jim Jablon will spend all of January inside an enclosure with two African lions as part of an effort to raise funds for a Florida wildlife rehabilitation center struggling to meet operating costs.
The cats -- a 2-year-old named Lea and a 1-year-old named Ed -- are young and playful, but they're also powerful and their caretaker sometimes feels over-matched.
"I'm still a toy to them," said Jablon, the longtime owner of Wildlife Rehabilitation of Hernando in Spring Hill, Fla. "They can be out cold and I'll sneak up between them and lay down, but as soon as they realize I'm there it's the battle of the bands.
Jablon, who does have a "lockout area" in which he can find refuge if things get too rough, countered that he doesn't feel threatened by the lions and pointed out that if the facility were to shut down, animals that were not accepted by other facilities probably would be put to death.
It costs about $75,000 annually to care for the 100 animals at the 14-acre center and Jablon says car washes and other small-scale fund-raisers are no longer sufficient. He hopes people visiting his website and watching the streaming video will feel motivated to make a donation. He expects to raise between $100,000 and $200,000.
I know he means well but I think he is still an idiont.
-AL
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