Print This Page

PICTURE PURR-FECT: GothicTwo (at left), the second print in a series by artist Jason Savage, will be the basis of two products that will be sold to raise money for endangered tigers. The first is a patented sifter for cat litter boxes that Savage says is an all-round better product than current litter sifters. The second is a puzzle that people can decode to form a message and send to Savage for a medallion that completes the puzzle design.

Savage envisions haven for cats with money raised from projects

By JONATHAN BLOOM Correspondent PITTSBORO - "Tigers fascinate me because of their size and their power," says artist Jason Savage. But unless steps quickly are taken to preserve the species, he says, the tiger may be extinct within 10 years. Tigers in the woodlands and rain forests of Asia are being killed at an alarming rate by poachers, who sell carcasses for $50,000 to $100,000 on the black market. To help save the giant cats, Savage created the Zoe Foundation. Named in honor of a 16 pound Manx given to him by an artist friend, Savage’s foundation sells products to benefit the tiger and other endangered carnivores. "Zoe," is a Greek word meaning "life in all its manifestations," the South Carolina artist said. Savage donates part of his profits to the Carnivore Preservation Trust in Pittsboro.

"He’s just been a great donor," trust director Nancy Schonwalter said Tuesday. "He’s been very supportive." But his ultimate goal, Savage said, is to open a much larger park, dubbed Tiger Island, to give the giant cats more space as nature intended. Funding from sales "What’s so different about my funding methodology is that I want to fund this park with sales of products - I don’t want to go out and go to everybody and beg for money." Savage’s first product is a print called GothicOne, an image of a tiger visible through the outlines of hand-drawn Gothic letters. The letters form the message, "The endangered Corbetti needs your help." The statement refers to an endangered tiger breed, panthera tigris corbetti. Savage started his career as a music teacher, but became

involved in the world of visual art as a carpenter, restoring historic homes in Charleston, SC While in the construction business, Savage began painting and sculpting, and premiered his first sculpture in 1979 at the Spoleto Festival USA. Savage said he has been committed to saving the tiger since he graduated college in 1972. But he never really was allowed to work with tigers until he met the late Michael Bleyman, founder of the Carnivore Preservation Trust. A 60-acre compound in Pittsboro, the trust houses tigers and other rare animals in large pens with trees and brush that approximate their natural habitats. The trust also breeds

Page 2

Tiger trade lucrative "The tiger trade and the exotic animal trade is the second most lucrative illegal trade after drugs," he said. "It’s a $6 billion a year business." An adult male tiger is about 9 feet long including a 3-foot tail, and weighs about 420 pounds. Tigers can travel nearly 30 feet in one leap. Savage said tiger bones often sell for $25 to $85 per gram on the black market. Preserving tigers in large natural habitats is one key to the survival of the species, Savage said, but the tigers must be carefully bred to produce viable offspring. Many small zoos inbreed their tigers

animals in a genetically healthy manner to prevent offspring from developing defects or becoming sterile. Savage said that when Bleyman brought him into close quarters with three adult tigers, he was awe-struck. "It was just incredible," he said. "I got tiger fever more or less." Death was impetus Savage said he decided to act on his urge to help the tiger when Bleyman died of cancer last summer. "It just sort of sent a shockwave through me," he said. "I could be Michael sitting here right now.... So I thought right at that point, it’s time to take the bull by the horns and try to develop this thing. "If you sit on your laurels and wait it’s going to be too late," he added.

"The species will be gone." Savage envisions Tiger Island as a place where tigers can roam freely, protected from poachers. And he said he also wants the park to be a place for people to learn about tigers, in their natural habitat and in a more intimate setting than a zoo. But Savage said Tiger Island remains little more than a dream until he raises enough money. "It’s so immense that - why make a plan when there’s just not the money available?" he said. Several breeds of tiger already have become extinct, and the Chinese and Indian governments show no intention of stopping poachers from killing the rest, Savage said.

because they cannot afford to breed them with tigers elsewhere in the country, he said. And Savage said some breeders are more interested in making a quick buck than keeping the species alive. "Breeders that just breed animals to sell them - they don’t care at all," he said. "They’ll breed anything to sell it. And those are tough people to deal with, because they’re putting bad animals into a gene pool." Savage said he has developed two more products that will be released after a second print called GothicTwo. The first is a patented sifter for cat litter boxes that he says is an all-around better product than current litter sifters. The second is a puzzle that people can decode to form a message and send to Savage for a medallion that completes the puzzle design.

"The tiger trade and the exotic animal trade is the
second most lucrative illegal trade after drugs. It's a
$6 billion a year business."

ARTIST AND TIGER AFICIONADO JASON SAVAGE