Woman's gift helps save orphaned cat
Ian Austin, The Province
Published: Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Helena the fire-surviving cougar is getting room to roam.
With a government-imposed deadline just three weeks away, the Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter finally has the money to build a permanent enclosure for Helena, who as a cub survived the Kelowna fires of 2004.
"It's really good news," said Angelika Langen, who runs the wildlife centre with her husband on their Smithers horse ranch. "We're all pretty excited. It's got to happen in three weeks, so we've got to get to it quickly."
Langen is thrilled about a call she got out of the blue, which made the permanent enclosure a reality.
"I couldn't believe it when this woman phoned and said she would send $10,000," Langen said.
"At first I thought it was a joke. When I realized it was for real, I thought, 'Oh, my God, this is incredible.'"
Langen said the Lower Mainland woman wants to be known only as A. Kossegg. She donated the money in memory of her late husband and her mother.
"She said that helping our wildlife is a privilege -- an honour no longer feasible in many other locations where man has taken over so much of the land which the animals need," said Langen.
Wildlife authorities gave Langen until July 1 to build a minimum eight-metre-by-eight-metre enclosure or the cat would be put down.
For Langen, the shelter is a hobby that's close to her heart.
"The wildlife society is our hobby -- it's an expensive, time-consuming hobby, but it's very worthwhile."
Along with the cougar, Langen has provided a refuge for 16 years for more than 100 black bears, 25 moose, 30 deer and one Spirit bear cub, the extremely rare white-furred black bear.
"She was Kirby, the Spirit bear cub," who was later returned to the wild, said Langen.
"We know she's had at least three litters, and at least two white cubs."