Many of you may be familiar with Tippi Hedren from her long and storied movie career, starting with her iconic role in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic horror film, The Birds. But you may be unaware that for the last 25 years she has also been heading up an important preservation project. Shambala is a sanctuary for big cats located north of Los Angeles.
The Roar Foundation, founded in 1983 by Tippi Hedren, exists solely to support the Shambala Preserve. Our mission is to educate the public about the dangers of private ownership of exotic animals. Huge numbers of dangerous animals are bred and sold in the United States for illegal purposes. Private ownership presents a grave danger to the public and is cruel and unfair. More stringent legislation is needed to prohibit breeding and selling.
Shambala is home to more than 70 big cat. These include, among others, lions, tigers, cougars, leopards, and one very magnificent liger named Patrick. For those not familiar, you actually can cross-breed a lion and a tiger, and the result is a liger. (Patrick is pictured above.)
In case you would like to learn more about Tippi’s wildlife efforts or her movie career, Betty Jo Tucker and I will be interviewing Ms. Hedren at 4 pm Eastern today on Movie Addict Headquarters. We’ll talk to her about the activities at Shambala and get some of her perspective on the movies, Hollywood, her equally famous daughter, Melanie Griffith, and more! Feel free to join in our on-line chat during the show or call in with your own questions.