Exotic Feline Rescue Center

The EFRC is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization and the second-largest big cat rescue in the United States, spanning over 200 acres (0.81 km2).

[5][2] The EFRC is the focus of several books published by Indiana University Press, including Saving the Big Cats (2006)[6] and Tales From the Exotic Feline Rescue Center (2016).

[9] Over a two-year period (2008-2009), Dr. Susan Linville at the Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior (CISAB) [10] and Dr. Helena Sioni at the Institute for Pheromone Research, both located at Indiana University,[11] conducted a research project with lions, tigers, cougars, and leopards at the EFRC to study rubbing behavior and the potential deposition of pheromones during the activity.

[17] Three days after the incident, Ann Marie Houser, an animal care inspector from the USDA, visited the center to investigate.

Houser noticed an issue with the enclosure door, a gap measuring 4 to 6 inches, which the facility benefactor, Taft, had attempted to fix with the use of a piece of rebar, a reinforcing bar.