When a rescued animal arrives at sanctuary, the hardest part of its journey may be over—but the story of healing is just beginning.
Seven years after artists from around the world first picked up their brushes to tell the stories of animals rescued by Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (TCWR), they are returning once again—this time to celebrate the Refuge’s historic rescue of six lions from Canada.
Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) officially launched Project #54 on July 13, inviting wildlife artists across the globe to create original works inspired by Thor, Mufasa, Scar, Nirvana, Archie and Reggie, the six lions who arrived at Turpentine Creek in October 2025 following the Refuge’s first international rescue mission.
For Turpentine Creek, the announcement represents more than the launch of another art project. It marks the continuation of a relationship built on the belief that every rescued animal has a story worth telling—and that art has the power to help those stories reach hearts around the world.
“Every animal who comes through our gates has a story worth telling,” said Tanya Smith, Founder and President of Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. “ABUN has an extraordinary way of bringing those stories to life. Their artists don’t simply paint animals—they capture resilience, hope and the second chances that sanctuary makes possible.”
Founded in 2016 by Kitty Harvill and Christoph Hrdina, ABUN connects wildlife artists, biologists, conservationists and nonprofit organizations through collaborative projects that celebrate wildlife while inspiring compassion and stewardship.
“ABUN is an international collection of nature and wildlife artists, serving the conservation community with original images for their use in promoting awareness. Founded in 2016, and with Artists worldwide, we have completed 53 Projects to date on every continent,” said Kitty Harvill, ABUN Co-founder. “Our collaborating biologists/organizations, in this case Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, have the right to use any and all images of the submitted paintings as educational and marketing material. Our artistic ‘gifts’ are ‘gifted’ to those individuals and organizations actively working to save species and ecosystems of our planet.”
The partnership between ABUN and TCWR began in 2019 with Project #24, featuring the Refuge’s rescued big cats, followed shortly thereafter by Project #25, which highlighted TCWR’s rescued bears. Together, the projects introduced audiences around the world to the individual personalities behind many of the Refuge’s permanent residents while helping educate the public about the realities of wildlife exploitation.
The collaboration also became a way to ensure that even the shortest rescue stories would never be forgotten.
In the midst of the 2019 projects, ABUN artists created a special tribute honoring Diesel, a three-year-old tiger rescued by TCWR on January 17, 2019. Suffering from severe anemia caused by a suspected Mycoplasma haemofelis infection—a tick-borne disease that can often be successfully treated when diagnosed early—Diesel’s condition was simply too advanced. Despite around-the-clock care from the Refuge’s veterinary team, he passed away just four days later. His story remains a poignant reminder that every day an animal waits for rescue matters.
Today, the focus has shifted from remembrance to resilience.
Thor, Mufasa, Scar, Nirvana and her young sons, Archie and Reggie, arrived in Arkansas after months of international planning, permitting and collaboration among accredited wildlife organizations. Their arrival marked a milestone in TCWR’s history as its first international rescue effort and ensured the lion family could remain together after Archie and Reggie were born just before transport.
Today, the six lions are thriving in their forever home, receiving expert veterinary care, nutritious diets, enrichment and the opportunity to simply be lions.
“Art creates an emotional connection that helps people see rescued wildlife not simply as animals, but as individuals with stories worth telling,” said Cheryl King, Director of Marketing for TCWR.
Throughout Project #54, participating artists will share their interpretations of the Canadian lions, helping introduce new audiences to TCWR’s mission of rescuing captive wildlife and ending the cycle of exploitation that brings so many animals into sanctuary.
From Diesel’s memorial tribute in 2019 to the first portraits emerging from Project #54, the partnership between ABUN and Turpentine Creek has become more than a collection of paintings. It is a visual record of rescue—honoring those whose lives were cut short, celebrating those who have found healing, and reminding us that some rescue stories leave a legacy that reaches far beyond sanctuary fences.
To learn more about Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge and the stories behind its rescued residents, visit www.tcwr.org.
To learn more about Artists and Biologists Unite for Nature, visit https://abun4nature.org
