Every time dad thinks of Tigers, he recalls attending the Clyde Beatty Circus as a child. The biggest feature at the show was the animal trainer. He was an older man dressed in a fancy gold uniform and he carried a large whip and had a revolver strapped to his hip. The cage in which he performed was about 30 feet in diameter. There were seven pedestals lined up across the middle of the cage. Leading from the outside of the tent and connected to the cage was a heavy steel tunnel. The announcer introduced the animal trainer, whose name dad can’t recall, and then said, “He will be working with six Lions and one Bengal Tiger. The Bengal Tiger is the largest of all Tigers and the most fierce. You will notice that the trainer is an older man. Very few trainers live to be his age. He learned early in his career never to turn his back on a Tiger because even if they appear tame, they never really get tamed. They will always remain a wild beast and very unpredictable.” The show was very good and the trainer got the animals to do many neat tricks. Near the end of the show, one of the Lions started to act up. The trainer was standing near the Tiger at the time. He turned slightly toward the Lion and in the blink of an eye the Tiger lunged for him. He dropped to the ground and the Tiger sailed over top of him. He quickly got back to his feet and cracked his whip near the Tiger’s back end. The Tiger became quite unruly, so one of the employees standing near the tunnel opened the gate and the trainer used his whip to chase the Tiger into the tunnel which was then closed. The trainer got the Lions back to their places and finished the show. After the trainer got out of the animal cage, he went to the announcers booth and got the microphone (this was in the days before remote mikes were invented) and told the crowd that the incident with the Tiger was not part of the show. He advised that the big cat was becoming too hard to handle and that it would no longer be part of the show. Arrangements would be made for it to be sent to a zoo or wild animal park in the United States.
Tigers are felines which are extremely popular among pet lovers who have immense passion for exotic animals. At the same time they are also the most dangerous of all the exotic pets. In the first place, it is really difficult to get a permit to keep them as pets. And even if you get the permit, you have to face other issues like finance, responsibility, threats and regulatory issues so much so that even the local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals inspector drops by every now and then to inspect the animal and the living conditions you provide for your Tiger. And, you mustn’t forget about PETA, the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals group which will be a constant thorn in your side with constant harassment, rallies and legal challenges to your right to own a Tiger. Although owing a Tiger sounds impressive, it is more like trying to build a castle on sand, everything is always sliding around, with public opinion and legal requirements frequently changing. A good example of this is the current uproar concerning the place that an aging elephant at the Edmonton zoo should spend her remaining years of life. PETA, celebrities and special interest groups feel she should be sent to a wild animal park in the United States where there are other elephants while the zoo staff feel she should remain where she has spent most of her life.
You should understand the challenges you will have to undergo during the whole process. First, you should work as a volunteer at a zoo which has adult Tigers to understand what you are letting yourself in for. Cubs may be cute and cuddly, but a full grown Tiger is another thing all together.
Cubs usually like to cuddle and sleep with humans around. They can be fed with milk bottles like a human baby. They need to be taken out for a walk, frequently. They won’t complain if you keep other pets along with them. Tigers like to play wild games around the house. They attack a piece of furniture multiple times and drag it from one corner to another because of their wild hunting instincts. They will get companionship from your other pets and will enjoy playing both inside the house as well as outside. Problems arise when the Tiger outgrows your other pets, as it will start biting and attacking the weaker ones. At this point, your growing Tiger should be moved out of the house and into a bigger cage. The expense for building a larger cage will be huge. When full grown, your Tiger will need a cage which is at least eighty-seven feet long, fifty feet wide and thirty feet tall. A small swimming pool, shade trees and a warm comfortable “den” should also be built for it.
Another thing that you must consider is that when they are full grown they become very heavy and you will find it difficult to take it outside for a walk. At 13 feet in length and weighing around 600 pounds you will find it impossible to manage it on a leash. The animal will then begin to miss its freedom and will probably get aggressive and start roaring a lot. To keep your Tiger occupied, you can place things strategically, so that the animal gets involved in the activity of sniffing for new things and for its food. Your Tiger can be given toys to play with, but the toys won’t last for long and should be replaced by new ones frequently. The Tiger may even throw the toys outside its cage. You should get the toys and give them back so it can play again. When you leave the house, even for a while, the Tiger should be securely locked within the cage. You don’t want to take any chances that it can break out and attack humans in the neighbourhood.
Around 18 months of age, your Tiger will shed its baby teeth and grow four inch canines. That’s when most owners freak. Up until that point it is usually still thought of as a tamed animal, but when you see those huge teeth you know that the wild predator will always dwell in the animal. At this point most owners no longer go inside the cage to feed the animal and even if they do, they carry pepper spray along with them. Special protective measures should be taken to ensure the safety of not only people in the area, but your own family as well.
One of the most hectic parts of keeping a Tiger is cage cleaning. There are chances of algae growth in damp areas which requires a lot of scrubbing. The old hay bedding should be changed weekly, which will start to make a large pile of hay that must be disposed of and then there is smelly animal droppings which must be removed from the cage daily and disposed of. In addition, the water in the swimming pool should be replaced often. Because Tigers are fed with whole animals, the remains have to be removed frequently as they will begin to decay fairly rapidly, especially during the summer.
So, as you can see, keeping a Tiger as a pet is a big responsibility, expensive and dangerous. In my opinion, if you are really interested in Tigers, you should apply for a part time job at a zoo that has proper facilities to look after Tigers. In that way you can interact with them, but you won’t have the problems associated with owning one.
Until next time,
Teia
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