The farmer who owned the house where the two tigers were kept in the cage was asked to care for them by a traveling circus in 2007. In six months, they will return to pick them up. Never did they. The tigers are still imprisoned in the feces-filled cage after 15 years.
At this time, the two tigers are 18 and 15 years old. Additionally, the tigers mated and gave birth to their own cubs, all of whom are now adults at the ages of 10 and 12.
In Argentina, keeping wild animals on private land is prohibited. The farmer never informed the authorities about the two tigers because he didn’t want to get into trouble with the law and thought the circus owners would return. The farmer was at a loss as to what to do next because the owners had not returned.
The Argentinian government heard about the tigers in 2021 and contacted a nearby wildlife agency, Fauna San Luis, to check the situation. And it was at that point that they heard about the tigers’ terrible living conditions.
The tigers needed to be put up for adoption right away, but they were unable to do so locally.
When Four Paws International learned about the tigers at that time, they got in touch to offer a solution.
They needed to get them on the plane before Four Paws could transport them to LIONSROCK Big Cat Sanctuary in South Africa. The Four Paws representatives were shocked by what they saw when they arrived at the site.
Fortunately, this is no longer the case. For a long time, the railway car was soiled with feces and leftover meat and bones. Tigers must exercise, run, play, and take baths. 15 years of merely pacing back and forth in a 75m2 train carriage is hardly a tiger-worthy experience.
They needed to move the tigers now more than ever so that they might experience freedom for themselves.
And when they go to LIONSROCK Big Cat Sanctuary, they’ll get exactly that.
It wasn’t too hard to get them there. They were able to buy two cages with open grills, and they boarded the cargo jet that would carry them to South Africa. They traveled for 70 hours to reach their new house, but it was worthwhile.
The tigers were initially frightened because it was a sight and sensation they had never experienced before. This was unfamiliar to them because they had spent their entire lives in cages.