BANNERGHATTA TIGER PROFILES
The Born Free Foundation’s tiger sanctuary is set within a private part of Bannerghatta Wildlife Park, in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.
Here, in one-hectare enclosures with large pools, the tigers can live out their lives in peace with some degree of dignity and freedom that they had previously been denied.
Tigers currently living at the sanctuary:
‘The Masti Tiger’
Date of birth - Unknown
Case history
Masti is a wild-born tiger who was brought to Bannerghatta in 2008. He had been living in Nagarhole National Park, a huge area of tiger habitat in the Western Ghats in Southern India, until he unwittingly walked into a poacher’s trap, most probably set to catch wild boar. He managed to escape but, in what must have been a frantic, drawn-out and agonising effort to escape, caused massive injuries in the process.
Once free, he struggled to a cave near the Mastigudi area of the Balle forest range, where he was found and captured by the Forest Department. The injury was so severe that he had to have the lower part of his leg amputated. Despite recovering relatively well from this traumatic event, it was clear he would never be able to hunt again. With no other space available, he was homed in a small cage at the forestry rescue centre for two years, until November 2007 when he was re-homed to the Born Free sanctuary.
He settled in really well and obviously enjoys having access to more space and natural surroundings. It is unimaginable how a wild-born animal can adapt to sudden and enforced captivity and Masti still displays extreme aggression towards humans; he will not hesitate to charge the fence if the care staff go too near his enclosure. However, when he thinks he is on his own, they have spotted him rolling or lying in the grass under the trees, and spending long periods soaking in his pool.
Roque
Date of Birth - 17th May 1998
Case History
During an undercover investigation, Born Free rescued five month-old Roque from a pet shop in Barcelona. His early history is unclear, but we were told he had been taken from his mother at three days old and was sold by a Belgian dealer before ending up in Barcelona. There were two other tiger cubs in the shop but they were sold elsewhere before Born Free could intervene. It is sobering to think what their lives might be like now, having long outgrown the cute and cuddly stage that makes such cubs so appealing to would-be owners.
After his confiscation, Roque was cared for at the Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent. He was so young and enthusiastic that nothing in his new life fazed him – although nettles and thunder had him rushing indoors initially! Even at this young age, it was obvious he was still potentially a very dangerous animal. He would instinctively pounce at the fence if the sanctuary staff had their backs to him – or even if they stopped concentrating on him for two or three seconds.
On completion of the Bannerghatta sanctuary in 2002, Roque was re-homed to India . Almost immediately, the friendly, outgoing youngster showed signs of the wild tiger he might once have been. He would frequently retreat deep into the undergrowth, and often only be seen at meal-times. It is wonderful he now has the privacy that he deserves – and so obviously enjoys.
- Zeudy
- King
Italian Two- Zeudy and King
Date of Birth - Zeudy est. 1996, King est. 1991
These two tigers were rescued from an Italian Circus, Circo de Madrid, along with three other companions, Taras,,Royale and Harak. The owner had bred more tigers than he was legally allowed to own, which meant that those tigers without the correct permits could be confiscated. As many as 20 fully grown tigers, leopards and lions had been living in a cramped and dirty circus trailer, for around five years, with their only means of exercise or enrichment being the time spent in the show ring performing unnatural, pitiful tricks.
Born Free rescued the five tigers for which the circus had no permits and brought them to the Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent in 1997. They loved their new homes, but their exuberant behaviour soon destroyed the expensive bamboos and bushes we had planted! Also, with all the space now available to them, the males became very territorial requiring a new enclosure to be built to stop fights breaking out. Sadly, Taras died of liver failure and cancer of the spleen in 2001, just months before the planned transfer of the tigers to more spacious and natural conditions at the Born Free sanctuary in India. At least Taras had four happy years at the sanctuary.
The other four tigers were transported to India in 2002, their lives immediately and completely transformed. They had one-hectare enclosures of natural habitat to explore, with pools to soak in and rocks to climb. It was proper tiger habitat, and they all became much more elusive and more like wild tigers. Sadly, Royale became ill with kidney failure and was euthanased in 2007, and Harak died in early 2010. Both were cremated, as is the custom in India, and their ashes were scattered over the land where they enjoyed their last years of life, and where Zeudy and King continue to live under our care.
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