Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bright

In the forests of the night
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry.

William Blake   "The Tyger"

This is Ivan the Terrible.
Or maybe Ivan the Great
Either way, his name is Ivan.

He's 400 lbs. of muscle, with a little bit of belly.
That's 20 lbs. less than he weighed when he got to White Oak.
That's because his previous owners fed him cereal.  Now he's eating meat.
Living proof that the Atkins diet works. 

He used to be kept in a cage, now he has several acres to roam.
And a pool.  And lots of trees, and lots of shade.  And two squares a day.

He came to White Oak because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asked if they could take him.  He was confiscated in a drug bust.  Some macho asshole's pet.

They think he's a Bengal tiger, though no one knows for sure.  They way profiteering breeders mate these animals is pretty random.  His parents might have been brother and sister for all anyone knows.  So, even though tigers are endangered, and he is a beautiful specimen, there'll be no offspring for Ivan.  When White Oak breeds endangered species, they want to ensure  genetic diversity. 

So they give Ivan a home and treat him as he deserves after years of hardship.  No one treats him like a pet.  They know he's a wild animal.  They respect that at White Oak.  They don't go into his territory to pet or feed him.  His food is put into a cage that is then opened so he can enter it.  His enclosure has some very heavy duty chain link.  No fingers through the fence.  That's because he's a wild animal. Not a pet.

Comments

[Keith Marshall]

What a wonderful animal. Great that he's now in decent accommodation; I would just hope that his food gets put in different places for him to find -- to prevent boredom! I'm surprised that they can't tell enough about his ancestry from dna analysis; didn't that ought to be able to tell if he is 100% bengal (or another sub-species) so they might have the chance to breed from him.

[pistol pete]

Very good post. You really drew me in with Blake.