DURBAN – FOUR PAWS, an animal welfare organisation said two Siberian tigers have been relocated after one of them breached his enclosure at Seaview Predator Park in Gqeberha and killed an employee earlier this week.
The organisation said according to the statements made by the park, the eight-year-old male tiger, named Jasper, was able to breach the eclectic fence securing his enclosure on June 16, which was not working due to repairs.
Employee David Solomon was repairing the fence in close proximity to Jasper’s enclosure at the time. He was killed by the tiger.
“Jasper then breached the fences of a neighbouring enclosure where he killed another male tiger, to get to a female tiger who was in oestrus (on heat).”
Unable to ensure the tigers’ safety after the tragic incident, the park contacted UK based charity called the Aspinall Foundation, which deals with the conservation of endangered species, for assistance in securing a new home for the tiger.
FOUR PAWS, which manages LIONSROCK – a Free State-based sanctuary where breeding, hunting, trade and animal interactions are prohibited – agreed to accommodate Jasper.
However, the team made the decision to relocate Jasper with his sister Jade as they had grown up together.
FOUR PAWS said after the incident, Jasper had been kept in isolation and had become severely dehydrated as a result of his confinement and the trauma sustained by him during the incident.
A local vet treated the tiger four days after the incident.
On the June 22, the two Siberian tigers were translocated in an emergency rescue operation from Seaview Predator Park to Lionsrock Big Cat Sanctuary.
Both tigers were tranquillised and final health checks were done before they were placed into customised tiger crates and loaded onto two vehicles.
After travelling about 1 000km, the tigers were released into the sanctuary on Wednesday.
FOUR PAWS said the tigers are doing well and are adapting well to their new home.
The Aspinall Foundation’s Regional Director, Dereck Milburn, said they were thankful that the tigers were healthy and that they would get a second chance.
“In many captive facilities, animals are seen merely as an object, may Jasper and Jade show that these are sentient beings we are dealing with, who should be treated as such,” he said.
Director of FOUR PAWS in South Africa, Fiona Miles, said sadly the situation for other tigers in the country is not as hopeful as this.
Miles said tigers were not native to South Africa and while they are protected by some animal protection laws, they have been omitted from the laws that ban the breeding of lions in captivity.
She said the organisation wanted to urge the government to include tigers in the captive breeding ban.
