Shere Khan (Deceased Tiger)
The video says it all. How many people would donate money to a cub who came from "a loving and nurturing home?" Probably none, so Carole invented a story of abuse. Buying tiger cubs across state lines was illegal. That did not stop Carole, she simply paid the breeder $800 and listed the cat as a donation.
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The Evolving Stories
Wildlife on Easy Street - 1997 - (source)
A male Siberian/Bengal Tiger born 12/20/94 stole our hearts on 3/12/95. He had been sold as a cub, but the purchaser kept putting off his delivery date, until he finally canceled the sale at four months. The breeders then had a four month old cub on their hands who had never been disciplined, and for whom they had no other facilities, than a small carrier, that he was quickly outgrowing. We accepted him knowing that we may never be able to completely tame and trust him. We and our staff and volunteers worked with him several hours every day to try and teach him not to bite.
Wildlife On Easy Street - 1999 - (source)
Male Bengal/Siberian Tiger born 12/20/94 stole our hearts on 3/12/95. He had been sold as a cub, but the purchaser kept putting off his delivery date, until he finally canceled the sale at four months. The breeder's then had a four month old cub on their hands who had never been disciplined, and for whom they had no other facilities, than a small carrier, that he was quickly outgrowing. We accepted him knowing that we may never be able to completely tame and trust him. We and our staff and volunteers work with him several hours every day to try and teach him not to bite and to help teach him how to use his back legs which were badly underdeveloped. He was very sickly for a long time and suffered major problems from calcium deficiency. As he grew stronger there was no match here for him. We brought in a mate for him, China Doll, in hopes that he would run off all of that excess energy with her and save his love time for us. They adored each other right away and although she is less than a month older than him, and a smaller breed, she still outweighed him almost half again. One day when they were running in circles, he ran into the concrete den box and was looking back to see if she caught his slick move. He hit the back of the box with such force that his nose swelled up. Drains were installed and antibiotics administered faithfully, but he could not recover. Further X-rays showed that his canine teeth were rotting in their sockets from the severe calcium deficiency and they had to be excised. His bones were mere paper shells and one wrong jump could easily break a leg. We supplemented him three times a day with Calcium, rather than once a day as before, to encourage healthy bones and teeth. At 3 years of age he is well over 800 pounds and the picture of health. I have seen him leap in play over twelve feet and hit the ground running. His new three acre pen on the lake provides him with plenty of room to run through the marsh and swim in the spring fed lake.
Big Cat Rescue - 2006 - (source)
Male Bengal/Siberian Tiger born 12/20/94 stole our hearts on 3/12/95. His birth was a result of the demand for White Tigers by a public that is fascinated by oddities. A White Tiger is not an "endangered" species that should be bred to be saved. It is a co lour mutation that happens infrequently in the wild and usually is not passed along because white animals in a forest environment would not live long due to their inability to hide and sneak up on prey.
Shere Khan had been sold as a cub, but because he was born "the wrong co lour" the purchaser kept putting off his delivery date, until he finally canceled the sale at four months. The breeder's then had a four month old cub on their hands for whom they had no other facilities than a small carrier that he was quickly outgrowing. He was up to his belly in feces and decaying food in a pet taxi that seemed to just bust at the seams with tiger fur.
He never got the vitamins and exercise he needed as a growing cub so his back legs were badly underdeveloped. He was very sickly for a long time and suffered major problems from calcium deficiency. X-rays showed that his baby canine teeth were rotting in their sockets from his malnourishment and they had to be excised because they because they had rotted through his face. His bones were mere paper shells and one wrong jump could easily break a leg. He is a perfect example of why people should not be allowed to have such animals as pets. We supplemented him three times a day with Calcium, to encourage healthy bones and teeth. He is now well over 800 pounds and the picture of health. We have seen him leap in play over twelve feet and hit the ground running. His three acre pen on the lake provides him with plenty of room to run through the marsh and swim in the spring fed lake. He has been neutered so that there is no "accidental" breeding.
The facility that bred him was finally shut down by USDA and the Indiana DNR in 2005.
Big Cat Rescue - 2014
Shere Khan did not have much of a chance for survival from the start. Dennis Hill had pre-sold him as a white cub, but the purchaser kept putting off his delivery date. He finally cancelled the sale when Shere Khan was already four months old. The breeders were left with a quickly growing cub on their hands and no other facilities for him other than a small carrier. He was up to his belly in feces and decaying food in a pet taxi that seemed to just bust at the seams with tiger fur. He never got the vitamins and exercise he needed as a growing cub, so his back legs were badly underdeveloped. He was very sick for a long time and suffered major problems from calcium deficiency. X-rays showed that his baby canine teeth were rotting in their sockets from his malnourishment and they had to be excised because they had rotted through his face. His bones were mere paper shells and one wrong jump could easily break a leg. We supplemented him three times a day with calcium to encourage healthy bones and teeth.
