Rescued tiger cub at Oakland Zoo moves to ‘furrever home’
A tiger cub with severe bone disease that was rescued from an illegal private owner by the Oakland Zoo has moved to its permanent home, a sanctuary in Northern California, zoo officials said Tuesday.
On Monday, Lily the tiger cub was taken by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife from the zoo to her new home, the PAWS Wildlife Sanctuary in Galt, a town 27 miles south of Sacramento.
PAWS, short for the Performing Animal Welfare Society, maintains three sanctuaries: the 30acre sanctuary in Galt, another 100-acre wildlife refuge in Herald (Sacramento County) and a 2,300-acre natural habitat in San Andreas (Calaveras County). The society was founded in 1984, according to its website.
“Lily has moved to her furrever home!” zoo officials said on social media Tuesday. “It’s always bittersweet to say goodbye to rescues (especially those as sweet at Lily), but we are very happy she has a trustworthy and expansive new home, and we are proud to have been able to nurse her back to health over the past 11⁄2 months.”
Lily was rescued and brought to the Oakland Zoo on Feb. 22. After an initial examination, the zoo’s veterinary staff determined the cub had suffered 10 fractures due to the “decalcification,” or softening of her bones due to lack of calcium. “Inadequate amounts of calcium and phosphorus in her diet caused her body to source the calcium from her bones, which resulted in the weakening of the bones and subsequent fracturing during normal young tiger activities, such as play behavior,” zoo officials said in February. “This led to a 50% muscle atrophy.”
Although PAWS officials acknowledged the cub’s health was on the mend after receiving treatment at the Oakland Zoo, they said she will deal with the effects of her disease for the remainder of her life.
“While the tiger will never be completely normal, her overall condition has greatly improved under the care of Oakland Zoo, and we are cautiously optimistic that she will continue to improve in our care at PAWS,” said Dr. Jackie Gai, PAWS’ director of veterinary services. “Many animals come to the sanctuary with a host of problems caused by the conditions of their captivity, and our staff have expertise in addressing their special medical and nutritional needs.”
At the sanctuary, Lily will continue to receive specialized care, and her habitat has been designed to accommodate her physical needs, officials said.
Sanctuary officials also decried Lily’s treatment as animal abuse.
“Lack of proper nutrition and care for captive wild cats is a form of abuse,” said Catherine Doyle, PAWS’ director of science, research and public policy. “Metabolic Bone Disease causes terrible and unnecessary suffering, yet it is frequently seen in captive wild cats when rescued from private owners, breeders, and roadside zoos. Situations like this only reinforce our commitment to ending the exploitation and mistreatment of captive wild animals.”
PAWS officials said they could not disclose specifics surrounding Lily’s origin and details regarding her confiscation due to a continuing legal case, echoing a similar statement from Oakland Zoo officials in February.
Lily’s rescue marked the second time in two years that the Oakland Zoo has stepped up to rescue tigers with serious injuries. In June 2022, the zoo helped rescue four female big cats, including two tigers, from a defunct, troubled roadside petting zoo in northeastern Oklahoma. The tigers, named Mia and Lola, now reside permanently at the zoo.
“It’s always bittersweet to say goodbye to rescues (especially those as sweet at Lily), but we are very happy she has a trustworthy and expansive new home.” Oakland Zoo officials