A small male Bengal tiger cub was brought to the Paul Harter Veterinary Hospital at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park on Wednesday (Aug. 23, 2017) by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officers, and was placed in the care of veterinary staff. The young tiger had been rescued earlier that day by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, who found the cub while inspecting a vehicle that was entering the U.S. from Mexico.
Veterinary staff at the hospital performed a thorough health exam on the tiger cub and determined that he was in good health, overall. “His heart and lungs sound good, his blood work looked great and, since he took a bottle from us, it’s a good sign he’ll continue to thrive,” said Dr. Jim Oosterhuis, principal veterinarian.
“I estimate the cub to be between 5 and 6 weeks old, and he weighs in at a little over 6 pounds,” Dr. Oosterhuis said. “He has teeth coming in, so he’ll be teething in the next week or two—so, animal care staff will have a little chore getting him through that.”
After spending a couple of hours at the hospital, the cub was transferred to the Ione and Paul Harter Animal Care Center at the Safari Park, where experienced keepers are caring for him around the clock. The cub is housed in an isolated area, away from other animals, in accordance with San Diego Zoo Global’s protocols for new arrivals.
Guests at the Safari Park will be able to view the tiger cub at the Animal Care Center’s nursery window, at various times throughout the day. San Diego Zoo Global will continue to provide care and sanctuary for the cub until U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials determine his permanent home.
The U.S. is a party in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international agreement commonly known as CITES. This treaty regulates trade in endangered species of wildlife, plants and their products.
International trade in species listed by CITES is illegal unless authorized by permit. Additional information on importing and exporting endangered species is available at cbp.gov.
I am so excited that your little boy will get a buddy from the national zoo. Please keep us updated. Hopefully they will be able to teach each other to be tigers.
It’s great that this beautiful creature was found and rescued. It makes me wonder what happened to his litter mates and mama.
Great that he’s safe !
Thank you for taking care of this little guy. That little sound he makes when his belly is rubbed is beyond cute. I hope the idiot who did this knows he has changed this tiger’s life forever, and he is now at the hands of humans, which never ends well. He should receive the maximum penalties. And this sentence bothers me: “International trade in species listed by CITES is illegal unless authorized by permit.” What reason would anyone have to transfer any species. Just leave them alone.
I hope they keep him, be iconic, symbol for cracking down on the illegal trade. Its sick just for the sake of money, where animals homes lives are threaten for it, facing endangerment, where are they to go, wonder what other illegal animals are coming from Tijuana.
Congratulation for a wonderful work with this adorable baby tiger! Glad he is in your capable and Loving hands! God Bless you all.
Thank You for taking care of the ADORABLE Bengal Tiger Cub. I rencently lost my Bengal cat of 18 years so you
can image the joy that’s in my heart seeing this adorable Bengal tiger cub. I hope you get to keep him.
Sandra Frost
are you guys gonna try to keep the baby tiger
Blog Monitor’s note: It is undetermined whether or not the confiscated Bengal tiger cub will remain in our care. We appreciate your patience as the cub’s future is determined with its best interests in mind.
You should name him Pacifica after UOP for their mascot. Then the University can adopt him and send donations to raise him. There are a lot of UOP Tiger fans.
Good to hear he was placed into care timely after being confiscated. Neglect of one so young for even a short time would be fatal.
how long dose he have to stay by himself . are you all able to take him in if there are no papers on him. it would be sad to make him go some place else after he has bonded with your staff.
Blog Monitor’s note: It is undetermined whether or not the confiscated Bengal tiger cub will remain in our care. We appreciate your patience as the cub’s future is determined with its best interests in mind.