A life with tigers
By Giles Clark
I’ve worked hands on with tigers for more than 20 years, and have had the privilege to hand raise numerous litters of cubs, but none have been quite as special or important as Spot and Stripe.
With less than 500 Sumatran tigers left in the wild, we had to do everything to make sure these cubs survived and thrivedGiles Clark
For a start, the little guys are incredibly valuable in the global captive breeding program, with their mum Kaitlyn being ranked amongst one of the highest priorities in the world for breeding. With less than 500 Sumatran tigers left in the wild, we had to do everything to make sure these cubs survived and thrived.
At Australia Zoo we have a hands-on policy with our tigers, meaning we can interact with them physically everyday, taking them for walks and giving them a variety of stimulation that normally is not possible in captivity. We can even swim and play with them in the purpose built pool we have. I know that this interaction improves the tigers’ quality of life enormously; they’re not stressed or frustrated like tigers you might see in other facilities. Our tigers move about everyday, whether it’s on walks around the hundreds of acres of bush land we have, or between our enclosures. This is all possible because we formed a strong bond and relationship with the tigers, which starts by hand raising our tiger cubs, and that was what we planned too do with Spot and Stripe.
When the day came to take the cubs home, they were around 20 days old, and I felt a huge weight of responsibility on my shoulders; would they settle in ok? Would they take to the bottles? Would I cope with the lack of sleep that having young cubs inevitably brings?
The answer to all of these questions was yes, but not without it pushing me to my limits. Sleepless nights are much harder in your mid-thirties than your mid-twenties! But it was all worth it; being able to give Spot and Stripe 24 hour care, and ensure their survival, was the most important thing. Luckily my family - my wife Kerri, 8 year old Kynan, and 16 year old Alicia were brilliant, and fell in love with Spot and Stripe just as quickly as I did. Seeing them grow and develop was incredibly special, and every single day I’d have to pinch myself that I was able to have a hand in them growing into strong healthy tigers.
It’s a summer we’ll never forget in the Clark house, when Spot and Stripe joined our family. Life will never be quite the same again.
