Putty-Cat~

Nov14


I think I saw a putty-cat! I went to The San Diego Safari Park to practice with my new camera, but I got kinda distracted by these little guys. I think this one wanted to come home with me……or else he wanted to eat something right past my ear.

Meet the tiger cubs. One cub was brought to the park from The National Zoo after it was rejected by its mother and the other was confiscated at the San Diego/Mexican border by patrol agents when it was seven weeks old. One is a Bengal Tiger and the other a Sumatran. There are less than 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild.

This wasn’t a fair test of my new RX10 camera because I had to shoot through-multi inch tempered scratched glass, but who cares, these guys were too amazing to pass up and I knew you would like to see them! I can show you some fair test shots later. Now, it’s tiger time.

The cubs are living in a 5.2 acre outdoor tiger habitat with a river running through it, a waterfall, grass, trees, multiple levels and hiding places, and real dirt to roll in. It cost $19.5 million dollars to build. The cubs are growing up together and thriving. Check out this video of the day they were introduced to each other which was filmed with no glass obstructions:

There are other tigers in the habitat too, like this guy, who likes his bone. Doggies get grumpy when you take their bone. I wouldn’t want to try taking this guy’s bone away! He seemed to think I might want to!

There are only 3,890 tigers left in the wild. In 1900 there were an estimated 100,000.

This past year is the first time there has been an actual modest increase in the wild tiger population since 1900, which proves that conservation efforts can work if they are supported.

It would be a worldwide disgrace if the only tigers left in the world lived in zoos.

Cheers to you from the earth’s last remaining magnificent tigers~

306 thoughts on “Putty-Cat~”

  7. Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
    Another post that I missed when I was away but so pleased I have discovered a combination of Cindy Knoke’s wonderful photography and the wonder of two tiger cubs who have been brought together at a brand new massive enclosure at San Diego Safari Park… do yourselves a favour and head over to enjoy the photographs and the video.

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    • I know you love the feline species like I do.
      The ultimate feline species, tigers, are just beyond amazing aren’t they. And it seems right to me, that they are deadly, but sad to me, that they are not deadly enough to save themselves from us.
      Blake was the only poet I know who could capture the meaning of a tiger perfectly, “Whose immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry?”

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  21. Cindy, the photos are wonderful… but I don’t like to see animals behind bars, the reason why I don’t approve zoos or similar places (unless these are “sanctuaries”). There is much fuss about it… but the freedom you shouldn’t take it away from sentient beings. I have seen many continents and the flora and fauna of them, unfortunately where Man arrives, he brings destruction with it. But this is an awfully long story. Take care, hugs :-)claudine

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    • “I have seen many continents and the flora and fauna of them, unfortunately where Man arrives, he brings destruction with it.”
      I share all of your concerns, and relate to your point about the destructiveness of the human species. Some people seem to be planning to go live on Mars once we have completely destroyed this planet. It doesn’t seem an equal substitute to me, and I wish we would put much more money, energy and attention into saving this planet (our only viable home) and all the creatures that live on it.

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  23. I missed this post, dear Cindy! Awww, they are so adorable and look cuddly.
    The tigers are so dramatic looking with their beautiful designs. ❤
    When I worked at Cedar Point amusement park, they had baby white lions in the animal nursery. This was an area where a fine, gentle animal trainer named Jungle Larry taught the animals tricks. As far as I know, he never got bitten.
    I was lucky enough to hold baby lion cubs a few times. They were soft and silky, fluffy and had plump bellies. They were hand fed baby bottles. I think only once did I get to feed a baby white lion cub in the two full summers I worked there.
    We (3 of us in Ohio colleges) lived in the dormitory the first year and the second year, I was chosen to be given the key to the breakfast room in the Hotel Breakers. It was quite an honor. . . We opened at 6 am but were off by one pm. We lived in a small room in the hotel. I meet teenagers in Ohio and always say they should consider doing this. There are such great dances, movies on the beach, and invitations to go out on sailboats. 😊

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  24. Pingback: Putty-Cat~ — – The Report Catalogue

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