In April last year, U.S border patrol agents found something unexpected when stopping a smuggling attempt near the southern Texas-Mexico border—a tiger cub stuffed in a duffel bag.
The Brownsville agents who were on patrol near the Rio Grande, saw three individuals attempting to enter the U.S. illegally, carrying a black duffel bag, according to the U.S Customs and Border Protection website.
Avoiding arrest, the smugglers dropped the bag and ran back to Mexico.
The brave agents then opened the mysterious duffel bag and discovered a heavily sedated three to four month old tiger cub.
They couldn’t believe their eyes!
The agents from Brownsville immediately sent the cub to Gladys Porter Zoo at Brownsville.
Thankfully, the tiger cub was not seriously injured.
Irma Chapa, communications director for RGV Sector Border Patrol said that the tiger cub was in great hands.
The zoo is taking great care of him and he’s expected to make a full recovery.
— Irma Chapa (@chapa_irma) May 1, 2018
“The zoo is taking great care of him and he’s expected to make a full recovery,” she shared on Twitter.
Do you guys want to know what happened to the tiger cub? Here’s the update.
The tiger cub is now known by the name, Kenobi.
Shortly after his rescue, he was sent to In-Sync Exotics, a wildlife rescue & education centre and non-profit sanctuary located in Wylie, Texas. In-Sync Exotics aims to rescue neglected, abused and unwanted exotic felines.
Kenobi even has a buddy now—a white tiger cub called Kylo Ren!
Kylo Ren had a luckier upbringing as he was born at the sanctuary. His parents were rescued from being backyard pets and he is two months younger than Kenobi.
Angela Culver, media director for In-Sync Exotics told The Dodo how the two adorable cubs met for the first time.
“The introduction process involved letting them see and smell each other for a while while keeping them separate of their own safety,” she explained.
“Then we started supervised playdates, which got longer the better they got along. Kylo Ren wasn’t sure about Kenobi for a bit, much like any only child when they get a new sibling.”
Now, the cub buddies are inseparable.
“The boys live together full-time now”, Angela added.
According to Angela, the the cubs are very energetic and playful.
“They love running around on their playground, playing chase tag, wrestling, and splashing around in the puddles from all the recent rain.”
Save the tigers
Although Kenobi and Kylo Ren aren’t living in their natural habitat, they are extremely protected by In-Sync Exotics.
They have fun, too! They swim, play with toys and lounge and nap in the sun.
At least they don’t have to live in fear of being hunted and slaughtered for their precious body parts or sold as pets!
Unfortunately, many tigers are still facing these threats.
The tiger population has been plummeting over the years with less than 4000 tigers left in the wild now. Without further awareness and support, they are at risk of becoming extinct.
Thankfully, Project C.A.T aims to double the number of tigers in the wild by 2022.
The project aims to provide a healthy and safe habitat for future generations of tigers by conserving almost six million acres of protected land across four countries.
What are you waiting for! Go on to Project Cat and donate. Your donation would be highly appreciated and would be put to good use.
“Your donation means greater security measures for tigers, improved habitat protection and community outreach to reduce human/wildlife conflict,” their website reads.
Credit: The Dodo
Thanks for sharing this inspiring story of a tiger cub finding a much better place to be.
Thanks for reading, it’s great he’s now safe and can spend time with his fellow tigers!
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