Rescued Tiger Gives Birth To 4 Cubs

by Sherry Morse

One of the two dozen Bengal tigers recently seized from a private "owner" by New Jersey wildlife authorities has given birth to four cubs at her new home in a Texas wildlife sanctuary.

One of the cubs was stillborn, but the others - two males and a female - are in good health.

Carol Asvestas, executive director of the Wild Animal Orphanage (WAO) in San Antonio where the fifteen male and nine female tigers were moved in November, said that at least two of the other females are pregnant and are expected to deliver soon.

Each could have a litter of three to five cubs.

The rescued tigers were suffering from malnutrition and a variety of diseases when they were brought to Texas, and have received treatment for their medical problems, but they have not yet all been checked to see how many of the others might be pregnant, she said.

"The gestation period for a pregnant tiger is between 90 and 110 days, so this obviously did not happen overnight," Ms. Asvestas said.

"We didn't know they were pregnant, and it just corroborates the fact that this [New Jersey] facility was improperly housing these animals," said Martin McHugh, director of the Division of Fish and Wildlife. "They were supposed to be separated."

In January of 1999 the tigers' former owner, Joan Bryon-Marasek, was keeping 17 tigers in captivity and, in spite of an agreement she had signed with the New Jersey courts to not breed the cats while she fought to keep them, by June of 2000 nine new cubs had been born.

The tigers' move to Texas marked the end of a five-year battle between New Jersey and Ms. Byron-Marasek which started when a tiger believed to come from her compound was found wandering in a nearby residential area.

The state never proved the tiger belonged to Ms. Byron-Marasek, but citing the conditions of her facility they denied the renewal of her permit to keep the tigers.

The additional cubs represent a problem for the WAO which is a non-profit organization dependent on donations to operate a facility that cares for nearly 600 abandoned or rescued wild animals, including 94 big cats.

New Jersey's contribution to the cost of relocating the cats to Texas ended the state's obligation to them.

"New Jersey's wildlife division has already done more than any other agency of its kind in the United States to care for and relocate animals found in a situation like these tigers," said Asvestas. "We'll have to manage."

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.