Impala Park tigers adapting well to new home
According to the NSPCA, it took nine people to lift each tiger.
The National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) confirmed that the two white Bengal tigers kept as pets on an Impala Park property are adapting well after being relocated to a wildlife facility.
The tigers made headlines in 2021 after the owner of a crèche bordering the property, Tanya van Rooyen, spotted one of them and reported it.
Van Rooyen’s daughter, Alicia van Heerden, said her mother died last year, but the relocation would have left her overjoyed.
The tigers were moved to the NSPCA-accredited facility in the Free State on February 20.
Jacques Peacock, from the NSPCA, previously explained that the Boksburg SPCA proactively and persistently worked with the owner, which led to the NSPCA taking the animals into its care.
In a media statement, Peacock said the tigers were “sentenced to a barren, urban enclosure; trapped in a concrete jungle in suburbia, without a speck of grass or a tree in sight. With no freedom to express normal behaviour, the tigers became objects of human gratification”.
“The NSPCA’s Wildlife Protection Unit, in collaboration with the Boksburg SPCA inspectorate and renowned big cat veterinarian Dr Peter Caldwell, attended to the Boksburg property to safely sedate and transport the tigers.”
NSPCA Wildlife Protection Unit manager Lethokuhle Nene said it took nine people to lift each tiger because they were morbidly obese.
“The animals have been placed on a gradual dietary change to get their weights in an acceptable range,” explained Nene.
When asked if the tigers’ owner can visit them, Nene responded: “The tigers’ relocation facility does not allow interactions with the public.”
No comment was received from Boksburg SPCA, and our efforts to get comment from the previous owners went unanswered.
Also Read: WATCH: NSPCA moves Impala Park tigers to wildlife facility
Also Read: Impala Park tiger owners are not breaking the law
