Tiger Volunteers For Zoo Life Before Breaking Out A Month Later


Keepers at India’s Nandankanan Zoo were initially shocked to discover a tiger that had wandered out of the forest and willingly made it’s way onto the grounds – seemingly the first tiger to volunteer for zoo life.

After circling the tigress cages for an extended period of time, it became clear the young male was in search of a mate. Initially, employees of the zoo planned to capture the animal using force, assembling a 20-man team to do the job. Before going ahead with the forceful plan however, the keepers tried a more tactful approach – they left the female’s enclosure door open. It didn’t take much more than that to entice the tiger in, volunteering himself for life inside a zoo.

Over the next few weeks, the animal got comfortable in it’s new surroundings – unsurprising considering the free food, female attention and shady surroundings. While it made itself at home, the zoo employees decided what to do with the big cat – or at least they nearly decided what to do with him.

Having coming from the wild, the animal may have grown bored with his limited options for exploration, or perhaps realized that settling down wasn’t everything it seemed to be from the outside. Either way, the big cat decided to stage a breakout and make his way back to the wild.

The two-story security wall was dealt with effortlessly by the feline, much to the shock of his captors. The tiger even managed to sever the wires of a video camera setup to capture it’s movement on the way out.

So far, no one has been able to track down the tiger, though locals have been advised to be on alert that it may still be in the surrounding forests.

Impressed? Would you opt for the volunteer lifestyle in a zoo if you were a tiger?

Image: poplinre via Flickr

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