I have been helping animal shelters for a very long time and recently I was honored to be allowed to adopt a tiger cub from a big rescue facility called Rescue 5. It’s one of the few that feels like a family. And I’m not exaggerating when I say that this tiny, adorable tiger is a member of the family. That’s because he needs to be one of his parents’ own children. A big brother. A family member.
Tiger cubs of different ages live together for a very short time and require a lot of space. Right now, my new tiger is being temporarily held with no cubs in my home.
While my daughter is with her dad and I am spending time with my family, you have no idea how much this little guy is missing. While some of you will think that tiger cubs are very cute and at home with children, that’s not the case at all for tigers that are rescued. So I’m asking you, right now, to reevaluate a few things: What’s more important to you? Feeling good? Moving ahead? Or what is it that’s important?
For me, the first question you need to ask yourself is whether your motivation for loving a tiger, any tiger, is simply based on the desire to fill a void in your heart that exists inside of you. If you are doing this for a mental or emotional need, please stop immediately and choose instead to put yourself and other people’s needs ahead of your own. That is a better choice.
Another thing you may consider is that for more than 60 years, tigers, lions, and other big cats have been the focus of an entire industry — an entire, unregulated industry that operates with nobody’s knowledge. To add to that, there are extremely cruel practices that go into their well-being.
I’m not going to get into them. Instead, I’m just going to let you go out to the public aquarium to see some of the animals there. These animals are truly amazing, and they deserve the love and attention that they never got in their long and lopsided life.
But, really, my call today is for all of you to think about what’s really important in life and make your decisions based on real life circumstances. These things may involve the fact that they are a zoo animal, they are a tiger cub, or even in the case of a tiger cub, it’s your own mother. We never truly know what we need. We may make false assumptions about whether something is worth loving and what it will really bring to us. However, by leaving yourself to that uncertainty you may leave yourself completely broken. You’ll be broken by the choices you’ve made, and you may not even know it.
It is important to know that tiger cubs are anything but fragile creatures. They are huge, powerful beasts that can make a new cub nearly drop dead when they threaten him. So in spite of how cute and beautiful they are, it is important that you respect their dignity and their needs. If they require a large amount of space, let them have it. If their teeth are long and sharp, just deal with that. If a tiger cub need a lot of protection and quiet, have it. All they need is to be loved and loved well. That is all they need. And those small, fluffy guys only need to be aware of their exact needs.