Rescued 'Pet' Tiger Finds Forever Home At Wildlife Sanctuary

Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor

Mar 5, 2021 10:00 AM EST

Earlier this month, after someone had reported hearing a crying tiger left out in the cold on a property nearby, Elsa the tiger was rescued by Bexar County deputies. As reported by KHOU 11, she is six months old and 60 pounds in weight. She has a raw wounded area on her forehead from having rubbed against her cage for so long while being stuck in it, according to the Humane Society US, as well as some fur missing from having been wearing a dog harness.

But now - finally - she's getting her happy ending Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas.

Read more of her heartwarming story and see pictures below.

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via BCSO

While it was still too cold outside to transport her safely, the Bexar County Sheriff's Office took Elsa to a local wildlife rehabilitation center. And on this Tuesday, after a long 5-hour transportation trip from San Antonio to Murchison, as she stepped foot onto the grass of her new home, Elsa looked incredibly happy and playful where her life will continue to improve day by day.
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via JP Bonnelly/For the HSUS

"She was on an inappropriate diet that would have caused severe health damage, but luckily, we got her early enough and will be able to remedy that," said Noelle Almrud, senior director of Black Beauty. "We expect her to quickly acclimate to her large, natural habitat and start behaving more like a tiger than a pet. We will provide everything she needs to have all of her physical and emotional needs met and give her the fairy tale ending she deserves."
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via JP Bonnelly/For the HSUS

To ensure that she is healthy, Elsa will be quarantined for 30 days, and when she's a little older and more settled, she will "be introduced to a larger space and may be able to join Loki, another tiger that came to Black Beauty in February 2019. Loki was discovered in an abandoned house in Houston, trapped in a cage where he could barely move. Now, Loki and Elsa are in adjacent habitats and are already very curious about each other." And we smell love in the air.
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via Humane Society of the United States

Unfortunately, Texas has a history with tragic incidents involving privately owned tigers, so Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, warned: "Small young tigers like Elsa quickly become large, dangerous and deadly... Private possession of tigers as pets, and their use in cub petting 'operations' like we saw in 'Tiger King,' is a serious and sometimes deadly problem in this country."
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via Humane Society of the United States

We hope that many fewer accidents involving ownership of tigers will occur and that Elsa will find joy and possibly love in her new home. We would also like to thank everyone involved in helping her in her journey, you guys are doing an amazing, important job.
For more stories about rescued tigers, read about this tiger cub.
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via Humane Society of the United States
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via Humane Society of the United States
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via Humane Society of the United States
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via Humane Society of the United States
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via Humane Society of the United States
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via Humane Society of the United States
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via Humane Society of the United States

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