A Neglected Tiger Cub Is Saved From A Circus And Makes An Amazing Recovery

It’s unclear how she got into such a bad situation, but when Vicky Keahey, founder of Texas’ In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue and Educational Center, found her, Aasha was in critical condition. Malnutrition was clear since she weighed less than 30 pounds, which should be the weight of a three-month-old cub, but she was over nine!

Vicky tried to find out what had happened to Aasha, who was in critical condition. “I asked how a 9-month-old tiger could be that small,” she explained to The Dodo. It found out that the poor tiger cub was a member of a traveling circus. And because she was kept in a cage with a larger animal, she wasn’t allowed to eat.

Furthermore, she developed a skin ailment known as ringworm, which was exacerbated by her lack of basic treatment. So Vicky decided to take Aasha and care for her. As a result, the Dodo reported that she was taken to a separate enclosure at In-Sync Exotics.

“Aasha’s bald spots covered almost her entire body and her skin was dry [with] cracked, darken areas and bleeding,” Vicky told me. “I would go in twice a day to give Aasha medications and spend time with her. I knew I’d have to handle her in order to get her better.” And after only a few weeks of excellent care, the wild kitten’s situation never looked better.

“After eight weeks of treatments, you could see little bits of fuzz growing back to [what were once] bald spots,” said Vicky. However, it took nearly eight months for Aasha to heal completely. “Within eight months she looked like a real tiger, and it was time to see how she would react to other tigers,” she added. And she’s completely unrecognizable right now!