All his life, Marcus had only known one thing: how to make cubs.
Marcus grew up in a breeding facility for tigers. This facility bred tigers to sell to roadside zoos and as pets.
When Wildcat Sanctuary found and rescued him, he lived in a mud-pit kennel, was underweight, had open wounds, and was severely anxious.
He had bacterial infections and broken canines with exposed roots. The poor tiger was in pain and angry all the time.
Wildcat Sanctuary saved him and gave him a life he never knew he could have.
While they wished they could have saved all the tigers from the facility, Wildcat Sanctuary was lucky they were able to rescue four big cats, including Marcus.
When Marcus arrived at the sanctuary, they thought it would take him a while to get used to the new surroundings.
Boy, were they wrong!
“When he was released into the new habitat, wow!” Tammy of the Wildcat Sanctuary shared with The Dodo. “It was just amazing. He patrolled the whole habitat, he smelled everything, he went on every perch. He became the tiger he was meant to be.”
And do you know what else?
In the Wildcat Sanctuary, Marcus experienced so many things he never get to enjoy before.
He dipped into his own pool for the first time.
At first, he was wary of the small pool. He had no idea what it was. They tried to lure him in with floating wood as his toys, and it worked!
He dipped his paw into the water, and pretty soon, he got into the pool and laid down on the water.
He even started to play with the hose that was used to fill the pool with water.
Every part of the sanctuary helped Marcus discover the skills and abilities he never knew he had. And because he had discovered his identity, the anger and anxiety he felt before were gone.
Yes, he was still in pain sometimes. But now, he knew the humans in the sanctuary were looking out for him.
He patiently understood the treatments they need to perform on him because he knew they want to make him feel better.
Plus he got a reward when he was patient: a big tiger popsicle with all the flavors he could imagine and more.
He devoured it slowly, silently, and with gusto!
“Marcus is one of the most amazing, gently, happy tigers that we have rescued,” Tammy shared. “He is the first one to come up and chuffs hello, which is a tiger greeting. He found the most bliss I’ve ever seen a tiger find. He just shows me that there’s happiness anywhere if you choose to accept it.”
Sadly, Marcus passed away about a year after arriving at the sanctuary.
While the sanctuary was sad his life was cut short, they were glad they could give him a wonderful year, a year where he simply got to enjoy himself and just be a tiger.
Would you like to see Marcus enjoying himself and his life at the sanctuary? Watch the video below.
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