We get lots of questions daily about the average life span for these animals or who is the oldest animal you have. Well today we are going to learn about him! His name is Ty and he is a 24-year-old tiger!
Ty came to TCWR on July 13, 2011. He came from Coffeeville, Kansas along with 4 other big cats: 3 more tigers and a ti-liger. TCWR received a call from a man who had spent 17 years trying to start his own sanctuary for big cats. He was unable to continue this dream he had due to financial issues. He had to part with a total of 11 big cats that was in his care. It was extremely hot the day that TCWR went to pick up Ty. Our team waited until dusk to move the cats to keep them comfortable. That very next morning, the cats were unloaded at the refuge and starting their new life with us.
Ty lived with Crysta while they were here, sharing a habitat together. They spent the first couple of years at TCWR living in the Discovery Area, used to be called the compound area. A problem with that is Ty’s not fan of being in front of the public. In 2014, space became available at our Rescue Ridge area. Ty and Crysta went on a little trip and moved down to their new habitat. Sadly, Crysta passed away in June of 2021, at the ripe age of 20 years old.
Ty will be spending his 25th birthday on June 13th, 2023! Sadly, because we rescued him and there was no paperwork on him, we don’t know exactly when he was born. Due to amazing science and our vet, Dr. Kellyn is able to trace back to what year they were born in, just not the exact month and day. When this happens, Dr. Kellyn will age the animal and their new birthday becomes their rescue date!
We are super excited because tigers typically do not live this long. The average lifespan of a tiger in the wild can be up to 10 years old maybe 15 depending on their success. However in captivity, the average lifespan of a tiger is in between 15-23ish years old. The record for the oldest tiger belongs to Bengali who passed away on October 6, 2022 at the age of 26 years and 1 month old! We hope and cross our fingers that one day our Ty can reach that age!
If you want to get a chance to see our amazing Ty, come on out to the refuge. Now, he does live down at Rescue Ridge which does means to see him you will need to book one of our behind-the-scenes tours known as a Carnivore Caravan Tour! We can’t wait to see you out here!
