Species: Tiger (Panthera tigris)
Date of Birth: July 1, 2003
Arrival Date: January 12, 2005
“India arrived at the refuge from a private owner in Harrison, Arkansas. The man had obtained India when she was three months old, and attempted to raise the tiger in his house. India lived in her own room in the house, and was allowed outside on a tie-out when the man was home. When the man was diagnosed with lung cancer, he claimed the year and a half old tiger started to become aggressive. Realizing he could no longer keep the growing tiger around the house and his young children, he became desperate. Before exploring other options, the man took India deep into the Buffalo National Forest and left her there. We assume she tracked his scent over the 60 mile trek back to his home, because, less than three days later, a very hungry India showed up on the man’s doorstep. The very next day he loaded India into his truck and brought her to Turpentine Creek.
India adjusted almost instantly to her new home with a keen curiosity. She is very playful and eager to see new things.” – Original Plaque Biography
Date of Death: December 30, 2016
India spent a lovely 11 years at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, capturing the hearts of visitors, staff, interns, and volunteers. Her playful and curious nature was prevalent throughout her life, and it was hard not to be taken with her. While her personality was what we knew and appreciated her for at the time, we can also appreciate her legacy, and the changes that were made because of her story.
Before India’s arrival at Turpentine, owning a big cat in Arkansas could be as simple as filling out some paperwork to get a permit, and then buying a cub from an auction, private breeder, or another source. Many people took an interest in owning an exotic animal, and with it being so easy, many people succeeded in bringing home infant big cats.
The beginning of India’s story was incredibly common, and still happens today. People bring a wild animal into their home, enjoy it when it’s small and somewhat manageable, then stop enjoying it when the wild animal begins to grow into it’s natural size and demeanor.
Why can’t captive bred wild animals survive in the wild?
Most animals not native to our ecosystem cannot survive in our ecosystem. Animals from warm climates cannot survive in the same temperatures as animals from cold climates, and vice versa.
Also, animals born and raised in captivity, relying on humans for food and care, don’t have the skills an animal born in the wild would have to survive. A captive raised tiger out in the wild might look at a deer and understand that it’s prey, and that it should try to eat it, but without practice and training, they can’t usually succeed in hunting for their food.
So how did India survive?
She barely survived this ordeal. After two and a half days of assumedly tracking her owner’s scent 60 miles back to his home, she was tired and starving. As far as we know, she didn’t eat in that time, even though she surely saw prey items, she only knew to get her food from the man that abandoned her. She was incredibly intelligent to find her way home, and it was incredibly lucky the man rethought his decision, brought her to us, and told us her story.
What is her legacy?
The idea of a full grown, hungry tiger wandering around in an area where there’s helpless and unaware people, pets, and essential wildlife resulted in a lot of shock and fear. Unfortunately, this was not the only known case of a person getting overwhelmed by a big cat they were keeping as a pet and allowing that animal to either escape, or letting it loose intentionally. India being able to find her way back to the man that dumped her made all the difference, though, in getting the story out there.
TCWR had been making slow progress with animal welfare and ownership laws for years before this incident, but with India’s story, we were able to make that final push and finally make it illegal across the state of Arkansas to buy a big cat and keep a big cat in a person’s home. This state law was passed in 2005, 17 years before the Big Cat Public Safety Act was passed.
So, as we approach the 20 year anniversary of India’s rescue, January 12, 2025, it’s important to remember how suddenly things can change with enough of a push. Public outcry goes a long way in making big changes. We’ve moved forward in leaps and bounds with the Big Cat Public Safety Act being passed into federal law in 2022, making it illegal across all 50 states to buy a big cat. But many wild animals that are not big cats are not protected under federal law, and it’s still a state-by-state issue who owns an animal, and what they do with that animal.
Thanks to India we were able to make the change that needed to be made. Hopefully, we can continue doing that in honor of her legacy!