Last week, Lions, Tigers & Bears said an emotional goodbye to two of its longtime big cats, Tabu the tiger and Bakari the lion. Founder and Director Bobbi Brink said that many have watched both Tabu and Bakari grow up from playful, rambunctious cubs to a fullfledged tiger and lion, calling it the end of a great era for the sanctuary.
“I started working with the animals in 1990, but started Lions, Tigers & Bears in 2002, and that was when Tabu was born,” she said. “When we first brought the first tigers to Lions, Tigers and Bears, Natasha was pregnant. Tabu was our only tiger born at Lions, Tigers and Bears, and one of the very first cats.” Brink said Bakari has been at the sanctuary since he was about 10 pounds.
“He came from Louisiana from a failing sanctuary that was in trouble with the state,” she said. “It is hard. Everybody, of course, is really sad. Animals just do not live as long as people, so it is just so hard, especially when you work around them every single day. Some of them, when they come in are very unhealthy and you spend a lot of time just building up trust, getting them healthy again, and you get really attached.”
Just weeks after tigers Raja and Natasha were rescued from Texas, Tabu and her late sister Sitarra were born on Nov. 8, 2002. After her passing, Tabu became more elusive, retreating to the quiet and tranquil part of the sanctuary. In 2020, Tabu was introduced to Hank, an older white tiger, who was a perfect match for the alpha tiger.
Tabu, nearly 20 years old, over the past five months her health declined suffering from episodic seizures and chronic renal failure. Over the past few weeks, her appetite diminished, and her seizures returned.
Bakari came to Lions, Tigers & Bears in April 2007 with his sisters, Jillian and Suri. Bakari (meaning “One of great promise”) received his name at one of the sanctuaries earliest Wild in the Country fundraisers, which helped build the habitat for he and his sisters. It was not long before Bakari grew into a 585 pound lion. Now 20 years old, Bakari suffered from degenerative disc disease that deteriorated him to lameness and pain in his rear half. Despite treatment, it continued to get worse over the past year and severely impacted his quality of life.
“Over the past 20 years, since our founding we have welcomed dozens of animals to our sanctuary and helped hundreds of others find refuge at reputable sanctuaries across the nation. They say rescue work is a series of hellos and goodbyes, but what goes unsaid is that goodbyes are always the hardest part,” wrote Brink.
