Many of us have fond memories of the circus. Perhaps we remember the fun we had when we were children or perhaps the memories we shared with our parents and grandparents.
Although the circus can be enjoyable in many ways, there are also certain parts of the circus that sometimes just don’t belong. This includes wild animals, and although some circuses may treat them properly, there are others that abuse the animals terribly.
An example of a wild animal that was abused by the circus is a Bengal tiger named Aasha. She had a terrible life from the time she was a cub, but fortunately, an animal organization stepped up to the plate and gave her the freedom she needed.
Aasha was nine months old and had spent her entire life in a cage with another tiger that had vicious tendencies. This was in 2011 when she was rescued. She had infected skin and her hair was falling out and her growth was stunted due to her difficult childhood.
When In-Sync Exotics stepped in, they did what they did best. They rehabilitate wild felines that are in captivity and suffering. One of the caretakers, Vicky Keahey said that they would go in to give Aasha medication and spend time with her twice a day.
The tiger cub had to have a special medical bath every day but she wasn’t very happy about it. It sometimes caused Vicky to have to chase her around and then force her to take the bath.
Fortunately, her fur started to grow back after eight weeks of treatment. She also started to enjoy getting a bath every day and continued to have the baths, even when she didn’t need them any longer. She was just having too much fun with them.
As Aasha continued to grow and get healthier, she was too large for Vicky to sit in the cage with her but they still continued to play through the walls of the cage. Eventually, the tiger was taken to be with other cats to see how she would react.
There was a male tiger, Smuggler who wanted company and they decided it would be the perfect fit. They put their cages together so that they could get close and it was love at first sight.
Even though Smuggler is three times bigger than Aasha, they got along nicely and were soon enjoying supervised visits together. Eventually, they were moved into the same area permanently.
Five years have passed since that time and they still are two peas in a pod. Aasha has grown up to be a playful and healthy tiger and she still enjoys swimming! Unfortunately, she will not be able to be released into the wild because she grew up in captivity but she is still living a good life.