In an unlikely repercussion of a land claim, two Bengal tigers will be relocated to Hoedspruit. The Bengal tigers had previously been kept at the Milimani Game Sanctuary in KwaZulu Natal, but had to be moved after a successful land claim against the sanctuary.
They will spend the remainder of their retirement at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre, where they will be placed in open air enclosures.
Visitors to the centre will be able to view the ageing tigers, which were rescued from Mozambique in 1996 after being abandoned by a circus. Animal Defenders International originally saved the tigers, and are now sponsoring their relocation and upkeep.
Campaigns director Tim Philips says that the tigers have played a significant part in tightening regulations that govern how travelling circuses treat their animals. The tigers were held at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre when they were quarantined after their initial rescue in 1996.
The Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre concentrates on the conservation of rare, vulnerable or endangered animals with emphasis on the Che...