Michael Jackson’s tiger, dead

The 13-year-old female tiger cub of Michael Jackson died on June 11 as a result of lung cancer. This 375-pound Bengal tiger—whose name matched that of the best-selling album in history—lived for years in Michael’s private zoo on the Neverland ranch, delighting children. In the final years of its life, the tiger lived in a protected area in California. The tiger has a brother named Seboo (Sabu), who was born on November 20, 1998. The two tigers lived at Neverland until May 4, 2006. When Michael left the country after the 2005 trial, the animals were left alone with their veterinarian. A year later, Michael decided to shut down Neverland, and the veterinarian asked the owner of the protected area, Shambala, who is an actress and animal-rights activist named Tippi Hedren, to take care of the tigers. The protected area is located 50 miles north of Los Angeles. Other animals from Neverland, including giraffes, flamingos, orangutans, elephants, and several reptiles, were also relocated to other sanctuaries. Shambala didn’t have enough space for the tigers, but Hedren built a $79,000 enclosure for them near a river. Mrs. Hedren says the tiger had a good life alongside her older brother: "All his attention was on him. He guided his brother and was in control. Watching their relationship was interesting. He showed behavior toward his brother that a male tiger normally wouldn’t allow. He stole food for his brother. We had never seen anything like that before. He was a very independent and powerful tiger." Hedren says that when these big cats first arrived at Shambala, they were in complete physical and emotional health, whereas most animals brought to this area usually have painful pasts and have been mistreated and neglected. Upon arriving at their new home, Trailer and Seboo had to stay in quarantine for 30 days to adjust to the new conditions. Hedren says the siblings were able to handle the work well. Fifteen tigers are kept in the enclosure, but Seboo is alone in his shared cage with Trailer, and it will likely remain that way. However, Trailer’s fame brought many visitors to see her. The media also took many films of the Michael Jackson tiger, although the girl didn’t pay much attention to the cameras. Hedren says the death of every single animal at Shambala is painful, and the staff are trying to cope with the absence of these animals. Hedren is also upset that Michael, over these past few years, hadn’t checked on his tigers and hadn’t issued a check to support them at Shambala, although it’s likely that showcasing these tigers was income-generating. She says she sent pictures of the two tigers to Michael’s children, but she received no response. Source: eMJey.com / AP