We had something big happen today. One of Scooter's friends, Zippy, made a giant leap. Zippy is a female Bengal tiger who was rescued after hurricane Ike. She was rescued from what was called a make-shift home zoo in Crystal Beach, TX. This 400-pound tiger was abandoned as Hurricane Ike tore through the area. She was left in a locked enclosure with nowhere to go and no choice but to attempt to ride out the storm. Amazingly, Zippy survived the devastating storm.
Zippy now has a large habitat with a pool and waterfall, perches, grass and an assortment of enrichment items to play with. It was to no surprise to the Staff of IEAS that Zippy really didn't want to get into her pool even though tigers normally love water. She had spent days treading water waiting to be rescued! The closest she would get is to lay in her fall with her tail draped in the water. Well this morning, two years after her rescue, the Curator was going about her usual work and noticed that Zippy was in her pool! She was just laying there enjoying her time. This makes all of us at IEAS extremely happy knowing that she has the confidence and security she needed to make this stride and has regained her love for water! My only regret is that we were not able to get a picture of this big event. We are confident there will be a next time and will post pictures as they come.
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