Conan Tiger

D.O.B.  1/1/86 – 2004

Conan was a little cautious about his new digs at first, but just a week later he was smiling big for the camera.  He likes to come lay by his riverbed that adjoins Nini’s cage so that they can talk about the lions next door and share fishing stories.   He has taken special delight in this hard plastic spool and what he can do with it in his pool.  Conan died of old age in 2004.  His last day he shared almost exclusively in the company of Nini, his tigress friend from the circus.

TRIBUTES FOR CONAN

“Conan was my love. I have a tattoo of a tiger.  I got it when I was 19.  I probably hadn’t seen more than a dozen tigers in my whole life at that point and certainly never worked with them.  But they were my favorite animal. So, I thought when I started working at BCR that I would be drawn to the tigers.  There were only three living at the sanctuary then.  And while I love them the same as I love all the animals, I was more interested in forming relationships with the smaller cats.  I found myself “Mom” to two bobcats and enjoyed the role very much.  (Still do!)

Conan was the last entertainment tiger of the first wave of retirements.  One look in his eyes and I knew I had been waiting for him. Conan was rather old when we met, and some days he was slower than others.  But he always came to greet me.  He always chuffed hello.  He never had a bad word to say to me.  He would execute any command asked of him during training sessions.  He had a special joke of running into lockout and shaking his large piece of steak every time I fed him. In the end, when I heard he wasn’t interested in steak, I knew he was feeling pretty awful.

Conan will always live in my heart.  He was sweet and loving and giving no matter what, and I wish I could be half the person he was”…..Jessica, Senior Volunteer Keeper