Amanda the Tiger

September 17, 2021 Carole Baskin

Female Tiger

Born: 1/1/1996

Rescued: 9/28/2011

Died: 9/16/2021 at the age of 25

Click this button to hear a short summary of Amanda's story.

[audio mp3="https://bigcatrescue.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Amanda_Tiger.mp3"][/audio]

Amanda is the timidest of the three tigers that have become known as the Texas Tigers or the Texas Trio. She is very shy, even years after being rescued, she still slinks and hides away when people approach her enclosure. Although she does have her moments when she will react completely opposite of this and charge the side of the enclosure and roar. It is unclear whether she is doing this out of aggression or to simply entertain herself by getting a rise out of the keepers. A tiger will certainly do this for aggressive reasons, however, when she does charge the side of the enclosure and a keeper does not react but rather stands still, she will then chuff and rub her cheek along the side of the enclosure in a friendly manner.

She is the smallest of the three Texas tigers. She has a darker tail with what looks like the astrological sign of the Leo with three dots. The top dot is the darkest and biggest. The second dot is smaller and less dark, and the third is even less so. More about how to tell the Texas Tigers apart can be found at https://bigcatrescue.org/telling-apart-arthur-andre-amanda/.

Amanda is often worked with by the keepers with operant conditioning. The operant conditioning program is meant to build a trusting relationship between her and her keepers. It is a critical tool used by Big Cat Rescue to ensure the cats in our care are not only comfortable but also happy and healthy. By rewarding her with food for a simple action like approaching a keeper in a calm manner, she will begin to associate her caregivers with a positive experience which allows her to feel more comfortable in her forever home.

Amanda and her two brother’s Arthur and Andre were born in 1996 in New Jersey. They were born with the intentions of using them as pay-to-play photo props and sadly, that is exactly what happened. It never makes sense to breed for more cubs just so that you can raise enough money to pay for last years cats, however, that is all too often what happens. The facility in which these three were born into eventually fell into disrepair and was ultimately shut down. The USDA revoked their license following the escape of a tiger. Learn more about the Pay-to-Play schemes and what you can do to stop them at CubTruth.com.

In 2003, Wild Animal Orphanage in Texas took in the 24 tigers from the facility. Unfortunately, many places forget to factor in the cost of taking in each cat, and a tiger has a BIG appetite. It was not long before they fell into financial troubles and by the year 2010, they were filing for bankruptcy.

It took over a year and a half to find permanent homes for all the cats. This was largely due to the costs an average of $10,000 per year in food and vet care per cat.

Amanda, Arthur, and Andre were three very lucky tigers! An anonymous donor couple who had known these tigers as cubs fortuitously stepped in to fund the rescue and ongoing care for all three who would be coming to live at Big Cat Rescue.

Texas Tiger Rescue

https://youtu.be/HkUJKcNntqw

Read more about this rescue at https://bigcatrescue.org/advocat-news-2011-10/

You Don't Mess With a Tiger at Feeding Time

https://youtu.be/o5-71WOh2gE

Medical Update 5/28/2015

What Do You Do When A Tiger Gets A Belly Ache?

https://youtu.be/GkYf0CSqk4s

Amanda has not eaten for three days. Dr. Wynn came out to the sanctuary to evaluate her before the decision was made to sedate her. Anesthesia is always a risk; however, it can be truly scary in an elderly cat like Amanda. Having ruled out many of the most obvious reasons for her not eating, it was concluded that sedation would be necessary. During diagnostics and exams, it has been determined that Amanda had an infected uterus and would require an emergency hysterectomy.

Amanda Tiger Has Emergency Surgery

https://youtu.be/VEzUjfu55OQ

Amanda, Andre, & Arthur enjoying popsicles.

Medical Update 5/30/2015

Amanda is doing well this morning. We have been watching her on the DropCam.

Dr. Helga Blaeyart, VMD DACVS of Blue Pearl Animal Hospital performed her surgery. She was assisted by Dr. Sami Peterson, Dr. Tammy Miller, and Dr. Liz Wynn. Three of the vets work at Blue Pearl and our vet, Dr. Wynn works at Ehrlich Road Animal Hospital.

Dr. Miller and Dr. Peterson are eye doctors, so they called in Dr. Blaeyart, who they said was their best surgeon. She worked very quickly and was incredibly cautious so as not to leave any bleeding vessels untied. This was no easy task, as Amanda’s uterus was so full of puss. The vessels supplying blood were as big around as a human finger, so making sure that they were tied off securely and would not allow for her to bleed out internally was a monumental task. There was also the constant tension of knowing that one wrong move at any second could rupture the uterus, allowing for the puss to spill over into Amanda’s abdomen. This could have poisoned her beyond any antibiotic’s capabilities in healing. It was almost as though we were watching a ticking time bomb be disarmed while strapped to a loved one.

Following the surgery, while Amanda was being loaded up into the transport cage, Gale was adjusting the anesthesia tube and asked the vets to examine Amanda’s lower jaw. They said that it felt as though it had been broken on one side and now it was just floating in space. The ends felt rounded which indicated that it had been some time since the break. Being that it did not impede her eating, there was probably nothing that they could do about it. You will also notice in the video that Afton will post later, Amanda has white spots, similar in look to pimples, all over her spleen. There really is not much that can be done for this either being that she is a 19-year-old cat. The vets will do further research on this matter.

Amanda Tiger Day 1 After Surgery

https://youtu.be/Jn6maj9P-WY

Surgery Update 6/17/2015

Amanda is doing very well. Her incision is healing up and looks great. It will still be a while before she can go back in with her brothers. Since she is not allowed access to her pool right now we are setting up a mister for her to enjoy.

Like Joseph, Amanda does not always 'appreciate' a camera so we are not stressing her by taking cameras around her. Until we take a new photo we hope you enjoy this photo taken of Amanda a few weeks ago.

Medical Update 10/8/2017

Amanda was seen for a dental visit today along with a few other cats. She has one canine that is in terrible shape and may require it to be surgically removed.

Amanda Tiger Being Transported to the Vet for a Dental

Amanda Tiger is not fond of dental visits.

She did great throughout the entire procedure but when it came time for her to wake up, her vitals crashed. Several of the keepers were at her side all afternoon and she was given oxygen and monitored by the vets until they were positive that she would remain stable and was in the clear. She will spend the night in the transport cage and will be released tomorrow.

Amanda can be fierce, there is no doubt about that! But she does have her softer moments. One of the Keepers has a tender heart and was there, by Amanda's side while she recovered from this procedure. Chelsea sang to Amanda and kept her calm and alert as she watched over Amanda.

Chelsea Singing to Comfort Amanda

https://youtu.be/TM4VHSTtdSs

Amanda is the Last to Go Home, Today

Medical Update 12/11/2018

Amanda was brought into the hospital today because she is having difficulties with a dew claw that has grown in oddly and has now grown into the pad of her paw. This is creating a noticeable discomfort for her so Dr. Justin will be trimming it back for her. Removing the claw from the pad of her foot left a wound that was cleaned, and it was determined that Amanda will need to spend some time in the recovery cage on antibiotics to prevent infection. She should be back to her old self in no time.

Amanda Tiger Goes to the Vet to Have a Dew Claw Trimmed Back

https://youtu.be/6g005vwNTFA

360 Footage of 2018 Vet Visit for Claw Removal

These 360 videos look great if you use the special very affordable Big Cat Rescue goggles at BigCatRescue.org/VR

Amanda shows you that tigers do NOT make good pets!

https://youtu.be/yoTsFK5_fDs

Amanda Tiger's Home Tour

https://youtu.be/m1MfE-R0psI

Amanda Tiger LOVES vacation and the pond!

You can watch the cats on Vacation 24/7 at BigCatCams.com

https://youtu.be/ZwA6cSY-5kM

Today, January 1, 2021 Amanda turns 25 years old!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMANDA!

https://youtu.be/ytmoFMNY3CA

Amanda tiger vacation 25 years old It's hard to believe this girl is 25 years young!

That's 150 years old in human years! She is thought to be the oldest living tiger in captivity.

Amanda enjoys the hammock in Vacation Rotation and frequently hangs out here! She is still very active to be 25 years old! Amanda Tiger Vacation Hammock

Update 9/16/2021

Amanda Tiger is being examined by Dr Justin Boorstein today.
https://bigcatrescue.org/amanda.
She’s 25 and has been on Vacation Rotation but the last two days she refused to eat and now she’s having trouble breathing.
We will run diagnostics but at her age there isn’t likely to be anything we can fix. Amanda-photo-vet-1

Update 9/16/2021 PM

Amanda Tiger is headed to meet up with Arthur and Andre. Amanda’s x-rays showed that her kidneys were just riddled with stones and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that much red on a lab report for things that have failed including most notably her kidneys. She was fierce and independent right up to the end. One of the camera operators had captured footage of her refusing to use the old lady ramps to get up onto the platforms and instead insisting on jumping up there on her own. She will be missed greatly.
Amanda was 25 1/2 years old.

Amanda tiger watching the sunset over the sanctuary

Amanda tiger sunset

This video of Amanda with her brothers, Arthur and Andre is symbolic of her passing and a celebration of the fact that they no longer are confined to cages.

https://youtu.be/m8gDGTWF0tw?t=45

Two Important Things You Can Do to Make a Difference for Tigers Like Amanda

Since Amanda and her brothers started out life as photo props in the cub pay to play schemes you might be interested in learning more about that and how it impacts tigers, their cubs, and saving tigers in the wild. Learn all about it at CubTruth.com

After you read CubTruth.com if it leaves you wondering what you can do please go to BigCatAct.com and use the quick easy tool there to let lawmakers know you want The Big Cat Public Safety Act passed into law.

Amanda has her very own photo album with OVER thirty (30) photos at https://www.facebook.com/groups/BigCatRescueUnits/photos/?filter=albums We will continue to add more photos of Amanda to her album periodically.