Kimba Tiger

Male Tiger
Born 2017

Rescue from the circus by ADI June 2018
Arrived at Big Cat Rescue November 25, 2019

Kimba is a male tiger who was rescued from the circus in Guatemala along with two other tigers, Max and Simba. Kimba is the youngest, born sometime in 2017.

They came to us after Guatemala passed a law banning the circus.  Animal Defenders International was a major force behind the passing of the law. The tigers were supposed to have been turned over to authorities.  Instead, Hermanos Ponce Circus went on the run. In June 2018 Animal Defenders International and authorities had found the circus and implemented the rescue mission.

Because tigers are an endangered species we needed in import permit from the US Fish & Wildlife Service to bring them here.  We applied for a permit in August 2018. It took 11 months to obtain the import permit and three more months to obtain an export permit from Guatemalan authorities. The cats finally arrived in November 2019. They were flown into Miami on a cargo plane and our rescue team picked them up at Miami airport and drove them to Tampa.  During the 15 months from our application to their arrival generous donors to Big Cat Rescue helped us fund their care in Guatemala at a temporary facility operated by ADI.

During the handover from the circus to ADI the circus workers started beating Kimba viciously with an iron bar until he bled.  The ADI rescuers intervened to save his life. Kimba was left terrified, with a bleeding leg and mouth.  In circus confinement even such powerful predators are completely at the mercy of their captors. But thanks to the visitors and donors who allow us to provide lifetime care, no one will ever harm Kimba again.

Background Information

February 7, 2018, was the first time Big Cat Rescue heard about the circus tigers in Guatemala. It was a Daily Mail storytelling everyone how a 55-year old man had both his arms ripped off by starving tigers, who ate them as villagers threw rocks and beat the cats with sticks. The circus had been banned in Guatemala thanks to efforts made by Animal Defenders International. The tigers were supposed to have been turned over to authorities, but instead, Ponce Circus, and others all went on the run. On October 29, 2018, we heard that Ponce Circus tigers were still starving, and we asked ADI if they were able to find them.

By November 11, 2018, ADI was able to announce that they had gotten the last 6 tigers out of the Ponce Circus. The big cats were transferred to a temporary rescue camp that Big Cat Rescue helped to fund. Then the laborious process of obtaining export and import permits began.

In all, ADI rescued 6 lions and 15 tigers from the rogue circuses. Big Cat Rescue funded the care for 3 tigers named Kimba, Max, and Simba during this lengthy ordeal. Unfortunately, other sanctuaries had promised to do the same for the other cats, but they never followed through. The remaining cats will go and live in South Africa at the Rescue Center that ADI has built to care for them.

On November 25, 2019, three former circus tigers from Guatemala Rescued by Animal Defenders International, are on their way to Big Cat Rescue!

Kimba’s Last Terrifying Day at the Circus

Text excerpts from ADI’s Facebook post

These pictures are from ADI of Kimba’s last day in a circus in Guatemala and the last beating he would ever receive.

Following the ban, this circus had agreed to surrender nine tigers and two lions but, but was refusing to hand over six of the tigers (ADI successfully rescued them five months later). On the day of the rescue of the three boys, ADI endured abuse, circus workers stealing our tools, and even one, bizarrely, repeatedly exposing himself as they worked. The circus workers’ attempts to persuade frightened Kimba to leave his cage were a disaster; shouting, pushing poles into his cage, and making him panic – poor Kimba had never before left the tiny cage, ADI stepped in and paused the rescue to allow Kimba to calm down.

Later, the circus brought Kimba in a small trailer to the ADI cage for the transfer. Instead of waiting for him to step out in his own time, a circus worker began shouting and lashing out at Kimba with a metal bar. ADI stopped him and he stormed off.

Kimba was left terrified, with a bleeding leg and mouth. It showed how even such powerful animals in circus confinement are completely at the mercy of their captors.

ADI covered his cage and requested that police and officials keep everyone away and eventually determined that the only way to load Kimba now, was to tranquilize him. The ADI veterinary team sedated Kimba and he was taken unconscious to an ADI cage, to be removed from the circus. WHEN KIMBA WOKE UP HIS CIRCUS NIGHTMARE WAS OVER.

Arriving in Miami

Finally, the day has arrived! Watch as Max, Kimba and Simba land in Miami International Airport!