Cedar Cove 07.19.08
Saturday, it was time for The Gunny Show! Gunny is the father of Mohan and Rajah, but he has no idea they're his boys -- and not that it matters, because even in the wild, all Gunny would see is two young males on the edge of his territory. So Gunny spends most of his time in the habitat area stalking his boys. Mohan and Rajah have gotten used to it, although sometimes there are a few roars exchanged between the generations. I got some great pictures of Gunny, who really is one handsome tiger. Tynne became vocal about being lonely -- she misses her brother Earl, and Gunny (on the other side of her enclosure) was out bothering the cubs. We moved Tynne into Earl's old enclosure, on the end by a gate we volunteers have to use frequently. She seems to like it there, and we think she'll feel less lonely with all of the bipeds going by. On another sad note, we finally received the headstone for Clarence, the brother of Mohan and Rajah who died back in January. We're going to have another one like it made for Earl.
Read MoreThis picture will forever break my heart. It's one of the last pictures I took of Sammy. He often had a sad look on his face, but in retrospect he almost seems to be trying to tell me he's not feeling well and wants to be comforted. At least I was able to tell him he was the bestest tiger in the world, not knowing, of course, how ill he was. (We knew he hadn't been feeling well, but we didn't know how serious it was.) Sammy knew he was loved, and that was important to him -- I know that from the way he reacted whenever any of us gave him affection. I miss you so much, Sammy.