Goodbye Tiny, our African lion.

Tiny was the last surviving of him and his two brothers Kafara and Manzi and the passing of all three of these boys is like the end of an era for us here at the Sanctuary.  The three boys resided here for almost 17 years, arriving from Paradise Wildlife Park as two-year-olds, just teenagers by lion standards.  Here they grew from young boys into handsome lions in their prime.  All three of them living together made an amazing spectacle for everyone to see. Especially when lying, lined up on their platform, side by side.

Tiny didn’t have the easiest of starts, however.  While at Paradise, Tiny was very unwell as a young cub and keepers were worried he would not survive to adulthood.  As a result, while his brothers were given African names, Tiny was nicknamed ‘Tiny’, after all he was the smallest of the three.  The keepers were not aware though what an incredible fighter Tiny was and not only did he survive his illness, but he also went on to be the last surviving brother. What an incredible strength of character he had and the nickname he was given stuck for good.

His rough start may have limited Tiny’s body size but what he lacked in bodyweight, Tiny made up for in lion mane! He had the largest and most luxurious mane of any lion to have lived at the sanctuary and his personality certainly had not been stunted either.  Tiny was the ultimate prankster and always the instigator of mischief.  Feed time routine involves keepers calling the cats into their dens while they clean the enclosures.  When the cats are let out, they have a lovely big meal waiting for them as a reward.  Therefore, for most cats, being shut in their dens is something they are keen to do, but not our Tiny!  For Tiny, seeing the keepers arrive did not signal time to go into his den, it signalled time to start goofing around and leading his brother Kafara astray at the same time.  Going into the den was nowhere near as fun as pretending to go in and bolting away at the last minute, nor was it as fun as play chasing with his brother and rolling around tantalisingly close to the entrance to prove to keepers who made the rules.  When and only when Tiny decided play time was over (always after his less naughty brother), would he come inside so he could finally be fed by his endlessly patient (usually slightly flustered by this point) keepers.  We wouldn’t have had him any other way.

Tiny, also known as ‘Tiny Tot’, could be told apart from his brothers by his huge mane, his broad, square shaped muzzle and his practically perfect, unscarred face. A rare thing for a lion living with others.  Normally in a group of lions, nicks and scratches would be evidence of a life lived together.  True to form however, Tiny would be good at starting mischief and then getting the heck out of the way while his brothers finished it, letting his ego, as well as his face, remain pristine.

In the past year though, age had caught up with Tiny.  At 18 and a half years old we had been seeing him slow down and had been monitoring him closely.  His joints had been becoming stiff and his balance was not as it was.  We made the decision to try him on new medication to see if we could improve his condition but sadly, medication no longer had the necessary effect, and we were not able to keep his joint pain under control.  With the support of Nic, our vet, we made the decision it was time to say goodbye to our Tiny Tot.

It is never easy to have to say goodbye to any of our cats, let alone those who have been with us for so long.  Dear Tiny will never be forgotten, he would never allow it!  His time here has had such an impact on staff and visitors alike and he will always be part of the original foundations of The Big Cat Sanctuary.