$$ WHAT THIS LION SACRIFICED TO STAY WITH HIS BELOVED WHITE TIGRESS BROUGHT TEARS TO THEIR RESCUERS’ EYES

 Nature has no rules and lovers don’t seek anyone’s permission. This is the story of two species coming together and falling in love. Creating a defining example of love and care. Although these lovers were brought together with a purpose. Humans who think of themselves nothing less than G0d made up their minds to breeding them for their personal profit. Can humans actually control everything as per their wish? Or some things are just out of their control? Can everything be twisted for one’s monetary profits? Well, the answer is hidden in this story.

Life Inside The Zoo

Inside a zoo, all of them are captive be it a lion, a bird, a deer, a monkey, a crocodile, a giraffe, all are treated as same. All of them become a product on display, where they watch people arriving in front of their cage, click pictures of them and walk away; an all day long repetitive process. They wait for their food to be served, which is not at all how they were meant to live their lives in the first place.

Cameron, The Lion

Born in 2000 at a run-down roadside zoo in New England, Cameron, the lion was destined by the zoo owners to be used as a tool to attract more visitors and gain more profits. Lions are called kings of the jungle for valid reasons. Their distinct and magnificent features get them recognized from far off distances. The blonde mane gives them this royal look that no other wild animal is gifted with. Cameron wasn’t the only one born in that year, one more rare creature came into the world in the same zoo. 

Zabu, A Hybrid

Zabu was a beautiful Siberian-Bengal hybrid tigress born during the same year at the same zoo. She was one of her kind and the zookeepers already had her future planned. Was that fair? How many of us even realize the difference between fair and unfair? Yes, the world has a lot of evil but this story goes beyond it. This one is the source of belief in life, and love and above all, faith in the Almighty.

Together Since Childhood

Zabu and Cameron were kept together since childhood. Yes, it is odd but not impossible for a lion and a white tigress to get along together so perfectly. The duo’s bond grew stronger with time. And the zookeepers were having high expectations out of them. While laws are made to protect wildlife, people can easily find the loopholes in these laws which can help them find their way out of the laws. 

Extremely Rare

Let’s just be clear that white tigers are not just uncommon but rare. A healthy female white tigress is nothing less of a miracle. Zabu had flaws but all of them were ignored for her being a white tigress. This gave Zabu an opportunity to live, to love and to roar…

Genetic Issues

One very common yet less known thing about the white tigers is that the last wild white tiger was killed in 1958 which mean all white tigers are results of inbred that are done for profit. All of them stay in captivity. While many white tiger cubs die within a few days of their birth due to genetic defects, a majority of white tiger cubs are euthanized just because they are not born with the right color. 

Inbred Tiger

The only way to bring a white tiger in the world is by breeding, brother and sister or father and daughter which is not at all good from the zoo’s part. After many unsuccessful efforts, that’s when a healthy white tiger cub is born. This shows the cruel intentions of the zookeepers. Zabu, the white tigress too suffered from a few flaws that were ignored.

Zabu’s Flaws

As we already told about Zabu being an inbred, she suffers from some genetic flaws. These flaws affect their lifestyle and a healthy living. Although the Zabu and Cameron find their peace and happiness with each other, life was not at all easy for the two. They were living in an awful environment with no one to think about them.

Lifted Upper Lip

Zabu’s upper lip was too short and this created a lot of problems for the tigress. The upper lip works as a protector to their teeth, which meant Zabu was prone to get injured badly if she met an accident during a simple playful act. As if this wasn’t enough, Zabu had another serious issue too.

Cross-Eyed

The white mane that made the zookeepers let her live was also the reason for her crossed eyes. It was because this white mane affected the poor feline’s optic nerve. This means she can’t do everything with so much perfection like other tigresses. While she was suffering from a lot, Cameron was not having good days either.

Underweight

Cameron, the lion is underweight by 200 pounds which is not at all a normal thing to happen. He too suffers from genetic defects which didn’t allow his body to grow any further after reaching to one extent. But this less weight thing was going to become one big reason behind his future escape. 

For Selfish Reasons

The zoo people kept Cameron and Zabu together without spaying or neutering either of them. This clearly showed their intentions about the two. The zoo authorities were expecting their togetherness to result in the birth of Liger cubs. But the zoo authorities were ignoring the worse consequences of this hybrid.

The Next Big Thing

You won’t see a lion falling for a tigress in the wild. This one of the strange thing that can only happen with animals kept in captivity. Ligers are the next big thing as people are going crazy to see them. They are bigger in size than any other wild cats on Earth. They can have this beautiful mixture of a tiger’s black stripes and a lion’s hair. But as you know, everything beautiful comes at its own cost.

Plethora Of Defects

As Ligers are the result of an unusual crossbred, the poor cats suffer from the high risk of being born with a high level of abnormalities that they suffer from throughout their lives. But all this was neglected by the zoo authorities as they had their own plans for the Liger cubs.

Selling For Profits

Okay, now you might think that selling of wild felines isn’t illegal? Yes, it is but ligers aren’t any of the felines. Their demand is high and they’re not yet classified and added under the protection rights of wild cats. This was the best way to get things done legally and not being blamed for anything at all. 

No Babies Yet

For four years, Cameron, the lion, and Zabu, the tigress was kept together under the zoo’s supervision but Zabu never got pregnant during this period. During these 4 years, they were kept under such unacceptable situations that you won’t believe it.

Captives

Cameron and Zabu were in the zoo for more than 4 years and apart from their personal issues that they were destined to face throughout their lives, they also had to stay in small cages. Other than this there’s something so amazing about these two that you should know.

Always Together

Apart from each other, the duo had nothing else to do. They stayed together all the time, slept, walked, played, fought, ate, everything together. But things were about to change soon, for better or worse, only time could tell. 

Up For An Adventure

Yes, Cameron and Zabu lived most of their lives together and now when it was about this new adventure, they embarked on it too together. Over the years, many people saw this couple in the New Hampshire zoo over the duration of these four years. It was going to be a tough journey but nothing in front of their life of struggles.

Always On Display

Cameron and Zabu were always on display inside their small cages. But all this was about to end soon… How? Because one fine day, an organization got to know about their sad story, how they were being forced to breed just for the sake of ligers.

For The Sake Of Ligers

Ligers can certainly bring thousands of visitors to the zoo. And if you try selling them, the cost can go as high as thousands of dollars and what comes as a cherry on the cake is the fact that there are no laws about the selling or purchasing of the hybrids. Well, this meant that not only that Cameron and Zabu’s lives were being used but also in future their babies will live a life of suffering and captivity too! All these plans for the liger cubs affected some people in a strange manner…

They Noticed

When the right people heard about Cameron and Zabu, their lives were about to change completely forever. A whole lot of people were interested in Cameron and Zabu and most of them were having ugly minds. But these people belonged to an organization that fought for animal rights and gave them the life they actually deserved.

An Unbelievable Change

What happened after this organization noticed this pair is just so unbelievable that it will take anyone into tears. These creatures had no idea that people were working so hard just to bring them out of the dark lives that they had been living in the zoo from the last 4 years. 

The Big Cat Rescue

The Big Cat Rescue, a non-profit organization was the one that got to know about Cameron and Zabu. The organization instantly took it as their main target to protect this pair from the harsh lives that they have been living in that zoo. But it wasn’t easy as they needed funds to fight for them.

Helping Cameron And Zabu

The Big Cat Rescue folks understood the zoo keeper’s plan and their cruel intentions. They knew that Cameron and Zabu’s baby ligers will be sold to anyone who’ll be ready to pay the highest price for them. The organizations started raising funds but will they be able to save the pair before its too late?

Saving The Duo

People were nice and kind-hearted towards the story of Cameron and Zabu. It didn’t take much time to raise funds and file a case against the custody of the wild cats. The decision was made and Cameron and Zabu were handed over to the Big Cat Rescue team. Will the organization let them stay together?

Used To Each Other

The Big Cat Rescue people noticed that Cameron and Zabu were so used to staying together that they might not be able to live without each other. After all, they were kept together after a few months of their birth. It seemed almost impossible that they’ll live happily without each other. 

Protective

Cameron and Zabu were given the right place, a place where they actually belonged. Looking at their reactions the Big Cat Rescue had to make a decision. Cameron, the lion was too protective of Zabu, the Tigress.  It was to a greater extent than you’ll think of. 

Stay Away!

Cameron didn’t even allow anyone to come close to Zabu, not even the vets. This was troubling the people who were in charge to care for these animals. They chose to do the right thing to calm Cameron down…

Neutering Cameron

The only way that they can stay peacefully together was to neuter Cameron. The bad part is that lions lose all their mane within a week of this process. But as Cameron wasn’t ready to leave Zabu, there was no other option left for the team other than this. Well, what do you think will be Cameron’s reaction to losing his mane?

No Mane

As assumed, within a few weeks after being neutered, Cameron lost his mane. The young Lion didn’t seem to care about it at all. How do we know that he was happy? He was gaining weight which was not at all happening for him before. This meant he was showing some great improvements in his health. Also, there were others ways in which the couple was benefited by the process.

Calmer

The adorable feline, Cameron became so calm. He went through a lot of change after getting neutered but one thing that never changed was his love and care for Zabu. Even after years of staying together, he just can’t get over her. Also, losing his mane helped the calming process in some manner…

Relaxing Together

They live in a big home now. And the maneless Cameron finds it way more relaxing in the hot days. He loves to take bath with Zabu and later on relax next to their personal pond. The Big Cat Rescue team don’t recall a single time when these two aren’t together. 

Running Around

Compared to their previous cage, this new home is a lot bigger and this helped the couple tremendously. Their health improved and their genetical defect now bothers them less. They are definitely fighting with their flaws and still managing to live a happy life together.

Toys

“His favorite toy is a big yellow ring which he bats and pushes around his enclosure in the early morning and late afternoon. While it was sad to see Cameron lose his mane, it was completely worth it so that he could continue to live with his best friend Zabu,”