In December 2020, an unlikely animal was found abandoned at a veterinarian clinic in Islamabad. Malnourished and barely able to move, four-month-old tiger cub Baboo had over 10 fractures caused due to bone and muscle deterioration from living in dark, cramped quarters.
Four years later, Baboo walked out of an airconditioned container into the vast, open grasslands of a sanctuary thousands of kilometres away in South Africa.
The Isindile Big Cat & Predator Sanctuary is now Baboo’s home. A reel posted on Instagram by the sanctuary shows the now sleek 17-month-old exploring his new habitat.
Bengal tigers are not native to Pakistan or South Africa. But the lack of connections with tiger reserves in neighbouring India and close by Bangladesh, the natural home of the Bengal tiger, meant that Baboo had to find a home elsewhere.
An abandoned cub
When Baboo was found abandoned, news of the tiger cub lying in the clinic garden had sparked outrage on social media, Islamabad Wildlife Management Board chair Rina Saeed Khan, told Sapan News. The outrage forced the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board to take notice.
Bengal tigers are indigenous to hot, humid forests and wetlands in Southasia – India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal – not Pakistan. While human beings find it difficult to get visas, various laws, differing from province to province, permit people to own wild animals as pets. The Islamabad Capital Territory does not.
As a non-indigenous species, the cub was outside the mandate of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board, said Khan. However, board members like environmentalist Viqar Zakaria pushed hard for the institution to take up the tiger cub’s case.
“We had to find a way to help him,” said Khan.
The Islamabad Wildlife Management Board worked in collaboration with the nonprofit Second Chance Wildlife, Pakistan, set up by expat and local residents, to help Baboo, also lovingly called “Dhikra” or boy.
Zakaria connected them with medical and veterinary experts like Dr Peter Caldwell from the Aspinall Foundation in South Africa. Caldwell’s advice throughout the rehabilitation process was said to be critical in helping in the cub’s health improve.
Baboo was put on a medical care and rehabilitation programme involving special dietary support and daily physical therapy, including a specially designed enclosure with exposure to natural sunlight.
It took more than seven weeks for Baboo’s bones to heal enough for him to start walking and running normally. As his condition stabilised and his mobility improved, he was moved to a larger enclosure.
But he would soon need a bigger, more permanent home.
Though South Africa, like Pakistan, is not a natural habitat for Bengal Tigers, links between organisations in both countries was a factor in relocating Baboo.
“He was outgrowing the enclosure we had for him, and when the Aspinall Foundation offered to take him, we were happy to agree,” Khan told Sapan News. “Plus, we didn’t have any connections with the tiger reserves in India or Bangladesh. And there was no way we were going to send him to a dingy zoo in Pakistan.”
A new home
Around mid-2023, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Climate Change recommended relocating Baboo to a suitable sanctuary abroad, said a joint press release issued in February by Second Chance Wildlife, The Aspinall Foundation and the Isindile Big Cat and Predator Sanctuary.
The Islamabad Wildlife Management Board and The Aspinall Foundation partnered with Isindile Big Cat and Predator Sanctuary in South Africa’s Free State Province to select Baboo’s “ethical forever home”, states the press release.
The Aspinall Foundation covered the costs associated with Baboo’s relocation to his new home, said Khan. The Pakistani volunteer who had been caring for him accompanied Baboo to South Africa.
Baboo’s relocation involved a transfer by road to Islamabad Airport, two international flights and then a two-hour drive from Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport to the sanctuary.
Pakistan’s zoos
The tiger cub is among the fortunate few to be rescued and rehabilitated given Pakistan’s dismal track record in protecting wildlife.
The death of a 17-year-old African bush elephant, Noor Jehan, at Karachi Zoo in April 2023 had highlighted the poor conditions of Pakistan’s local zoos. In another instance, the isolated and unhealthy lifestyle of Kaavan, called the “world’s loneliest elephant”, at Islamabad’s Marghazar Zoo led to its health severely deteriorating.
A public outcry catalysed international attention, including music icon Cher who championed Kaavan’s cause. Finally, a 2020 order by Islamabad High Court forced the closure of the zoo, and Kaavan was relocated to a sanctuary in Cambodia, seen off by Cher.
Not all cases of neglect make the news. Animal rights activists have long been calling for a ban on zoo culture. Justice Ather Minallah of the Islamabad High Court suggested in 2020 that instead of taking children to zoos to see animals, they should be taken to a theatre to learn about animals instead.
At the Insindile sanctuary, Baboo “has settled down well in his new home”, according to a Facebook post on February 15. Baboo joined Queen Amber, another rescued tigress at the sanctuary, a few days later.
“He is a playful, curious young tiger and immediately started to explore his enclosure, soon discovering his splash pool and platform from where he has a lovely view of the valley and mountains surrounding the sanctuary,” said the sanctuary.
This is a Sapan News syndicated feature.