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Kiara-Vestigium β€” Siberian Tiger at a Big Cat Shelter

Published: 2012-07-21 14:37:43 +0000 UTC; Views: 7864; Favourites: 258; Downloads: 0
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Description
Edit: A print of this photo is now available! All profits will you straight to the Sanctuary for Predators and Exotic Animals (SPEA). it actually is a big cat shelter - SPEA was too long for the title (;

Yes, you read right: This is Boris a tiger in a big cat/cats of prey shelter.

Actually the only big cat sanctuary in Germany. Because what do you do when a circus doesn't want it's tigers anymore? Kill them? That's actually the way it usually goes. But since 1994 there has been a shelter for those cats in Wallersdorf (near Ansbach), Bavaria, Germany. All the animals there share a sad background story: Their owners couldn't care for them anymore or were criminals and imported their "pets" illegally. The authorities seized the animals and brought them here. They live a happy life with bigger cages than they were used to. Why not bring these animals to a zoo? Simple: Most of them (actually all who are there at the moment) are not pure bred. The zoos only want pure bred animals because they have the European Endangered Species Programme or EEP. Which is good program as such since they need pure breds to return them to the wild when (or even better before) they go extinct. So these animals find a new home at the Raubtier- und Exotenasyl Wallersdorf e.V. (Cats of prey and exotic animal shelter Wallersdorf). At the moment there are 6 tigers, 2 cougars, 1 Eurasian lynx, 1 Arctic fox, 1 red fox, 2 Japanese macaque [Macaca fuscata], 6 ferrets and some rabbits (nope they are usually not food for the tigers but animals which children can pet, unlike the tigers).
They are glad for any help they can get since they are a non-profit organization and finance themselves only through donations and sponsors. They even have open house every first Sunday a month - entry is free!

I did a 2-week internship there and was allowed to clean the cages, make food, feed the animals and do other stuff around the grounds. That's where I took the photos.

If you want to know more ask me or visit their website: [link] or their facebook page: [link]

Thank you!


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Comments: 75

Kiara-Vestigium In reply to ??? [2013-09-15 12:41:32 +0000 UTC]

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Nanami09 [2013-07-09 15:10:22 +0000 UTC]

Wow, amazing shot!

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to Nanami09 [2013-07-10 07:34:20 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Akita8 [2013-05-21 05:52:17 +0000 UTC]

Absolutely stunning

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to Akita8 [2013-05-21 06:05:59 +0000 UTC]

Thank you and thanks for the two favs, too!

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Akita8 In reply to Kiara-Vestigium [2013-05-21 06:55:36 +0000 UTC]

Your very welcome

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Ramsay-the-Bastard [2013-04-12 11:12:06 +0000 UTC]

What a beautiful animal

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to Ramsay-the-Bastard [2013-04-12 11:53:19 +0000 UTC]

Thank you - he is!

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roney2011 [2013-03-29 17:20:39 +0000 UTC]

very beautiful siberian tiger

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to roney2011 [2013-03-29 18:18:56 +0000 UTC]

thank you he seems like he knows that

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ChristinePettetArt [2013-02-26 22:35:12 +0000 UTC]

Beautiful picture

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to ChristinePettetArt [2013-02-26 23:06:55 +0000 UTC]

Thank you

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Ravenith [2013-02-24 16:30:02 +0000 UTC]

Wow, this photo is amazing!
And the description really touched me. I feel sorry for him

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to Ravenith [2013-02-24 17:03:12 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! I really appreciate your comment.
Thanks - we have 9 cats with a similar fate. Sometimes I feel sorry as well but then I remember that this is the best possible thing that could happen to him. He lives a life with people who care for him and love him with all their heart. His alternative would probably have been death

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Ravenith In reply to Kiara-Vestigium [2013-02-24 17:06:57 +0000 UTC]

I can agree with that it's the best possible thing that could
happen to him and I'm happy that he and the others are taken
care of by people who love them

It's a shame that they do stuff like that. I have never seen a
big cat, (lion or tiger), at a circus here. The only wild animal I've
seen at a circus here is elephants and they don't belong there. I feel
sorry for all the animals at the circus :c

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to Ravenith [2013-03-09 12:54:54 +0000 UTC]

Thanks

We have a lot of tigers and lions at the circus. Some are treated quite well while others ... well let's better not think about that. In Austria they made a ban for all wild animals in circus. Which is a good thing I think.

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Sarahharas07 [2013-02-16 21:18:18 +0000 UTC]

great photo

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to Sarahharas07 [2013-02-16 22:00:27 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!
For both the nice comment and the !

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Sarahharas07 In reply to Kiara-Vestigium [2013-02-17 16:57:49 +0000 UTC]

My pleasure

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clippercarrillo [2013-01-14 22:19:22 +0000 UTC]

Lovely.

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to clippercarrillo [2013-01-15 12:40:09 +0000 UTC]

Thank you.
And thank you for the watch, I appreciate it a lot.

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panna-cotta [2013-01-05 21:16:06 +0000 UTC]

Lovely photo! I wish I could see more of the paws (which I love like a freak) but it's wonderful anyway. The focus is perfect and the cold looking background makes the tiger stand out more

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to panna-cotta [2013-01-07 20:21:12 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for this lovely comment!
That's true - I'd love to see the paws as well, but then again I was so super happy that Boris looked straight into my camera that I apparently didn't notice that his paws had slipped out of the frame

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panna-cotta In reply to Kiara-Vestigium [2013-01-07 20:23:23 +0000 UTC]

It happens all the time

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newgirlintown628 [2013-01-05 06:26:22 +0000 UTC]

I seriously love this picture so much! This picture is what convinced me to move tigers to being my second favorite animal! SO PRETTY!!!!!! Now I just need to look at a ton of pictures of baby tigers! haha :3

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to newgirlintown628 [2013-01-05 13:52:07 +0000 UTC]

Thank you - I think you already mentioned that, didn't you? Your favourite animals are wolves ... do I remember that right?
You can't resist baby tigers, they are just too cute Have you seen "Life of Pi" It's such a great movie!

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newgirlintown628 In reply to Kiara-Vestigium [2013-01-06 20:44:02 +0000 UTC]

Yes I have mentioned that before...it's just that everytime I see that gorgeous face I can't help but remember how beautiful tigers are! And yes, Wolves are my favorite animal. :3 I love how they look and how they hunt in packs...and when they howl it sounds lonely but pretty at the same time!

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to newgirlintown628 [2013-01-07 20:23:05 +0000 UTC]

Aww, thank you! And yes, they can look right into your soul with their eyes - I swear!
That's so true! I love the pack structure of theirs as well. It shows how clever they are actually.

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MdnghtShadow [2012-10-14 15:43:54 +0000 UTC]

He is a very handsome cat! I love his eyes; you got a great photo with this guy!

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to MdnghtShadow [2012-10-15 10:59:18 +0000 UTC]

thank you for this nice compliment

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MdnghtShadow In reply to Kiara-Vestigium [2012-10-15 16:33:04 +0000 UTC]

You are quite welcome!

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Explorer15 [2012-08-06 01:23:58 +0000 UTC]

schΓΆnese Bild, du hast einen passenden Moment eingefangen.
Ich kann es kaum glauben das es ein Tierheim fΓΌr Tiger geben muss. wow

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to Explorer15 [2012-08-06 09:31:13 +0000 UTC]

Danke
Ja, das ist echt schade. Die meisten Tiere kommen aus Zoos, die die Tiger entweder nicht mehr bezahlen kΓΆnnen oder sie nicht mehr haben wollen, weil sie z.B. zu alt sind. Rhani wurde aber von einem Asylanten in einer Sporttasche (!) geschmuggelt und beschlagnahmt. Die Pumas wurden einfach so vom Zoo stehen gelassen. Kann man sich das vorstellen? Es ist echt schade, was die Tiere dort alles durchgemacht haben. DafΓΌr natΓΌrlich umso schΓΆner, dass es eine Auffangstation gibt, die ihnen ein neues Zuhause gibt.

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Explorer15 In reply to Kiara-Vestigium [2012-08-07 20:07:53 +0000 UTC]

Das ist schon ein Hammer.
Wow Tiger in Sporttasche, den Leuten gehen aber auch nie die blΓΆden Ideen aus.
Bis du in diesem Tierheim aktiv?
Wo ist diese Tierheim eigentlich?

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to Explorer15 [2012-08-08 08:16:24 +0000 UTC]

Das ist jetzt mittlerweile auch schon 19 jahre her, aber ja, das ist schon krass!
sooft es geht. ich bin nur freiweillige dort und wohne eine stunde fahrzeit von weg. deswegen bin ich leider nicht sooft da, wie ich gerne wΓΌrde
In Wallersdorf bei Ansbach, das ist Mittelfranken (Bayern, Deutschland).

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shiny-emerald [2012-08-02 22:33:25 +0000 UTC]

Wow! Ich liebe Tiger. Dieses Foto ist unglaublich! :>

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to shiny-emerald [2012-08-03 09:21:48 +0000 UTC]

Danke schΓΆn
Ich liebe Große Katzen auch. Sie haben so etwas magisches

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shiny-emerald In reply to Kiara-Vestigium [2012-08-03 10:30:18 +0000 UTC]

Jaaa <3

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Jhingle [2012-07-25 08:59:26 +0000 UTC]

What a gorgeous portrait shot - in my opinion the better of the two you've uploaded here so far. The face markings are absolutely intricate and stunning; at the same time I love how the whiskers remind me of Cleo!

In your shoes I'd definetely get this printed out as a poster - similar to your "Sweety in a bag" composition - I have the feeling it'd work very well in that function; and you'd have a constant, splendid reminder of those two weeks.

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to Jhingle [2012-07-25 11:47:49 +0000 UTC]

Thank you
Yep, it is the better one, however I'm proud of both since action shots are much harder to take.

Mum loves this one, too. she even has it as a desktop background at work
technically yes, but it would take away the focus from sweety. and I don't want that.

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Jhingle In reply to Kiara-Vestigium [2012-07-25 16:21:18 +0000 UTC]

Since my specialty is taking shots of the flowers in our garden or dearest Cleo, I can definetely appreciate the difference between the two - especially since Cleo makes it relatively easy a lot of the time.

Aww, I can understand that - she's definetely got the priority in that case.

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to Jhingle [2012-07-25 20:40:20 +0000 UTC]



yep she does. she's still my all present little tiger princess with the most adorable meow.

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Jhingle In reply to Kiara-Vestigium [2012-07-26 10:19:43 +0000 UTC]

:nods: Sweetys meow really is unforgetably cute! Did I tell you that Cleo has been realtively sweet since we came back, aswell? She made it seem like she'd really missed us - right up to the point where she threw herself in front of my bike, yesterday, making it tough not to miss her tail! Silly kitty. ^_^

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to Jhingle [2012-07-28 19:31:05 +0000 UTC]

no you haven't.
yea, stupid kitty.

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RAIS1 [2012-07-24 14:16:27 +0000 UTC]

Great pic

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to RAIS1 [2012-07-24 21:49:08 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! And thanks for the !

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RAIS1 In reply to Kiara-Vestigium [2012-07-24 21:58:01 +0000 UTC]

You are welcome

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ObscuroArcanum [2012-07-22 09:04:03 +0000 UTC]

This is a gorgeous picture!
And donating any money made from prints to them is a fantastic cause.
Would you mind if I use this image as a reference for painting?

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Kiara-Vestigium In reply to ObscuroArcanum [2012-07-22 20:42:56 +0000 UTC]

Nope, I wouldn't mind at all, though a link back would be appreciated

Thank you I'll only have to wait until someone requests it since I don't see any reason to open a print shop (I haven't used the one on DA ever) if nobody wants a print.

oh and thanks for the nice comment and the !

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ObscuroArcanum In reply to Kiara-Vestigium [2012-07-23 11:40:56 +0000 UTC]

Thankyou very much. I'll be sure to link back to you when I have painted
something. I always link back when I use backgrounds, and this will be no
different

And you're very welcome!
Best of luck with the prints.

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