It’s unclear how Aasha came up in such a bad situation, but she was critically unwell when Vicky Keahey, founder of Texas’ In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue and Educational Center, discovered her. She weighed barely more than 30 pounds, which should have been the weight of a three-month-old cub, but she was over nine years old.
Vicky was very concerned about Aasha’s deteriorating state and wanted to find out what had happened to her. “I was perplexed as to how a 9-month-old tiger could be so little,” she explained.
The sad tiger cub turned out to be a member of a touring circus. She wasn’t permitted to eat since she was held in a cage with a larger animal. She also had a skin ailment known as ringworm, which was exacerbated by her lack of basic treatment. As a result, Vicky made the decision to abduct Aasha and care for her.
“Aasha’s bald spots covered almost her entire body and her skin were dry [with] cracked, darken areas and bleeding,” Vicky said. “Every day, twice a day, I would go in and give Aasha medications and spend time with her. I knew I was going to have to handle her in order to get her well.”
And the wild kitten’s situation never looked better after only a few weeks of adequate treatment. “You could see small tufts of fuzz sprouting back to [what were formerly] bald places after eight weeks of therapy,” Vicky added.
However, it took almost eight months until Aasha made an incredible recovery. “Within eight months she looked like a real tiger, and it was time to see how she would react to other tigers,” Vicky also said. And right now she’s unrecognizable!
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