Tigers rescued by Mirror readers enjoy first Christmas since being saved

A year ago these beautiful tigers were living in a squalid cage, performing in cruel circuses in Spain.

Now they are enjoying Christmas presents at their new haven, the Isle of Wight Zoo.

They were rescued by founder of the Wildheart Trust at the zoo, Charlotte Corney, her partner Chris Packham and helped by the generosity of Mirror readers.

Natasha, Antonella, Zoppa, Mondo and Girona received wrapped up presents which were scented with their favourite perfume.

Charlotte explains: “We often use perfume as animal enrichment as the animals react to it as though it were catnip – we think this is because of the pheromones in it.”


The Mirror joined Chris and Charlotte in Spain back in May to meet the five abused cats when they were living in a rehabilitation centre.

Readers managed to raise £20,000 to bring the tigers to their forever home in the UK.

When we came to see them on the Isle of Wight towards the end of this year, the cats were thriving and finally enjoying the life they deserve.

Charlotte says: “We can’t give them what we’d love to give them, complete freedom. They wouldn’t survive in the wild. But we can protect their interests, love them and make sure they have the best veterinary care.


“Thanks to the support and generosity of the Mirror readers, our five rescued tigers are able to enjoy the greatest gift they could be given this Christmas – the security of a loving and comfortable home where they can finally be themselves.

“Their festive presents crafted with care by our team are the icing on the cake!”

When he visited the animals for the first time in the UK, Chris said: "One of the males came out of his crate after the journey from Spain and ambled over to his pool.

"He backed in, as tigers do, then swam. He’d probably never swum before. I can’t tell you he smiled, but I can tell you he was happy. And playing a small role in making the old boy happy made my summer."

Charlotte said the tigers had also helped ease the pain of losing a tiger she had hand-reared, Zia.

She said: "One of our animal carers said on the day these cats arrived, ‘It’s like an injection of light into the zoo’. It was exactly that. All of a sudden everything lit up again and there was life."

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