tony in the house!

you may have read in the news that tony had overstayed his last visit to the moat in his yard. the way it was reported in the media i have to say really bothered me. i really took offense to the title using the word lazy to describe him. a title that has now made national news. he wasn't being lazy, there was something else going on. maybe becuz of his age there was a physical or mental limitation. using the word lazy is degrading. i also have been bothered by ignorant comments i've read. opinions from people based on knowing nothing. sure, after seeing him down there two days in a row, it made me nervous, but you can't take a big step involving what it would to extract him, without giving him some time to possibly make the move on his own. if your house-cat didn't want to come in from the yard, would you dart it after a day just to bring it in? believe me, his keepers take great care of him and were monitoring him constantly. ... the info as i witnessed it > after almost three and a half days, for his own good, he had to be tranquilized and brought inside. although he was eating and a bit playful, tony celebrated his 18th birthday the weekend before and for a tiger, that makes him a senior. he passed his recent routine exams with great marks, but after a certain point there was cause for concern. never faced with this situation before, the zoo requested assistance from the SFFD in project tony lift. everything went smooth and tony is out of the moat and temporarily residing full-time in the lion house (night quarters). tony shares the outside yards (grottos) with the other two tigers. the three of them rotate the two yards and the night quarters several times during the day. in light of tony's adventure and that one of his roommates, padang, is 20, one of the yards will be adjusted to accommodate their geriatric needs, which will include not having access to the moat area. when that is done, tony will be able to go outside to the yard again. ... here are two pictures i took of tony while he was on holiday in the moat. i was there two of the days, trying to give him a pep talk and keep an eye on him. he is such a sweetheart! when he looks at you with those eyes that are the color of lemonade, you just want to melt. i wanted to capture those eyes in the sun, but when i snapped the pic, he gave me the kitty hug blink! and with his cute tongue out! you can see his gorgeous eyes in the other pic. ... love ya sweet tony! glad you are out of the moat and safe!