Tsezar seemed doomed to die. Without food or water, he and five other tigers were abandoned at a private club in Kiev. Their owner, a well-known businessman in the area, packed up and disappeared, leaving the six tigers abandoned at the end of 2019.

Fortunately, they were found just in time by local animal activists. However, the condition of the tigers at the time was appalling. The animals were dehydrated, malnourished and lying in their own excrement. The small 10m² cage of Tsezar and and his companion tigress Kleopatra was at an awkward angle, and as soon as the water rose from the nearby river, their enclosure was flooded. At the time of their rescue in January, the ice was thawing, and the bottom of the cage was under water.

This is not the only suffering Tsezar and Kleopatra had to endure. They were also used for intensive breeding – although it is assumed that they were brother and sister, they are probably the parents of at least the four other tigers at the private club.  

The animal activists intervened as quickly as possible and a permanent home was quickly found for four tigers. But for Tsezar and Kleopatra, only a temporary space was found, and a local rescue centre agreed to take them in whilst a permanent solution was found.

As FOUR PAWS rushed for a solution for the tigers, the paperwork for the export of a tiger from Ukraine took many months to prepare, as CITES bureaucracy is very strict for certain animals in Ukraine. This combined with COVID-19 travel restrictions meant it was impossible to transfer the tigers any sooner. Tragically, the female Kleopatra was diagnosed with severe lung cancer and sadly she died at the rescue centre.

Tsezar remained lonely, until we could bring him to FELIDA. He arrived on 22 October 2021. It was an exhausting journey, so the whole team was extremely proud of how well Tsezar coped with the long transport to The Netherlands. FELIDA Big Cat Sanctuary is especially suited for the specialist care of traumatised big cats and with that the ideal place for a tiger like Tsezar. In the company of other big cats, like tigress Dehli, he gets a second chance at life. One with suitable living conditions and all the care and attention he so deserves.

How resilient animals can be. The first few days at our FELIDA Big Cat Sanctuary were very stressful for Tsezar, but within just a week he is very comfortable in his new home. He explores everything calmly, eats well, is curious about Tigress Dehli, friendly to his caretakers and above all he enjoys his hammock!

Having just been at FELIDA for a brief time, tiger Tsezar is doing well. He is currently in an enclosure of 150 square metres. But eventually, we will extend the enclosure, as like many of the animals who arrive at the sanctuary, the caretakers don't want to overwhelm him at first.

His enclosure is filled with numerous exciting enrichments for him, such as climbing structures with a ramp so that he doesn't feel the need to immediately jump, but take his time to walk up to such heights. He also already loves his little pool and the greenery around the enclosure – something he has never experienced before!

In general, Tsezar's health is okay. Nevertheless, his caretakers have noticed that he consumes a lot of water, which is a common symptom of kidney issues in big cats. According to the blood results, his kidneys are not at their best, so the onsite team will keep a close eye on them and monitor him carefully.

Tigress Dehli is his neighbour, and he is starting to connect with her already by making contacts while chuffing with each other, rubbing through the fence but of course not all the time, also it's not in tiger's behaviour to socialise a lot as they are solitary animals. But the onsite team believes that he likes her and that they are already companions.