Meet Izzy

Izzy was rescued from a carnival near Chicago when he was only 4 ½ months old. He is a Siberian/Bengal mix tiger and was growing like a weed. He quickly outgrew his cub stage and was going to be euthanized. We were able to rescue him from this fate and provide him a great home here at the sanctuary. He is still growing and will be a very big adult. Izzy has beautiful markings and resembles a Siberian tiger more, due to his size and thick soft fluffy coat. Siberian tigers generally have a thicker coat due to their cold natural habitats.

Izzy never had access to a large body of water before coming here and didn’t know what to do when he first discovered a pool in his yard. He cautiously backed in the water and carefully got all four paws in the pool. These days, we can’t seem to get him out of the pool! Even in the winter we will break the ice from his pool so he can enjoy an occasional icy dip. Just like a young child, he wants to put all of his enrichment items in the pool as well. Often times visitors will see big balls, bowling pins, and boxes scattered throughout his pool. His favorite enrichment items so far are boxes filled with flowers…a true gentleman! Izzy is definitely a carefree, laid back young tiger. Nothing seems to really bother him and he has not met a stranger yet.