Rescued Tigers arrived at the Wildheart Animal Sanctuary 28th April 2023!
After a long wait, Softi and Toph finally arrived at their forever home here at Wildheart Animal Sanctuary at the end of April 2023.
Softi and Toph, two female tigers, have had incredibly tragic lives thus far. Bred in captivity in Italy, and then in October 2019 they were found in small crates in the back of a horse box starving, dehydrated, and covered in excrement bound for Russia to fates unknown. They were confiscated at the Belarussian border and have been cared for since at a Sanctuary in Spain, run by AAP.
We are incredibly pleased to have been able to offer these two amazing animals, who have endured so much, a forever home here at the Sanctuary where they can continue their rehabilitation and live out their lives in peace.

Softi and Toph’s Story with Megan McCubbin
Warning: This video contains confronting images that some viewers may find difficult to view
Tigers at the border – A tragic
story of human greed
The Rescue Story
In late October 2019, a horse box loaded with ten tigers left a suspected circus HQ just outside Rome, in Italy destined for a ‘zoo’ in Dagestan in Russia. After a gruelling 46 hour journey, an issue with the paperwork made border officials at the Polish/Belarussian border suspicious, and as a result the transporter was initially intercepted and ultimately seized. The Tigers were discovered in tiny cages where they could hardly stand up, and in appalling conditions. All of the tigers were in a desperate state, starving, dehydrated, injured, and covered in their own excrement, and one of the tigers had sadly succumbed to the treacherous conditions and was discovered dead in her cage.
It is unclear as to what the final destination was for these tigers. The paperwork stated a ‘zoo’ in Derbent, Dagestan, Russia. What seemed unthinkable is what zoo would want that many tigers and those that were clearly in such a terrible state? It was then subsequently discovered that this zoo, had closed down in 2017. We are therefore left wondering what the likely fate of these animals would have been? Were they destined to become part of the illegal trafficking of animals and their body parts, destined for countries beyond Russia where such commodities can be traded for large profits?
TIGERS TRAFFICKED JAN 2000 – JUNE 2022
STATISTICS




Tigers were confiscated across 50 countries – with the trend increasing




of tigers seized were in the 13 TRCs across 1,688 incidents




People (at least) were arrested for involvement in tiger trafficking, 95% within TRCs
CAPTIVE SUPPLY
Tigers seized were confirmed from captive or suspected captive sources


Incidents recording whole tigers from captive sources increased from 9% in 2015 to 50% in 2018/19
TRC-Tiger range countries-13 countries where you might find wild tigers
Credit and Source: – traffic.org – Skin and Bones: Tiger Trafficking Analysis from January 2000-June 2022,
When you consider, they estimate that there are only 6,000 tigers left in the wild, and 5,000 in captivity, you can appreciate why these figures are so staggering.
Facts about the Tiger Bone Trade
Credit and Source: Traffic.org – Skin & Bones Report – Ramacandra Wong & Kanitha Krishnasamy 2022
Overall, whole tigers, dead and live, as well as a variety of tiger parts equal to a conservative estimate of 3,377 tigers were confiscated between January 2000 and June 2022 across 50 countries and territories, with data showing an increasing trend.
According to Skin and Bones: Tiger Trafficking Analysis from January 2000–June 2022, the tigers and their parts were seized in 2,205 incidents, mostly in the 13 Tiger Range Countries (TRCs).
The future for Toph and Softi
The future for both tigers is looking a lot brighter as our team of expert animal carers have begun with their introduction and rehabilitation here at the Sanctuary. The abuse that these tigers have endured was so severe that their road to recovery is going to be a long and ongoing process. This has been successfully started at AAP and will continue for the rest of their lives at our Sanctuary.
The Wildheart Animal Sanctuary has a long and successful track record of working with rescued big cats, and provides an individual care plan that is tailored for the needs of each tiger.
Both tigers are now around 6 years old, and in their prime. They have been settling in well over the last few weeks, their past traumas still very evident, but we are pleased to see they are getting used to their new environment and their new carers, and are being seen more regularly exploring their new home.








Funding urgently needed to provide for Softi and Toph
Habitat Setup Costs


To set up the habitat for tigers to include shelters, bedding, platforms, heaters, cleaning tools, enrichment toys and more.
£40,000
Ongoing Costs


Costs to cover the ongoing rehabilitation of each of the tigers. This cost is per tiger per month.
£1,000 per month
Daily Feeding Costs



To feed each tiger per week including red meat and supplements.
£45 per week
How you can help
Donate a Feed



Adopt Softi or Toph


Monthly Donation


Our Roarsome Supporters…..
Gillian WHITTAKER
Lesley Brown
Please do not contact me.
Ted Judges
A little can go a long way
Abeer Alansari
Philippa King
You are so welcome to this small gift..xx
Christopher Orlande
Sofie Holland
Sylvia Gotts
Donation on behalf of mr paul Ansell who loved wildlife animals
Anonymous
My Mother visited your sanctuary last week and was really taken aback by the work you do for these animals … Read more
My Mother visited your sanctuary last week and was really taken aback by the work you do for these animals. You are doing an amazing job. Well done
Joanne Muir
Alison Francis
Just wanted to make a tiny contribution towards the new tigers.
Peter Hayward













