The sound of my heartbeat was growing so loud, I thought everyone else could hear it as a white van with a tiger logo on the side pulled into our driveway. The baby tiger had finally come. A tall, black haired man stepped out of the van, immediately checking his watch. I knew he was only a few minutes late, but the look on his face told me it bothered him greatly.
To try and make him feel more welcome, I open the front door with a happy smile on my face. Nothing would be able to ruin this day. I hear my dad squeezing through the door behind me, it seemed as though he was just as excited as I am.
"Hello, Dr! I am so glad you could make it." I exclaim, shaking his hand joyfully. He smiles slightly.
"I'm sorry about being late, little guy was a fighter when I tried putting him in the carrier." He says nervously.
"Oh, its alright! I am just happy to see you're here." My words make him let out a sigh of relief. He seemed to be more anxious than I was.
"Before I bring him in, is it alright if I take a look around, at the sanctuary?" My heart drops. It appears I wont be seeing the cub right away after all.
"Sure." I say, trying my best not to sound disappointed. I couldn't help wanting to see the cub as soon as possible, he must be very handsome.
I lead him towards our back gate, trying my best to answer all of his questions about the sanctuary. He seems to be just as worried about the Tiger's safety as I am. I explain our plans about adding more security cameras, hiring a couple more security guards, and setting up a new alarm system for the fences.
"You sure have a lot of land." He says as we walk around to Nala's enclosure.
"Oh yes, through the generous donations of people all over the country we have been able to buy some of the surrounding lots. We do hope that not all of the land will be needed though, as our main goal is to release the tigers that we breed and care for."
"You won't release the cub though, correct?" He asks nervously. I look towards him with a polite expression.
"Of course not. He will have to stay here permanently. A white tiger's chance of survival is very...slim." I sigh. I do not want to keep him here away from the wild, but deep down I know that it is his best chance.
We continue on the tour for about a half an hour, before heading back towards the front yard. Thankfully, he seems very impressed with our sanctuary.
"Well, I must say, you're doing a wonderful thing here. You should be proud of your daughter, sir."
"Oh, I am." My dad turns towards me, a big smile appearing on his lips.
"I appreciate that. Now, not to sound eager, but that cub must hate being cooped up. Do you have a copy of his feeding schedule?" I ask, trying my best to sound professional.
"Yes, he feeds in constant time intervals, he sure is a hungry little fella." He says, handing me a detail folder full of the cub's sleeping patterns, health, activity, and food intake. "He should be fed in a few minutes, would you like to do the honors?" My heart jumps. He is finally unlatching the back of his van and reaching in!
Slowly, I follow him to the open door, eager to get a peek at the cub. He pulls out a large metal dog carrier with a towel draped over it. This isn't surprising considering keeping the tiger in the dark will make it less anxious during the car ride. Once he takes the towel off, I swear I let out an audible gasp. The tiny cub is curled up in a corner of the cage, sleeping very peacefully. His fur looks as bright as fresh snow shining in the sunlight, littered with unique patterns of black striping. His nose twitches at the smell of his bottle of milk being taken out of the front seat.
"Here," the Dr. says as he hands me the warm bottle, the cub staring intently at us now, wide awake. "now be careful, he's a handful when you try to take him out of that cage." He laughs as I unlatch it.
He wasn't kidding. The moment my hand touches his soft fur, the cub bolts upright and begins playfully attacking my fingers. Giggling, I grab ahold of the scruff of his neck and pull him out. He continues to fight me as we walk towards the porch and I set him on my lap. As soon as I put the bottle near his mouth, however, he begins eating like he has been starved for his whole life. With his paws, he starts gently scratching at the bottle as if it will make it come out faster.
"He sure is a fat little guy huh?" I say as my dad sits next to me.
"I'll say, he's acting like he'll never eat again."
After he is finished eating, I carry the cub to a small enclosure full of big cat toys, where we keep all of the young tigers. I thank the Dr. for bringing the cub about a thousand times, before he finally decides to leave the sanctuary. He promises that he will come visit the cub every now and then to see his progress here. I hope this is true, because he really seems to know what he is doing and cares amount tigers as much as I do.
"What should we name him?" I ask my mother as we stare at the playful cub through the fence. He is currently chewing on a rubber chicken, biting into the neck like he's trying to kill it.
"Thor?" She asks, as he manages to rip the head off the chicken.
"Like the God?"
"Yeah, he's strong for a little guy. I have a feeling he will grow to be very big." She says as he begins to rip the chicken into smaller pieces, seeming happy with himself.
"I like it. Thor the Tiger it is. How do you like it, Thor? Does that sound good?" I ask him, bending down closer to the fence. He tries to roar, which only ends up being an adorable squeal. I don't think I can ever get enough of him. Nala, however, doesn't seem as amused as we are. I catch a glimpse of her staring at the cub, looking very disgusted. Slightly annoyed, I walk up to the fence shes hiding behind.
"You have to like this one. He is going to be staying here for just as long as you are. Maybe you can keep him company when he gets a little older, he could use a playmate." I say to her, part of me wishing she would talk again. She lets out an angry sigh and disappears into the brush. I wish I could have spent more time with her lately, but my schedule has continued to grow busier and busier the more the sanctuary expands. Something tells me that I have to mend things, but I'm worried it may be too late.
"Was that Nala?" My mom asks me as I walk back to her. I nod my head sadly.
"Yeah, didn't stick around for very long though."
"Maybe I can help? You've been spending hardly any time with her, youre always working now. I can ask for a few days off work and i'll take care of--"
"No, I can't ask you to do that. I'll find time, thank you though." I cut her off. No way was I going to let my mom do my work for me. She lets out a quiet sigh, but gives in.
"Fine, but you better spend more time with her. She'll go crazy without the company." She says, walking back towards the house.
Once she is out of sight, I walk into the enclosure with Thor and start picking up the pieces of the chicken. This small task seems almost impossible as he keeps trying to knock me over by attacking my feet.
"No Thor. We do not attack people." I say, trying to hide a laugh as I pull him off of my shoe. He looks very disapproving. "Now, I believe it is feeding time again." I pull out his bottle from a small fridge in the corner of the enclosure. "You hungry?" I ask, crouching down and holding out the bottle. Excitement in his eyes, he bounds towards me.
Feeding Thor didn't take long, as he sucked the bottle down a little too quickly. I have a feeling that he will be very hard to wean from it when the time comes. For now, It will be sleepless nights for me as I have to get up every few hours to feed him his formula. My excitement levels couldn't be higher.
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Hope you enjoyed reading!
A bit short, but I have gotten a new job and no longer have as much free time as I used to.
I hope you enjoyed meeting Thor as much as I did!
Love,
Zombiegirl
