Tiger in Trouble! and More True Stories of Amazing Animal Rescues
By Kelly Milner Halls
112 pages, ages 7 and up
National Geographic Children's Books, 2012
“Keeping a baby tiger as a pet might seem like a great idea,”
writes Kelly Milner Halls. After all, they weigh only a few pounds, they don’t
have teeth, and they’re cute. But as they grow older they get bigger and
stronger – and they play rough. And they can hurt their owners.
What happens to tigers when their owners can’t care for
them? If they’re lucky, they end up at a zoo. Or, like ten-year-old Nitro, at
the Carolina Tiger Rescue. Tigers in captivity can live to be 20 years old –
that’s a long time to feed them and provide adequate living space. Halls
describes how Nitro was rescued and transferred to his new home. She tells how,
when his caretakers discovered he was blind, they taught him to find his way
around his new home. And she describes a typical tiger meal: 15 pounds of meat –
whole chickens, beef, goats, deer.
Nitro lucked out. He will live out his days in a safe home,
with loving care and plenty of food. Not all wild animals raised as pets fare
as well. Halls includes a story about Suzie, and Olive baboon, and her adopted
family of Vervet monkeys – Bob and Caleb. Though they came from different
homes, they eventually found each other at the Primate Recue Center in Kentucky.
Although they’re not as big as tigers, monkeys and other
primates still require special care. They need healthy food, toys to manipulate,
and ropes and other things to play on. And when their humans are too busy to
provide those things, young primates suffer.
This is a great book for any youngster who wants to work in
a zoo. Not only does Halls give readers an up close and personal look at life
with wildlife rescuers, she lets kids know what they can do to help.
Check out other great nonfiction today at the Nonfiction Monday gathering, hosted today at Hope is the Word. Review copy provided by publisher.
This looks really interesting! A blind tiger? Wow! Thanks so much for sharing this Nonfiction Monday!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like an important books for kids to read. Kids (and a lot of adults) seem to think that it would be fun to own an exotic pet. They need to know the reality of that. I would like to check this one out and see what they have to say about it. Thanks for sharing.
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