Dr. Josip Marcan
Dr. Josip Marcan is widely recognized as the foremost expert on tigers in the world. He discovered his uncanny ability with animals during his childhood in Croatia where he was known as the boy to whom people would bring their horses and dogs for training. As a young man, Josip earned his veterinary medicine credentials while studying at the renowned Frankfurt Zoo in Germany.
It was his tenure there, where he eventually became the assistant director of the zoo, that kindled his passion for the big cats. Unattracted by the fame and glitter enjoyed by his wild animal training contemporaries, Josip's focus was always on the cats themselves. But his revolutionary positive reinforcement methods of training wild animals brought him instant acclaim around the world; even earning him an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Dr. Marcan eventually made his way to the United States in the late 1960's and began focusing more on the endangered Bengal tiger. By the early 1980's he had developed a breeding program that was producing the finest, genetically sound Bengal tigers anywhere. Animals from his breeding program have made their homes in zoos and wildlife parks all over the world.
As we move into a new century, Dr. Marcan is realizing his life-long dream with the development of an 80 acre natural habitat preserve. Here his breeding program and animals can thrive with room to grow well into the next century.
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