Are the tigers tame?

Probably not in the sense that you are thinking. Our tigers are very loving and affectionate with the people that they know and trust, but would be lethal to strangers. House cats and dogs have been in domestication for literally thousands of years, learning to coexist and habitate with man. Captive tigers are just a few generations away from the wild and retain all of their wild instincts.

Do you ever let the animals hunt for food?

Simply put.... No. But we do have reasons. Hunting is a dangerous game for a tiger and frequently in the wild, they sustain life threatening injuries while on the hunt. Additionally, we are extremely vigilant about the quality and quantity of the food we feed our animals, which is why the animals look as healthy and beautiful as they do. All the tigers are brought into a central stable at night for feeding which allows our handlers the opportunity to visually examine each animals as well as monitor their eating habits and provide proper proportions.

Why do you train the animals to do tricks?

We believe that mental exercise is a crucial element to the captive animals' well being. All of our training is based on the animal's natural behavior and geared to exercise their instinctual drives. Additionally it allows us to perform routine veterinary procedures on the animals without the need to anesthetize them. All of our training uses the Positive Reward Training System.

What do you feed the tigers?

Tigers are known as "hyper-carnivors" which means that they are strictly meat-eaters only. Our tigers have a varied diet that is based largely on red-meat. All of it of course served raw. We feed them beef, horse and occasionally deer. Chicken is fed as a supplement and the tigers eat them bones and all. Added to their diet is a vitamin formulated especially for carnivores. Each of our tigers eats between 10 to 20 pounds of meat each day which makes our food bill one of the largest parts of our budget!

Is the Snow White Tiger an "albino"?

The Snow White color coat of the Bengal Tiger is a natural color variation that occurs because of an extremely rare double recessive gene. They are not "albino" as they have all of the typical pigmentation. The only difference is that they have white fur instead of the traditional orange and black.

Do you rescue or take in abused cats?

Our mission is slightly different than a sanctuary whose populations consist of unwanted, abused, or ailing animals. We are a preservation program, so all of our tigers are animals who were born for a purpose and are part of an on-going breeding program to maintain a healthy population of tigers. We do limited loan-outs to zoos and wildlife parks, but the majority of our animals are here to live out their lives with us on the Preserve. We are, however, affiliated with an excellent big cat rescue facility to which we refer rescue situations. If you would like to learn more about the plight of big cats in captivity, please visit our friends at Tiger Haven.

Can I visit the Preserve?

The Marcan Tiger Preserve is currently a private facility. There are tremendous expenses involved with making a facility that can accommodate the public, including restrooms, walking paths, etc. and at this stage of our development we are concentrating on building beautiful facilities for our tigers. Animals first! We are, however, exploring the possibility of making a public facility. Keep tuned to this web-site for details!



FAQs Are the tigers tame? Probably not in the sense that you are thinking. Our tigers are very loving and affectionate with the people that they know and trust, but would be lethal to strangers. House cats and dogs have been in domestication for literally thousands of years, learning to coexist and habitate with man. Captive tigers are just a few generations away from the wild and retain all of their wild instincts. Do you ever let the animals hunt for food? Simply put.... No. But we do have reasons. Hunting is a dangerous game for a tiger and frequently in the wild, they sustain life threatening injuries while on the hunt. Additionally, we are extremely vigilant about the quality and quantity of the food we feed our animals, which is why the animals look as healthy and beautiful as they do. All the tigers are brought into a central stable at night for feeding which allows our handlers the opportunity to visually examine each animals as well as monitor their eating habits and provide proper proportions. Why do you train the animals to do tricks? We believe that mental exercise is a crucial element to the captive animals' well being. All of our training is based on the animal's natural behavior and geared to exercise their instinctual drives. Additionally it allows us to perform routine veterinary procedures on the animals without the need to anesthetize them. All of our training uses the Positive Reward Training System. What do you feed the tigers? Tigers are known as "hyper-carnivors" which means that they are strictly meat-eaters only. Our tigers have a varied diet that is based largely on red-meat. All of it of course served raw. We feed them beef, horse and occasionally deer. Chicken is fed as a supplement and the tigers eat them bones and all. Added to their diet is a vitamin formulated especially for carnivores. Each of our tigers eats between 10 to 20 pounds of meat each day which makes our food bill one of the largest parts of our budget! Is the Snow White Tiger an "albino"? The Snow White color coat of the Bengal Tiger is a natural color variation that occurs because of an extremely rare double recessive gene. They are not "albino" as they have all of the typical pigmentation. The only difference is that they have white fur instead of the traditional orange and black. Do you rescue or take in abused cats? Our mission is slightly different than a sanctuary whose populations consist of unwanted, abused, or ailing animals. We are a preservation program, so all of our tigers are animals who were born for a purpose and are part of an on-going breeding program to maintain a healthy population of tigers. We do limited loan-outs to zoos and wildlife parks, but the majority of our animals are here to live out their lives with us on the Preserve. We are, however, affiliated with an excellent big cat rescue facility to which we refer rescue situations. If you would like to learn more about the plight of big cats in captivity, please visit our friends at Tiger Haven. Can I visit the Preserve? The Marcan Tiger Preserve is currently a private facility. There are tremendous expenses involved with making a facility that can accommodate the public, including restrooms, walking paths, etc. and at this stage of our development we are concentrating on building beautiful facilities for our tigers. Animals first! We are, however, exploring the possibility of making a public facility. Keep tuned to this web-site for details!
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