Wild Tiger Health Project
Created by Dr John C M Lewis

Tiger rehabilitation must be guided by key principles of good practice.

These are the fundamental concepts that should underpin any tiger rehabilitation programmes – in other words the “golden rules”.  All individual rehabilitators, government and non-governmental organisations, and funding bodies must have these principles in mind at all stages of rehabilitation efforts, even though local conditions will dictate exactly how they can be applied in different countries and centres.

• The ultimate aim of any rehabilitation effort must be return tigers to the wild.   
• All tiger rehabilitation attempts should be done in full cooperation with wildlife authorities. 
• Taking wild tigers into captivity should be avoided if at all possible.  Every effort should be taken to assess and treat minor issues identified in wild tigers at the site of capture, followed by immediate release. Of course this is not possible in all cases.
• Any necessary period of captivity should be as short as possible.
• As little tiger-human contact as possible should be allowed during rehabilitation.  Tigers need to retain a healthy fear of humans. Holding pens should be designed to minimise visual, olfactory and auditory contact with humans. Rehabilitation must be done in such a way as to prevent tigers associating people with food or becoming comfortable with the presence of people or human habitation. Imprinting of orphaned tiger cubs to humans must be avoided. A remote or semi-remote location is desirable for tiger rehabilitation centres.No casual visitors should be allowed in rehabilitation centres.Limited and strictly controlled access by selected members of the press may be beneficial in terms of public awareness and fund-raising, but this needs to be extremely carefully managed and planned so as not to conflict with the key principles of successful tiger rehabilitation. Press releases are a useful tool and often more appropriate than visits by the press. All press events should be planned for maximum benefit to the tigers, not to accommodating spectators.
• Rehabilitation centres for tigers will be most effective when restricted to tiger rehabilitation. The most effective tiger rehabilitation centres will be those limited to a very narrow range of species (e.g. large cats) – and ideally only for tigers. Multi-species centres are far less desirable from both biosecurity and logistic perspectives, and will require multiple roles of a much larger number of staff and significantly greater funding. Rehabilitation facilities suitable for a range of  species will also likely require a wide diversity of buildings, enclosures, support infrastructure and staff facilities. Centres that are designed to accept a wide range of mammals, birds and reptiles will inevitably result in a constant flow of visitors bringing new cases – and that alone conflicts with the need to limit tiger-human contact. Rehabilitation is expensive, and attempting to run a centre designed for a wide range of different species will inevitably stretch resources and may easily result in low-quality rehabilitation for all.Tiger rehabilitation is a highly specialised activity demanding highly specialised staff, facilities and practices. It is far better to focus effort and resources on tiger rehabilitation and do it well, than attempt to conduct rehabilitation of a wide range of species and do it badly.
• Stress during rehabilitation of tigers should be minimised at all stages. Inevitably any wild tiger taken into captivity will experience considerable stress. This should be minimised as far as possible, in particular by limiting tiger-human contact and minimising the length of stay.
• Ideally each tiger should be quarantined for the length of its stay in a rehabilitation centre. Although not always practical, the quarantining of each tiger throughout rehabilitation will facilitate high standards of biosecurity thus reducing the potential for spread of infectious disease. Mothers with dependant cubs or sub-adult sibling groups can be quarantined as single units.
• Tigers should not be allowed to breed in rehabilitation centres. Rehabilitation centres do not provide a suitable environment for breeding. Adult tigers should be held in separate enclosures and cubs should not be kept together after they are sexually mature.
• A pre-release assessment of suitability for life in wild is essential. A systematic assessment of whether a tiger is able to resume its life in the wild must be conducted before release is contemplated. In particular this must address questions about the tiger’s health, reaction to human presence, and its ability to hunt live prey effectively.
• Rehabilitated orphaned tigers should generally be released at a natural dispersal age.
• A thorough assessment of an area into which a tiger could be released is required in advance. Not only is suitable habitat required, but also the support of local government and local human communities. Adequate resources for post-release monitoring should also be identified. Teams with experience in resolving human-tiger conflicts must be available in the event of  recapture being necessary. A disease risk assessment should be conducted to mitigate the possibility of released tigers introducing novel disease risks into a new area, and the possibility of released tigers being exposed  to infectious disease agents that they have not met before.
• Measurable outcomes / targets / measures of success of rehabilitation should be identified. These could include:
  • Evidence of predation on wild prey
  • Lack of conflict with people or domestic animals
  • In cold climates (eg the Russian Far East) survival through first winter
  • Survival for a defined period
  • Successful reproduction
• Post-release monitoring is essential to audit the effectiveness of rehabilitation, and measure desired outcomes.  Radio-collaring, camera trapping, and other methods of post-release monitoring should be agreed and finance for the purpose identified before releasing any tigers back to the wild. A designated team to undertake this work will be necessary.
• Although the primary purpose is to return rehabilitated tigers to the wild, opportunities for disease surveillance should not be missed.
• Plans for non-releasable tigers should be in place before rehabilitation centres are established. Not all wild tigers that are taken into captivity for rehabilitation will be suitable for release. Options for their continued captivity should be explored before rehabilitation centres are established. These may include relocation to zoos of a suitable quality, removal to in-country tiger sanctuaries, and even euthanasia in extreme circumstances.
• It is important not to confuse rehabilitation centres with tiger sanctuaries. Tiger rehabilitation centres and tiger sanctuaries have very different purposes and practices which are mutually exclusive within the same facility. The prime purpose of a rehabilitation centre is to return tigers to the wild, whereas sanctuaries provide life-long captive care for tigers that cannot be returned to the wild. Designed and run well, sanctuaries have a huge educational potential  and hence a positive conservation impact, but this is dependent on high numbers of visitors – and visitors are generally not appropriate in rehabilitation centres. Tigers in sanctuaries need to be comfortable around humans and those under rehabilitation need to be the opposite. Mixing sanctuary with rehabilitation in the same facility is extremely unwise.