Their squawks echoed from inside the neat,
ranch-style home, sounding more like parrots
than tiger cubs. Then James Garretson carried
Hulk into the living room, where the McCabe
family waited on the couch. The kids giggled
as he placed the squirming cub on nine-year-
old Ariel’s lap and pushed a baby bottle into its
mouth. “Hold the bottle, just like that. You got
it?” She nodded.
Everyone beamed, fondling Hulk’s rough,
striped fur as Garretson hovered nearby. The
12-week-old, cocker spaniel-size cat clutched
the bottle in his oversize paws, sucking with
wild enthusiasm. When the bottle was empty,
the cub wandered onto the coffee table and
swatted our photo gear.
Garretson lured him back with another bottleTourists watch a
tiger cub play with a
stuffed toy during
a petting and photo
opportunity at Myrtle
Beach Safari. Visitors
may be unaware of the
breeding practices nec-
essary to create these
cubs—or what happens
to many captive tigers
when they become
too big to interact with
the public and can’t be
used for breeding or
display as adults.We heard
them before
we saw them.
WILDLIFE WATCH
88 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC