Marcan Tiger Preserve
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. The Marcan Tiger Preserve is located in the panhandle of Florida, and covers 80 acres (320,000 m2). It was created by Dr. Josip Marcan who calls himself the world's foremost expert on tigers. The preserve is mainly dedicated to the critically endangered Bengal tiger.
Josip Marcan claims to be a veterinarian and to have been a veterinarian at the Frankfurt Zoo in Germany for 7 years.
According to the official City of Frankfurt archives: He worked for the Frankfurt Zoo for 5 1/2 years from 30 Mar 1962 to 31 Oct 1967 as a junior keeper (i.e. without official keeper’s training) working with the large cats. He had nothing to do with veterinary services (in those days, Frankfurt Zoo, like most other zoos, did not have a veterinarian on staff and relied on private-practice vets as needed).
He has not been licensed to practice as a vet in Florida (Tigers of India Josip Marcan). His operations included "Tigers of India" and "Adriatic Animal Attractions". His preserve is not open to public scrutiny, but publicity photos show him with white tigers and golden tabby tigers. Despite Marcan's claims to have imported pure Bengal tigers, he has provided no verification. Some say that Marcan's tigers originated from the Hawthorn Circus and are Bengal/Amur mixes. No AZA accredited zoo is permitted to breed white tigers. Federal legislation under discussion in 2013 will, if passed, prohibit anyone other than a zoo from breeding big cats.
In 2009, one of Marcan's tigers, Apollo, escaped and caused a five-car pile-up. Rescue organisations claim to have been rescuing tigers from Marcan since the 1990s. Marcan remained a prolific breeder of tigers, especially white and golden tabby tigers from Amur/Bengal mixed bloodlines and which have no conservation value; some remain at the preserve while others have gone to zoos (Tigers of India Josip Marcan).
External links
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