Oakland Zoo Welcomes Sitara, a 13-Year-Old Tiger Rescue

The tigers previously resided at the shuttered Barry R. Kirshner Wildlife Foundation in Butte County’s Oroville, which came under a California Department of Fish and Wildlife investigation in 2024 and failed to get its permit renewed.

According to animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which launched a lawsuit against Kirshner after the investigation, animals from the Oroville roadside zoo were shuffled to other facilities, including an unaccredited one in Rio Vista that agreed to surrender five cats.

The Oakland Zoo helped relocate two male tigers, an 11-year-old white-and-Bengal mix and a 13-year-old Siberian mix, to the Performing Animal Welfare Society, a San Andreas-based facility that specializes in caring for older and physically challenged animals.

A 14-year-old female white tiger, who suffered from significant visual impairment due to inbreeding, was immediately treated at the Oakland Zoo before relocating to the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas.

The fifth tiger, a 16-year-old female who came to the zoo with end-stage arthritis and spinal disease, was euthanized after she did not respond to treatment.

Sitara, whose name has Hindi origins, meaning star, is still getting used to her new home, Minier said.

She’s exploratory and “happy-go-lucky” and loves to explore the zoo’s pools, waterfall, grass and vegetation, but Minier said she can also get spooked easily and has issues trusting the care team.

“Something bangs, or there’s an object that scares her, and there’s a very obvious trauma response,” he said.

Throughout the 20 or so years Oakland Zoo has hosted rescued big cats, about a dozen have lived in its habitat.

Minier said many of these animals had spent most of their previous lives in small, concrete enclosures and had to be taught about the natural world.

“Sometimes they don’t feel like dirt can support them because they’ve always been on concrete,” Minier said. “[We have to teach them] that grass tickling their toes is okay. They’ve never seen water flow outside of something other than a hose.”

The Oakland Zoo said it will post updates of Sitara’s acclimation on social media and would be initiating a program designed “to help her build trust and resilience.”

Sitara appears mostly healthy, apart from some lameness in her left hind leg, but she will also undergo a medical exam to identify any underlying conditions, according to the zoo.

Minier said that while the Oakland Zoo remains committed to animal rescue and rehabilitation, it also hopes to raise awareness that helps bring an end to wildlife exploitation.

“We really are looking forward to a day where the U.S. has the regulations that don’t allow for these exploitative and neglectful practices,” he said. “Don’t pay to play with wildlife, and don’t support businesses that profit from direct contact with wild animals. Ticket that’s purchased for a cub petting session or posed wildlife photo creates the demand for more breeding and more exploitation.”

KQED’s Elize Manoukian contributed to this report.