My Daily Inquirer

Anxious officials at an Ontario zoo made a desperate and direct appeal Sunday to whoever stole a tiger and two camels this week, offering a reward not for the animals’ return, but simply for proof that they’re being well treated.

Quebec police are continuing to search for Jonas the tiger and his camel companions, Todd and Sean.

The animals went missing Friday when the truck and trailer they were travelling back from the Maritimes in was stolen from a motel near Drummondville, Que., east of Montreal.

On Saturday, a $20,000 reward was announced for the safe return of the animals, but Michael Hackenberger, director of Bowmanville Zoo just east of Toronto, said the reward failed to produce any leads.

So on Sunday, the zoo announced it is offering a $2,000 reward for a photo of the animals being given water. Concerns are growing for the health of the animals, particularly the tiger, that it may be in distress if it has not received water since Friday morning.

“This was a crime of opportunity and now they have something they don’t know how to deal with, and we are trying to make this as easy as possible to get out from underneath this,” said Hackenberger.

“That’s a direct appeal to the captors.”

The zoo has asked anyone with information about the animals to call the zoo directly at 1-905-926-5605 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1-905-926-5605 end_of_the_skype_highlighting and has pledged that they will not be charged. A photo of the animals may be uploaded via the zoo’s website.

Police are continuing to search the area near St. Eulalie, Que., northeast of Drummondville.

That’s where the pickup truck that had been hauling the animals’ trailer was found in a church parking early Saturday morning, about 73 kilometres from the scene of the theft.

There was no sign, however, of the trailer or the animals.

Police continue to comb through the farming country and its hundreds of barns and large garages hoping to find the trio.

“It’s now been 56 hours since we know the animals received direct care so we are very, very concerned,” said Hackenberger.

Hackenberger expressed frustration that the large exotic animals have failed to turn up two days after what is thought to be a simple vehicle theft.

“Who knows if we are dealing with goofy young kids who decided that a pet tiger was the greatest thing in the world? There is a lot of Hells Angels down here and they are known for having pet lions and pet tigers as part of their presence, so it gets awkward,” said Hackenberger.

He still believes it was unlikely the thieves knew they were also stealing a tiger and two camels because the animals are “virtually impossible” to see from outside the trailer.

The reward announced Friday was a joint effort by the Zoo and anonymous donors calling themselves “Friends of Jonas.” It was announced with the blessing of Quebec provincial police.

“There is a heightened concern on the part of the Bowmanville Zoo that despite intense police efforts we still have no knowledge of the welfare of these animals. We hope with the encouragement of $20,000 someone will come forward and provide us with information,” said Hackenberger.

The animals are valuable to the zoo, which works closely with the television and film industry. Trainers have spent “thousands of man-hours developing the animals,” he said.

It is not believed that the animals were targeted by animal rights activists.

“It’s a bit confusing because you would have thought they would have dumped the trailers (with the animals inside) and hung on to the truck, but apparently not,” said Hackenberger.

“It’s just like an Amber Alert. The longer this goes on, the more complex and unlikely the scenario is,” he said.

The Bowmanville Zoo is one of the largest suppliers of trained animals for the feature film and television industry. On its website, it says it maintains the largest stable of trained movie and television animals in Canada.

Hackenberger is pleading that the thieves provide water and shade to the animals. He said the camels, which are in stalls on the trailer, can be given buckets of water, while the tiger can be given water by extending a water-filled turkey baster through the cage because the tiger knows how to drain water from the baster.

News reports of the animals’ plight have spread worldwide through the BBC News website and others as far away as Malaysia and Qatar.

Quebec police have tasked 40 officers and a search helicopter with finding the tiger and two camels.

Police are looking for an aluminum EBY brand trailer, which resembles the kind used to haul livestock, with an Ontario licence plate number of E4398Y. Hackenberger asks that if anyone spots the trailer parked somewhere they try to open any windows that are closed and contact police.

Jonas the tiger was contained in an internal cage inside the trailer so he could not escape, Hackenberger said. There is no threat posed by the camels, he said, animals that are described as “nice.”

Read it on Global News: Zoo officials plead for proof that missing tiger, camels OK


Source: http://news.globaltv.com/world/Race+find+missing+tiger+camels+Quebec/3176596/story.html