A man. A tiger. A tornado. Jared Montaine owns a big cat rescue in Florida and faces financial pressures, getting over his ex-wife, and the challenge of suburbia creeping ever closer to his enclave for the animals. But when a tornado wrecks part of the refuge, Jared's worst fear comes to life: his Siberian tiger, Sultan, escapes. It's a big cat handler’s nightmare: a tiger on the loose, confused, lost -- and hungry. Jared races against the police, the media, and the hysterical public, all of whom are clamoring for the tiger's hide. He must re-capture Sultan before the cat is killed -- by traffic, by SWAT, or by a civilian who just wants to shoot a tiger. With fellow wildlife handlers at his side, Jared fights desperately to find and capture Sultan before the tiger injures or kills a human. Because that would lead to his worst nightmare -- having to kill the tiger he hand-raised from a cub. Jared’s commitment is tested -- to his animals, his refuge, and his belief that saving the life of even one tiger is worth losing everything.

The Tiger Whisperer

“Little Steve and I will get on it this weekend. We can be ready for the cougar in…what?…A week?” Peter asked.


“Yeah, tell him that. Speaking of Sultan, walk tomorrow?” Jared asked.


They walked both Sultan and Eloise on a weekly basis. It kept the tigers acclimated to being handled and controlled, it gave the cats some enrichment to walk the compound by being out of their cages, and it kept them used to a leash. The old-fashioned, clumsy metal chains had given way to high-density plastic that was both lightweight and quiet; no metallic rumbles to accidentally startle such a large carnivore.


Chapter 9