On Saturday he will be taken to his new home in the Guadalajara Zoo.
“It was a decision by the owner, who felt that the Tapatio society had shown great affection toward the animal,” Guadalajara’s interim mayor Francisco Ayon said on Tuesday.
Albert’s owner had been renting him to the Rehilete Alcalde amusement park until he was seized by local authorities in May.Animal rights activists had campaigned for the six-month old tiger to be sent to a Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado, but the owner’s decision to donate him to the local zoo should please all interested parties.
Albert will be properly cared for in an appropriate environment, Ayon assured. The zoo already houses two males and three females of the same species and Albert will be able to join the institution’s successful tiger breeding program.