Mohan known as the “King of Tiger Island” has passed away. He was 17 years old, a very sad day for a lot of people. Mohan was part of the entertainment at a Theme Park known as Dreamworld which has rides and also a lot of wildlife as well, a fantastic place to go, a tourist destination of course, but a lot of Aussies also love going there, I myself have been there many times, it is under an hour away from where I live. Among the many attractions is a place called “Tiger Island” and there are a few tigers there that put on a show which you will see a bit of in the videos below. If you would like to know more about the Theme Park just click onto the link above.
Mohan celebrates his 17th birthday at Tiger Island. Pics: Adam Head
(via Courier Mail picture gallery)
Mohan which means “Charming” was one of the first tigers at Tiger Island, and he was originally from the United States and arrived at Dreamworld as a young cub when Tiger Island first opened in 1995, and as you can imagine has been a favourite among locals and tourists. He was born in November 1994, and when he became an adult he weighed 180 kg or 396 pounds. Of course white tigers are rare and so beautiful as well with their white fur and light coloured stripes.
Mohan celebrates his 17th birthday at Tiger Island. Pics: Adam Head
(via Courier Mail picture gallery)
The tigers are also led around the theme park among the people, you are free to pat them which you do so from behind, a fantastic experience no matter how many times you do this it really is magical in a strange way. Mohan was one of the tigers that every now and then would be taken for a walk around the Theme Park, and I myself have patted this beautiful animal many times. I did manage to find a video of the tiger walk, unfortunately not of Mohan, but it will give you an idea of how they do this.
- Mohans 17th Birthday: Courier Mail picture gallery.
- Mohan getting a root canal: Courier Mail picture gallery.
Magsx2's Blog 
How sad that the King has passed away, but at least he lived to a nice old age. He sure was a beautiful animal. I had no idea that any zoo walked tigers among the crowds and that you can pat them! How cool!
Hi raisingdaisy,
I personally don’t know of anywhere else that walks tigers among the crowds, they start them off doing this as cubs, and they do it daily, you can also have private walking and photo taking with the tigers, but that does cost a fair bit of money. 🙂
I don’t love to see any big animals in captivity. I guess if they’re kind and reverent to these beautiful creatures, giving them a natural sort of setting and lots of room… it still makes me sad. Coincidentally, my beautiful Cozy, my 17 year old Norwegian Forest cat, had to be put to sleep today. She had a tumor growing in her mouth and could no longer eat. I’ve been sad and crying all morning. I know she’s in a good and peaceful place and that I’ll see her again. I’d like to believe that Mohan and all of these majestic animals will be with us again. : )
Hi A Gripping Life,
These tigers and all there animals actually at this park have a lot of room, they are not in small cages, they have there own slice of heaven, and are very well looked after.
I am so sorry to hear your beloved pet passed away, and I’m sure she is now in a wonderful place and at peace.
Thanks, Mags. I’m having a rough day.
I fully understand, I also know what it is like to lose a very much loved pet.
Lisa I”m so sorry about your beloved kitty. I can’t imagine how hard that would be after 17 years. Oh I’m am just so sorry you had to go through that and I’ll be thinking of you . . .
Thanks, Linda. She was the most wonderful cat you can imagine, such a sweetheart. It’s painful to say goodbye to her little spirit : (
This is the first time in over twenty years that I have no animals at home. She was the last of the Mohicans. Maybe if I find a great place to live and once I get settled I’ll rescue a couple dogs and cats? They’re a lot of work but you get such joy in return.
Thanks for thinking of me!
What a nice tribute you wrote about this beautiful animal!
Hi Oster’s Mom,
He certainly was beautiful.
Magnificent creature. So sad that he’s gone. I and my grandchildren were privileged to pet baby white tigers at a game reserve here in South Africa a few weeks ago. They are so beautiful. http://adinparadise.wordpress.com/2012/04/11/wonderful-wild-animal-sightings-in-johannesburg/
Hi adinparadise,
He certainly was an attraction.
The tigers and the lions in your post are gorgeous, it is wonderful if you get chance to be with them, an experience that is never forgotten. 🙂
What a beautiful animal. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Pam,
He certainly was and very much loved by a lot of people.
Thank you so much for these wonderful videos, what a collection of amazing pictures. It is so sad to hear that such a magnificent “Dad” has passed away, but at least he had a great life and left us the awsome pawsome to admire for a long time to come.
Hi mariathermann,
He was Dad to a lot of cubs which are all there of course can be seen on their special Island. 🙂
Mohan had a wonderful life and lived a lot longer than a tiger in the wild, the photos are great, all the animals have something special on their birthday. 🙂
oh 😦
see? it’s stuff like this that I would never know about unless you told us! =D
Hi The Squishy Monster,
Yes it is terribly sad, but he did live a very good life, with a lot of people that loved him.
So sad to lose any animal, but Mohan was truly an amazing character, and will be sorely missed by many.
You did a good job on the tribute to him Mags.
Hi barb19,
I agree Mohan was amazing and I know you most likely would of him seen him as well, and he was a character, he did have his own way.
Thank You Barb.
I agree with Oster’s Mom – this is a beautiful tribute.
Hi Laurie,
Thank You very much.
A magnificent and noble one has gone to the heavens.
Hi elcampador,
That was very nicely said, he was very noble in his own way. 🙂
Mohan would be about 119 years old if you use the same calculation for a dog that is, one year for us is seven years for Mohan that is a really good age to live to :-).
Hi Windsmoke,
Yes he did live to a very good age. Tigers only live till they are about 12 or 13 years old, so he did very well, and it also shows how well he was looked after.
So sad. He looks like a big kid with the “cake” in his mouth.
Hi robincoyle,
He certainly does, he also had some chocolate milk to go with it on his birthday. 🙂
How sweet! Did they give him a straw?
You would think they would, but no unfortunately not. 😀
Mohan about to get his chocolate milk.
Mohan after his chocolate milk.
Poor little fella… Great write up of the majestic creature!
Hi susielindau,
Mohan was very majestic, just so lovable. 🙂
How sad, touched my heart. Thank you dear Mags, love, nia
Hi Nia,
It is very sad to know that this beautiful tiger is no longer with us.
Ever park has a King, so sorry for the loss. White Tiger are special at the Cincinnati Zoo too. At one time, it was one of the leaders in white tigers births.
Hi Frank,
I have seen some photos of the white tiger in Singapore Zoo, but I didn’t know about the ones in the Cincinnati Zoo, they are so beautiful, and to have white cubs as well is just fantastic.
RIP, Mohan.
Hi Elyse,
I’m sure he is.
Oh what a loss for this park … but Mohan surely is in a better place.
Can’t even imagine how special it must be to be allowed to pat a tiger. That’s some memory to treasure!
Rest in peace, Mohan..
Hi reb,
It is unbelievable to pat a tiger, I of course being me, followed them around the whole park, patting him whenever I got the chance. 🙂
I have been there a fair few times, and was lucky enough to walk with Mohan on 3 occasions. I would of loved to have done the private photo session and walk, but it is costly. They walk the tigers every day, times are on their web site, so anyone who goes can experience this.
Wow – walking with tigers, Mags. How unreal.
RIP Mohan.
Hi This Sydney Life,
He will be missed terribly by a lot of people.
Sad.
Hi jmgoyder,
Yes it truly is.
Wow I can’t even imagaine having the opprotunity to actually pet a real tiger. That is amazing. I can see that Mohan was really a beautiful sweet and handsome animal. I’m sure it is a very sad day. What a beautiful face he also looks so strong and such giant paws truely amazing.
Hi starlaschat,
They are amazing animals, and Mohan was huge, very strong, and definitely King of the Island, but he sometimes had this gentle look about him as well, and being up and close is an awesome experience.
I’ve seen this tiger and patted it when he was walked around the park. That’s so sad and such a huge loss for the park and all the tourists who loved him. I bet his handlers are really grieving xx
Hi hotlyspiced,
It is a wonderful experience isn’t it, and they are so very soft as well. His handler and all the staff are devestated as you would expect, 17 years is long time.
Gosh this is a sad day for kitties Mags. Isn’t that weird that he was 17 years old and so was Lisa’s kitty? What a beautiful animal he was. I wonder if 17 years is the typical life span for a tiger?
Hi Linda,
It is indeed a sad day for two beautiful cats that we know of, Lisa’s and of course Mohan.
He was a beautiful tiger, tigers live to the age of 12 or 13 in the wild so he did very well indeed, which tell you he did have a very good life.
Oh my gosh, Mags – walking a tiger through the crowd? My scared self would be hiding behind a tree, hoping Mohan was a vegetarian. hehehe
Hi mj monaghan,
You would not be able to resist I’m sure, you would sneak up and have a pat, and then run back to the tree. 🙂
What a wonderful story, … I feel a bit sorry for the tiger that has to walk trough the crowds and that they have been made so tame – wild animals should have a wild exciting even at a zoo or wild park. There is a earl in UK who has a massive wild park on his estate and all animals still have there wild behavior left. That’s way it should be – the keepers can’t go in to tigers or lions, have to sit in their cars – all animals are totally wild. http://www.longleat.co.uk/ – http://youtu.be/UNzSY-W3-pA – personal I never felt for visiting a zoo – but Longleat I been to a couple of time.
Hi viveka,
I know what you mean but yes these tigers have been trained since they were cubs, even so not all the tigers walk among the people only a certain few. To see the look on the faces of the children to be able to touch an animal like the tiger, and adults as well, is priceless, they ask questions of the trainers, they learn so much as do we all. They also have koalas that you can hold and get a photo with, these koalas are also trained when young to get used to humans, none live in cages, personally I think it is a great to be able to learn about all animals in this way. I agree there are places especially some zoos that should not have animals at all the way they are treated, but a lot of wildlife parks are nothing like zoos.
Oh I did look at the link, the drive through safaris, the animals are also taught in a way to get used to cars driving through the park, I did go to one when I was child, an unreal experience, the one I went to is no longer there, but of course I do remember it well. 🙂
Still not fair on the animals …. maybe it great for us … but still it’s a wild animal and should stay like that way A tiger is not a pet – why should we humans have the right over animals for our own joy ??? A tiger are born to be a free soul with all it’s instincts – not born for us pat.
I think this human connection by touch makes us more concerned about the welfare of these great animals. He probably had such a long life because he wasn’t in the wild. I heard about a group of villagers in Africa that speared six lions to death after the loss of four goats just this past week. It was two females, two juveniles, and two cubs. Who could kill a lion cub? It would have been much better if they had put them in a place like this. Thank you for sharing.
Hi writingfeemail,
Mohan lived 5 years longer than the average tiger, I think that is wonderful, and he did have a lot of love around him as well, who couldn’t love that gorgeous face. 🙂
I hadn’t heard about that incident in Africa, it is very sad indeed.
Such a beautiful royal Animal..sad news indeed and those who were connected to Mohan are devastated indeed..beautiful tribute
Hi Soma,
Yes it was sad news for a lot of people, and he was very royal.
Thank You.
There used to be a white tiger at Longleat, but you certainly weren’t allowed to stroke him; you stayed in your car, with the windows up! I don’t think he’s around any more; don’t know what happened to him. But, I’ll see if I can find a picture.
Hi Keith,
That sounds like a safari park, you most likely would of see the white first, they are beautiful they really do stand out, your eyes are instantly drawn to them so beautiful.
Thanks for this beautiful tribute Mags. So saddened by the passing of such a magnificent creature! The numbers of their Bengal cousins are dwindling by the day as well.
Hi Madhu,
Yes the Bengal tigers are on the endangers list, there are not a lot left. The breading program here at Dreamworld is doing really well, so far every year they have had a litter of at least 4 I think, Mohan certainly done his bit for his species, he has fathers a lot of cubs. I also believe Singapore’s breeding program is also going well, and no doubt there would be others around the world as well, so the Bengal tiger will survive I am certain. 🙂
Hi, mags , so sad, I don’t know how I missed this post.Now going to watch videos. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Indira,
Yes he will be missed, he was beautiful.
What a beautiful cat he was! It sounds like he will be missed by many.
Hi Eternal Forms,
Yes he was very much loved by staff and visitors.
I had only seen photos of white tigers until your videos, Mags. You can’t see it in the videos, but they have beautiful blue eyes, too. I absolutely love big cats.
They really are gorgeous animals.
So sad. He was an absolute beauty 😦
Hi Selam,
He certainly was a beauty, he will be missed.
What a beautiful guy, such a shame his time has come. It’s a lovely post though and a great memorial for him.
Hi loonyliterature,
Yes he was beautiful, but he did have a good life, and long as well, I’m glad to hear you enjoyed reading about Mohan.
So sad to see this. But I am glad he had a long life.
Hi Michael,
Yes he did live a lot longer than the norm for a tiger, he was a beautiful animal.
Mags, I had no idea about this tiger – I don’t know the news escaped me. Can’t believe it. But really valued watching all those videos – PRECIOUS. What a gorgeous enormous cat.
As for raising funds for anti poaching – I HATE POACHERS. Damn them.
Happy New Year!
(truly lovely post)
Hi WordsFallFromMyEyes,
He was a beautiful animal, and you are spot on very precious, but he did have the best life and was very much loved.
I fully agree with you about poaches, I wonder if they ever have any nightmares when they sleep.
A very Happy New Year to you and your family also. 🙂