Who is "Doc Antle"?

Doc Antle is a widely recognized animal trainer, author, and the founder and director of T.I.G.E.R.S. (The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species) and the R.S.F. (The Rare Species Fund). He grew up on a vast cattle ranch in Arizona, where his great love for wild and exotic animals began. From a very young age he began raising and caring for every amazing animal he could get his hands on. As a young man, he had many great opportunities to travel and explore the world; this eventually brought him to China where he studied for and received his Doctoral degree in medicine. He then interned as a traveling doctor throughout many villages in mainland China and other parts of Asia. In the early 1980's, he returned to the United States where he co-created and ran Integral Health Services, an alternative drugless therapy clinic utilizing meditation, diet, and exercise programs located in Buckingham, Virginia.

Doc Antle and T.I.G.E.R.S

In 1982, the clinic was visited by a zoo director who introduced Doc to a Siberian tiger cub. Doc Antle was so amazed by the presence of the tiger that he asked if he could show the tiger at the end of one of his lectures to demonstrate how even the most powerful animals were greatly affected by their environment. The presentation was a great success, and after it was over, an impressed audience member introduced himself as the local head of Exxon Oil and asked Doc if he would present the tiger and his message of the dangers of environmental damage at an upcoming Exxon Convention. Needless to say, the convention members were blown away, and an amazing partnership was born between Doc Antle and the big cats of the world.

Doc Antle is also the author of three children’s books, Suryia and Roscoe: The True Story of an Unlikely Friendship; Suryia Swims!: The True Story of How an Orangutan Learned to Swim; and The Tiger Cubs and the Chimp: The True Story of How Anjana the Chimp Helped Raise Two Baby Tigers, as well as one coffee table book, Fierce Beauty: Preserving the World of Wild Cats.