This is Maya. She was seized from the airport as she was being sold on the black market. She was covered in sores and almost dead.

Maya was taken to ADWC and Ronel and her children nursed her back to health and she is now a beautiful full grown tigress. These magnificent animals should be in their natural habitat, however, with the black market sales of big cats both live and for body parts, their fate in the wild is not certain.

We recently filmed a promotional trailer for a TV show we are filming for US television, Big Cat Rescue. The funds were generously donated for the filming from the Al Bustan Wildlife Center and HH Sh. Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, The President of the UAE's, internal department that deals with the environment.

I would encourage everyone who is concerned about the fate of these animals to visit the ADWC to learn more about them. If you did not see the Gulf News video yet, here it is, or you can visit their website.

Photos by Ronel Smuts and Janet Hunt