Michael Jackson's former tiger, Thriller, dies

Thriller, a tiger that belonged to Michael Jackson when he lived at his Neverland ranch, has died of lung cancer at actress-activist Tippi Hedren's wildlife preserve in California, associatedpress.com reported.

The 13-year-old, 375-pound tiger died June 11, Hedren said Wednesday. A necropsy was performed and the tiger was cremated. Staff workers will hold a private service when the ashes are buried in a section of the preserve set aside for animals that die there.

Thriller and her brother Sabu were born on November 20, 1998, and lived with Jackson until May 4, 2006, Hedren said. When Jackson left Neverland, his veterinarian asked Hedren to take the cats at her Shambala Preserve in Acton, about 50 miles north of Los Angeles.

Other Neverland animals, including giraffes, flamingos, orangutans, elephants and dozens of reptiles, were sent to other sanctuaries in other parts of the country. Shambala didn't have a lot of room, but Hedren said she built a $79,000 habitat next to the preserve's lake where there were trees and a hill and where Thriller had a great life with Sabu, she continued.

"Thriller was a real piece of work, one gutsy girl. She ruled Sabu's life. It was humorous to watch the whole relationship. She did things to him that male tigers would normally never allow. She would steal food from him. That's unheard of. She ruled the roost, was very independent and tough," Hedren said.

Unlike many of the animals at the preserve, Thriller and Sabu arrived at the compound in excellent health physically and emotionally, Hedren said. There are 15 tigers at the compound, but Sabu is now alone in the habitat he shared with Thriller and he'll probably stay that way, Hedren said. Tigers are loners in the wild, she explained.

Because Thriller was a famous tiger, she was very popular with visitors and media, Hedren said. "She didn't care. She was not a diva and didn't mug for the camera. We all loved her for it."

Staff was trying to cope with Thriller's death, Hedren said. "It's very hard for all of us when these animals go away. Fortunately for Sabu and Thriller, they came in healthy and content. They had no problem with being in quarantine for 30 days. They adjusted so well."

Most of the animals at Shambala, which requires $75,000 in donations every month to stay open, have trouble adjusting because they have such abusive pasts, Hedren said. She added, "Jackson often talked about his love of animals, but he never called to check on the tigers and he never sent any money to help pay for their care."

So in the hope to get money from Michael Jackson, Hedren went on saying, "a year after the tigers arrived staff sent a package of photos of Sabu and Thriller and T-shirts and other memorabilia to Jackson's children, but we never heard a word back. I just think it's odd," she concluded.

No doubt was a their responsibility to take care of the tigers as they were donated to the Shambala Preserve for that purpose.

Last summer, the iconic Thriller jacket was sold at Julien's Auction for $1,8 million, with a portion of the proceeds went to benefit the Shambala Preserve.

A call to a spokesman for Michael Jackson's Estate was not immediately returned.