SOUTH FREETOWN - The story of two of the most famous cats to ever inhabit P.E.I. sadly came to an end earlier this week.
Bonnie, a 21-year-old Siberian tiger, died Tuesday at the Oaklawn Farm Zoo in Aylesford, N.S., after a battle with cancer.
Marie Camilleri (Glover) of South Freetown, who owned Bonnie and her appropriately named brother Clyde, reported the news with a heavy heart.
"This weekend that passed, I was really feeling her, so I knew something must be going on," said Camilleri through tears.
"We had them since they were babies, and even though I wasn't with them all the time, you still feel for them."
Marie and her then husband brought Bonnie and Clyde to the Island from Ontario in 1994, and the two huge exotic cats became an immediate attraction, drawing thousands of visitors to the farm.
Despite their wild appearance, the tigers were anything but ferocious toward people. Marie would often go inside the cage to hug and kiss her two cats, while Bonnie and Clyde would act affectionately toward their visitors.
Only two weeks into their stay in South Freetown, however, the government of the day ordered the tigers out of the province. The Glovers didn't have permits for their exotic pets.
Despite protests and petitions from local residents, the animals were taken to Oaklawn Farm in May of 1994.
"Because we weren't from here, we didn't know all the little things to make it happen," said Camilleri. "But the support we had was unbelievable, for people not knowing us."
Marie said the zoo's staff gave Bonnie and Clyde exceptional care since the day they arrived.
Clyde passed away peacefully in 2004 at the age of 13.
Even though both animals are now gone, Camilleri said she still plans to visit the zoo as often as she can. Bonnie will be buried on the grounds.
"I was lucky to see her twice this year," she said. "I was inside with her...and she knew who I was, so it was emotional just in that."
As for those who supported her and the tigers during their brief stay on the Island, Camilleri expressed her gratitude.
"I want to thank everyone for all their support when we tried to keep them on the Island," she said. "I wanted them to know the story of Bonnie and Clyde has ended, and let them know that I was thinking of them as much as they tried to help us."
sbrun@journalpioneer.com
