Titan, born in 1996, came to The Wildcat Sanctuary in 2006 after his owner was tragically killed by another tiger. Authorities called TWS to help with the emergency but it was too late for both the owner and the other tiger, Tango. They were both dead. It was reported that the owner, who operated a for-profit USDA-licensed facility that bred, exhibited and sold tigers, fell on hard financial times and could not afford adequate food for the cats. A University of Minnesota veterinary report said that the dead tiger was half his normal body weight and was starving. He weighed about 260 pounds.
Titan was severely malnourished when he arrived at TWS, along with Lilly, another tiger seized by authorities at the same facility.