Maude is much-loved by many. She is a tigon, the offspring of a male tiger and a female lion and shows characteristics from both parents.
Before coming to the museum, Maude was the pride of Manchester’s Belle Vue Zoo, where she lived with her brother Kliou in the 1930s and 40s. Both Tigons had been born in Dresden Zoo in 1932 before travelling to Manchester. In 1950, Gerald Iles, who managed Belle Vue Zoo, wrote to the museum, “During her lifetime here, Maude was always greatly admired and I would say loved by a very great number of our visitors. She was always quiet and good-mannered and always appeared to be perfectly groomed.”
When Maude died her skin was gifted to Manchester Museum by Gerald Iles, however, it wasn’t until 2015 that was returned to public view. When Maude went on display at Manchester Museum, she was the first Tigon to go on display in a UK museum for around 100 years.
