A tiger which starred in Esso’s much-loved fuel adverts has died of old age at a Lincolnshire wildlife park.
Tango, one of several big cats to appear in the famous “Tiger in Your Tank“ ads in the 1990s, passed away at the weekend, two years after being rescued from a European circus.
Woodside Wildlife Park has received almost 1,000 messages of sympathy on its Facebook page since announcing the death of the 22-year-old animal – thought to be Britain’s oldest tiger.
Park director Neil Mumby said: “A normal age for a tiger to reach would be approximately 15 – so at 22 he was over 100 years old in human terms.
“He had an extremely good innings but he had a mixed life in his circus time on the continent.
“We were happy to give him a good, peaceful retirement for two-and-a-half years – we have seen him chasing butterflies, swimming and behaving like a tiger deserves to.”
Mr Mumby, who orchestrated a £250,000 project to rehome Tango in 2014, added: “We are extremely proud to have given him his retirement.”
Esso first used an image of a tiger in its ads following the end of rationing after the World War II, and the long-running “Put a Tiger in Your Tank” campaign is regarded as one of the most successful in advertising history.