‘These cats are like my therapists’: Free State cattle farmer on how his tigers helped him overcome depression

The finches in the trees at the dam suddenly erupt into a riot of agitated noise. Something is freaking them out – and it soon becomes clear why when a man arrives with two huge Bengal tigers in tow.

It’s hard to imagine this scene playing out in the Free State, and not in a jungle or on a movie set.

As Gert Claassen (50) wades into the pool, seeking relief from the scorching heat, one of the tigers follows him into the water, frolicking like a kitten. The other tiger, its sibling, watches for a few moments, then clambers in too.