Anu, a white tigress at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur has a new sponsor. Actor Sivakarthikeyan adopted her on Tuesday.

With this, he’ll have licence to enter the tiger’s lair — literally. Feed the animal and participate in its cleaning, besides funding her upkeep.

He handed over a signed letter on Tuesday to zoo director S. Yuvaraj, expressing his desire to adopt Anu for a period of six months.

Not only did Sivakarthikeyan adopt Anu, he also exhorted members of the public to do likewise.

“It is the responsibility of every citizen to protect animals that are facing a threat. So, the public should come forward to adopt, at least one of the 174 species that are housed in the zoo,” Mr. Sivakarthikeyan said.

Among the white tiger population in the zoo, Anu was brought in from the New Delhi zoo in 2006 to Vandalur. In March 2009, Anu gave birth to three cubs, recorded as the first successful captive breeding of white tigers at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park.

Her cubs Akansha and Narmadha now have their own families in the tiger quarter of the zoo.