Despite its name, you don't expect to find a tiger at the Esso TigerMart.

But that changed yesterday with the arrival of 500 pound white tiger Fuji, here with the Tarzan Zerbini circus.

Most fans were thrilled to see Fuji at the Richmond Road gas station which was doing a roaring trade yesterday lunchtime.

Loretta Tavares said: “I came specially, I have never seen a tiger this up close and personal. He's beautiful.

“But I am not going to the circus, my little one is still too young.”

And she said she did not think having such a large beast in such a small cage was cruel.

She said: “He doesn't know any better.”

And Berkeley student Shalane Dill said: “It's not cruel, it's for the safety of the people.”

Children from the ACE pre-school thought Fuji was old because of his white colour but circus general manager Larry Solheim said the two-year-old got that way through a recessive gene.

He said: “White tigers only exist in captivity. In the wild they are killed by their parents because they look different.”

He said the Florida-born tiger eats seven to eight pounds of raw chicken and beef, with the latter being wolfed in large chunks so the tiger can enjoy the vitamins from the bone marrow.

Onlooker Kent Stewart said he felt happier about the ethics of the keeping caged animals having seen Fuji up close and having spoken with the trainer.

He said: “That's a happy cat. Perhaps they should take him down to Crawl to sort out the gang violence.”

TigerMart Manager Raymond Tannock Jr. said Fuji had drawn an excellent response.

He said: “The phone had been ringing off the hook. This week has been the first time we have had a tiger at TigerMart.

“We should get him wearing a tee-shirt to sell more petrol but I don't fancy putting it on him.”