Kerr spent her early years in Berlin just before the start of the Third Reich and her father was on a death list because of his opposition to the Nazis. Her family fled Germany and most of their property was seized in 1933 when she was nine years old. Rosen claims the tiger could be based on her memory of the past threat: something that could have disrupted her life as a young child and taken everything the family owned.
Kerr's early life was shaped by her time in Berlin before the Nazi regime took power, during which her father faced death threats for his anti-Nazi views. The family was forced to flee Germany in 1933, leaving behind most of their property. Rosen proposes that the tiger may have been a representation of Kerr's memories of a past danger: something that could have threatened her young life and led to the loss of everything she held dear.