Amur
the Siberian tiger has become fast friends with a goat it was given to eat at
the Primorsky Safari Park. Photo: Dmitry Mezentsev via CCTV News
An
odd and remarkable thing happened when a live goat was put into the enclosure
of a Siberian tiger as part of its twice-a-week feeding of live animals at the
Primorsky Safari Park in Russia: Amur the tiger became friends with its dinner.
In
a story that has captivated Russia, Timur the goat and Amur the tiger have
become fast friends, eating and playing together, chasing each other in the
snow and even playfully head-butting each other, according to the Agence
France-Presse.
Timur
the goat has even taken over the shelter Amur the tiger usually sleeps in, and
now Amur sleeps on the shelter’s roof.
So
enamored is the public about this unusual relationship that Primorsky Safari
Park issues regular updates and plans to install webcams in the enclosure.
Amur
the Siberian tiger plans with Timur the goat. Photo: Dmitry Mezentsev via CCTV
News
How
did this unlikely friendship happen?
Simply
stated, when the goat was released into the enclosure it did not show any fear.
It didn’t act like prey.
“No
one had taught the goat to be afraid of tigers,” the park stated.
So
the adversaries became friends, instead. Zoo chief Dmitry Mezentsev called it
nothing short of a miracle.
“This
is a sign from above,” he told AFP. “People, take a look at yourselves. There
are wars everywhere — Ukraine, Syria — while such different animals can live
together in peace.”
The
typical day starts with a morning walk around the enclosure with the goat
following the tiger. On Wednesday, the goat poked the tiger with its horns.
“The
tiger accepted the goat’s challenge,” the park reported. “He pushed his
forehead against Timur’s horns, the friends butted heads for five seconds
without coming to blows, after which Amur calmly went to bask in the sun on the
hill.”
Amur
the Siberian tiger has attempted to teach Timur the goat how to catch prey.
Photo: Dmitry Mezentsev via CCTV News
When
it comes to feeding, Amur is now getting a diet of live rabbits “out of respect
for goats,” Mezentsev told AFP, and the tiger has attempted to teach the goat
how to catch the prey.
And
Timur has shown Amur how to lick a block of salt that it was given.
“We
liked the story of the friendship between the tiger and the goat simply because
a normal person cannot always live amid the lies, hatred and humiliation,” a
Russian online op-ed said in Gazeta.ru, according to AFP. “One would like to
believe it is possible not to gobble up the weak but be friends with them.”
But
will Amur the tiger eventually gobble up Timur the goat?
Novosibirsk
zoo director Rostislav Shilo told TASS there was an 80 to 85 percent chance of
that the Siberian tiger would eventually eat the goat.
But
Mezentsev isn’t buying it.
No comments:
Post a Comment