Goat Becomes Best Pal to This Tiger Instead of a Delicious Meal, and It's as Adorable as You'd Expect
Most tigers in zoos eat a lot of ground beef, with a schedule of "enrichment items" on a weekly basis, such as knucklebones, cow femurs, and rabbits. However, at a zoo in Russia, it was customary to offer their tiger, Amur, live prey twice a week.
That's what Timur the goat was supposed to be—live prey... to be eaten! But Timur and Amur had other plans, apparently. The zoo staff at the time had no reason to believe that Timur would be an extraordinary goat, as Amur had eaten plenty of goats before.
Alas, this duo has become one of the most unexpected friendship stories between animals in modern times!
To be clear, it was probably Timur who took the lead in changing his destiny.
Most of the time, when goats were let into the tiger's enclosure, they would hide and cower in fear. Not Timur, though.
Timur, being the BOSS of a goat he is, walked right up to Amur and showed him he was the real deal.
Zoo employees figured that Timur just had no real reason to fear tigers, blissfully unaware of what had happened to the twice-weekly goats before him.
So, the goat and the tiger became friends. Zoo employees fed Amur a diet of raw meat for a while before resuming live prey for Amur to catch and eat.
Out of respect for Timur, they did stop feeding Amur goats, though.
Zoo employees believed that Timur and Amur's unlikely friendship was a sign for humankind to sort out their differences and be nicer to each other.
Timur and Amur are not the first unusual large cat-small animal friendship to occur in a zoo, either.
This lynx living in the St. Petersburg zoo named Linda became the best of friends with a domesticated cat named Dusya. According to Dr. Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist, "The bond between different species can be incredibly strong, showcasing the emotional connections that can transcend natural instincts." This unique friendship highlights the complexities of animal behavior and companionship.
Seriously, talk about unexpected friendships, though! Check out Amur and Timur in action:
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