The Cellar - March 9, 2007: Young orangutans and tigers hang out together

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- - March 9, 2007: Young orangutans and tigers hang out together (http://cellar.org/showthread.php?t=13522)

March 9, 2007: Young orangutans and tigers hang out together

http://cellar.org/2007/orangutanstigers1.jpg

Lurker HungLikeJesus sends this along; according to the Daily Mail story,

Quote:

Two Sumatran tiger cubs and two baby orangutans, each pair abandoned by their mother soon after birth, have become inseparable playmates in the nursery room of an animal hospital in Indonesia.

Nia and Irma happily snuggle up to the cubs in a way that five-month-old orangutan sisters would never normally contemplate.

Likewise, Dema and his month-old sister Manis are quite content to snooze in the gentle embrace of their tiny guardians' arms.

Both pairs are bottle-fed by staff at the Taman Safari animal hospital in Java, and monitored constantly as they grow up side by side in what must be one of nature's most unusual foursomes.

http://cellar.org/2007/orangutanstigers2.jpg

A foursome that will have to be broken up soon, no doubt. Another story notes,

Quote:

The exceptional friendship will likely be short-lived, said veterinarian Retno Sudarwati, because as the animals grow up their natural survival instincts will kick in.

"When the time comes, they will have to be separated. It's sad, but we can't change their natural behavior," she said. "Tigers start eating meat when they are three months old."

And Orangutans are meat. Oh well, it's cute while it lasts.

I think the Sumatran tiger cubs are getting the short end of the snuggling stick. Baby orangutans aren't all that snuggly looking...

Orangutans have been known to kill! Just ask C. Auguste Dupin!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Undertoad (Post 321696)

... HungLikeJesus ...

G-Rated Image of the Day Forum?

If they ever have offspring, I wonder what the fur will look like.

And could it beat Wolverine in a fair fight?
They could call him/her Tangerine. :D

This may be the first time we've had a cute animal Friday IOTD where the accompanying text actually stated anything about the possbility of one of the subjects being eaten. Usually, *we* have to do that.

Lurker? That sounds so sordid. More like an innocent by-stander, until now.

Also, you call that picture G-rated? Cats and monkeys sleeping together!

Dr. Peter Venkman: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
Mayor: What do you mean, "biblical"?
Dr Ray Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath-of-God type stuff.
Dr. Peter Venkman: Exactly.
Dr Ray Stantz: Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies. Rivers and seas boiling.
Dr. Egon Spengler: Forty years of darkness. Earthquakes, volcanoes...
Winston Zeddemore: The dead rising from the grave.
Dr. Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together - mass hysteria.

The other Tigers didn't eat the pigs. Well not all of them. ;)