CISARUA, Indonesia - Call them the odd couples. A pair of month-old Sumatran tiger twins have become inseparable playmates with a set of young orangutans, an unthinkable match in their natural jungle habitat in Indonesia's tropical rainforests.




The friendship between 5-month-old female baby primates Nia and Irma, and cubs Dema and Manis, has blossomed at the Taman Safari zoo where they share a room in the nursery.

After being abandoned by their mothers shortly after birth, the four play fight, nipping and teasing each other, and cuddling up for a shared nap when they are worn out.

"This is unusual and would never happen in the wild," said zoo keeper Sri Suwarni, bottle-feeding a baby chimp on Wednesday. "Like human babies, they only want to play."

The four have lived side-by-side for a month without a single act of hostility, she said.

Indonesian tigers and orangutans are both endangered species, threatened by rapidly shrinking habitats.

Conservationists estimate there are fewer than 700 Sumatran tigers still alive, while fewer than 60,000 orangutans remain in the wild. Around 90 percent of the jungle has been destroyed by illegal logging, poaching and cut-and-burn farming practices on Borneo and Sumatra islands.

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 cant' change their natural behavior," she said. "Tigers start eating meat when they are three months old."

(Yahoo news)

AWWWWW!!!

those pictures are downright precious!

CarrieMpls said:

I know.. I want them!

Awwwww!

So cute

So beautiful

I always hope that things like this will raise awareness about just how endangered these animals are. They are such an important part of our world and we are destroying them.

such amazing photo's ...but also such alarming figures

Natisse said:

I know. There are actually less than 300 Siberian Tigers left in the wild.

applekisses said:

oh man really? that's so sad... wow

Tiger Subspecies Minimum Maximum

Bengal Tiger
Panthera tigris tigris 3159 4715

Caspian Tiger
Panthera tigris virgata Extinct since 1970's

Siberian/Amur Tiger
Panthera tigris altaica 360 406

Javan Tiger
Panthera tigris sondaica Extinct since 1980's

South China/Amoy Tiger
Panthera tigris amoyensis 20 30

Bali Tiger
Panthera tigris balica Extinct since 1940's

Sumatran Tiger
Panthera tigris sumatrae 400 500

IndoChinese Tiger
Panthera tigris corbetti 1227 1785

Rounded Totals 5000 7500

Adapted from a table compiled by Peter Jackson, Chairman, Cat Specialist Group, IUCN Species Survival Commission. Most estimates are educated guesses.

i squealed - i literally SQUEALED - when i saw footage of this last night. they were all just rolling around cuddling and putting each other's feet in their mouths. nothing should be allowed to be this cute. i may have never seen anything this cute in my life. KITTIES AND MONKEYS.

Awww.
Sooo adorable.

Anx said:

Look at this one...

In fourteen days the tigers will eat the apes.

novabrkr said:

at least the apes will be too busy wildly humping each other to realize they're being mauled.

novabrkr said:

PS:

Anx said:

applekisses said:

its soo cute

this one is precious

Anx said:

Natisse said:

yeah its beautiful.. I know psychodelicide will love these pics..

Anx said:

REDFEATHERS said:

I do, they are so precious!

That is so adorable.

I love baby animals.





Slightly O/T: But how can anyone look at a baby orangutan's face and not clearly see that as our cousin?

meow85 said:

Organized religions' dogmas.

meow85 said:

I definitely can. Even their hands are like ours. Pretty wild, huh?

That is about the cutest thing I've ever seen.