Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - Nature's Bizzare...Odd Coupling

- General Discussion (https://thetfp.com/tfp/general-discussion/)

- - Nature's Bizzare...Odd Coupling (https://thetfp.com/tfp/general-discussion/113879-natures-bizzare-odd-coupling.html)

Nature's Bizzare...Odd Coupling

I love these types of stories. I find it interesting when "nature" goes off its own path.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapc....ap/index.html

Quote:

CNN.com

"Tiger, orangutan babies bond as inseparable playmates"

Story Highlights
• 5-month-old female orangutans and tiger cubs live at Taman Safari zoo
• All were abandoned by their mothers shortly after birth
• The four have lived side-by-side for a month without a single act of hostility
• Tigers and orangutans are both endangered species

CISARUA, Indonesia (AP) -- 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 can't change their natural behavior," she said. "Tigers start eating meat when they are three months old."

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.

And here are some pics: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/6404425.stm

So what? Does anyone think this could have occurred outside of a controlled environment? Say, if both sets of babies were abandoned in the wild, would they still hang out?

I remember a story last year of a lioness in the wild that was nursing a baby wildebeest. She would nurse and protect the baby wildebeest from the other lions. It was crazy, but eventually, the lion got to it. And then there was the story of the orphaned baby rhino that got attached to this old, old giant tortoise somewhere in Africa. I think the baby was orphaned due to a tsunami or the mom got shot in some crazy African warlord zone. Anyways, the two became inseparable after the tortoise eventually softened up and allowed the rhino to hang out with him.

Had they been rejected in the wild, they'd have been eaten.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ngdawg

Had they been rejected in the wild, they'd have been eaten.

I think you're right, they'd be eaten or would have starved to death in the wild. Nature can be so cruel....:eek:

Left to their own devices, they'd certainly have died. The unnatural circumstances surrounding them must be what led to this 'odd coupling'.
It calls to mind the dog, cat, and rabbit of the daughter's which played together as though related... Good food for thought, jorgelito!

Agreed - in the wild they would already be dead. But I am gushing over their cuteness! Sorry, I know it's impractical and thoroughly silly, but I can daydream of a world in which the tiger cubs eat tofu, can't I? Can't I? :D

I think this is the cutest thing I have ever seen.....ever.

I agree, those pictures are what sold me on it. Completely "unnatural" and unrealistic, but the cute factor is through the roof!!

But every now and then, these weird "couplings" do occur as mentioned in the previous two examples.

holy crap, this made my day. Thanks for sharing this article and that picture... made me grin! :D

In the wild, this may or not not have happened, but in this environment... it did and it's still pretty amazing.

sweetpea

Well, they are tiger cubs, not grown tigers. In the wild, they may have gotten along without external influence... but they also would not survive long without protection or someone hunting for them.

1 part kittens
1 part puppies
1 part sugar
1 part spice
stir until adorable.

Looks like a scene out of "Black & White" the video game.

Cute indeed.

Awww, it is very cute.

PS: I sometimes consider my wife and I to be one of nature's bizzare odd couplings.