CNN: Tiger, orangutan babies bond as inseparable playmates

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Tiger, orangutan babies bond as inseparable playmates

 

* 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. All rights reserved.This

material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

 

 

 

Find this article at:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/02/28/indonesia.tigers.orangutan.ap/index.\

html

 

 

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