It does sound like a rather lovely children’s book doesn’t it– the friendship of a tiger and a goat. But it is a present day phenomena and is happening now in a Russian Safari Park. Let me go back to the beginning, are you sitting comfortably?
Goat is a regular food offered live in our still barbaric age to tigers in this safari region. But one goat in particular refused to be beaten or eaten, and instead, kicked the Tiger out of his bedroom and had the cheek or bravery to take over his bed.
The Tiger named Amur was so bemused by this outrageous behaviour from the Goat, now named Timur, that he was stunned into a different way of thinking and has befriended this rather unlikely room-mate in a fashion never seen before.
Let us pause for a minute, as it may give us food for thought (forgive the pun) as we look at our own lives and friendships, as out of the ordinary is not always a bad thing.
Back to Amur the Tiger, perhaps his life has been lonely up until now, and Timur has given him the injection of companionship and fun that he so desperately needed, above the temporary satisfaction of a quick feast.
Time alone will tell as they have been living and playing together in harmony for just over a month, they now have separate Facebook pages, and the clientèle of the Safari Park has tripled with visitors arriving to observe the unlikely duo in their befriended bliss.
They are seen playing tag together and hide and seek, with each changing roles, Timur seeking out Amur if he loses sight of him, and Amur enjoying the playfulness of his companion. They walk and communicate under the watchful eye of the Park attendants, who look on in wonder as they have never experienced such a companionship.
If we are really going to go into a more in depth analysis, we could look at the demographics of this unlikely pair – with the Tiger being an elite Siberian, whereas the Goat is just a Joe Bloggs ordinary breed, which has to illustrate that class is not a rule or even a consideration in the animal kingdom.
There are cynics out there who believe it will end in tears or worse, but I would like to remain optimistic, and believe that we can all live in harmony, whatever our differences, and without eating each other alive. Watch a video of the unlikely duo here.
Happy New Year everyone.
Image via sputniknews.com
