Miniature liger debuts at Beijing Wildlife Park
Siberian tigers, spotted hyenas and lion cubs, born just over a month old, play together and are full of fun
News from this newspaper (Reporter Wang Bin) In the Beijing Wildlife Park, there is a special group - "Liger Dog", a white lion, two Siberian tigers, and a Shiba Inu, they live together every day and coexist harmoniously. This "peculiar" scene has attracted many tourists.
This summer, in the cute pet kindergarten exhibition area of Beijing Wildlife Park, the miniature version of the "liger dog" debuted. The Siberian tiger, spotted hyena, and little lion, who were only a month old, played together and were full of fun.
Yesterday, a reporter from Beiqing Daily came to the "Liger and Tiger" exhibition area in the walking tour area of Beijing Wildlife Park, and heard a child curiously ask his mother: "The puppy lives with lions and tigers, doesn't it? Was it eaten?" After careful observation for a while, the relationship between the lion and the puppy seemed to be extraordinarily close, while the two Siberian tigers seemed to be "afraid" of the puppy and were driven away by the puppy.
What's going on here?
According to Zhang Ruitao, a breeder at the "Liger Dog" exhibition area at Beijing Wildlife Park, these "Liger Dogs" are brothers and sisters. They have grown up on the same mother dog's milk since they were born and have been together for nearly 8 years.
It turned out that in August 2014, a small white lion and two Siberian tigers were born in the Beijing Wildlife Park. They were both males, but because the lion and tiger mothers were the first to give birth, they had no parenting experience.
In order to make them grow better, the nurses recruited mother dogs who are similar to the feeding methods of ligers and tigers to feed the little white lions and Siberian tigers.
As a result, the dog mother brought her newborn puppy to the nursery and acted as a "nurse" for the little lion and the little tiger.
Since these small animals were all raised by a mother, they developed a relationship in the relationship. The puppies have always been with the ligers and tigers, and became the "little brothers" of "Lion Brothers" and "Tiger Brothers".
Zhang Ruitao said that among the "ligers" siblings, the "little sister" is the real "boss".
They fight each time the breeder feeds them, but in the end it's the "puppy sister" who wins.
The reason is that the growth and development of dogs is faster than that of lions and tigers in childhood.
In the process of scramble for food, "early maturing" dogs are more powerful than lions and tigers.
In many early bouts, the dog was always the winner.
Therefore, in the subconscious mind of ligers, dogs are more powerful than them.
This summer, Beijing Wildlife Park welcomed several ligers and tiger cubs.
At present, two one-and-a-half-month-old Siberian tigers, two nearly two-month-old lion cubs, and a one-and-a-half-month-old spotted hyena form a miniature "liger", which regularly appears in Mengbao Kindergarten.
"These little guys have also lived together since childhood. Unlike adult ligers, lions and tigers within four months of age can be contacted by breeders," said Dong Feifei, an animal breeder at Beijing Wildlife Park. , while taking out the milk powder that had just been prepared, the ligers and puppies immediately gathered around and scrambled for milk.
"As long as they have a common living environment and common feeding people, they can get along very well." Photo by this group / reporter Yuan Yi
reveal
What is the day-to-day life of an animal breeder?
At Beijing Wildlife Park, four nearly eight-year-old "ligers" siblings live in harmony.
Zhang Ruitao, a beast breeder, thinks he is "cool"!
He said, "Whenever people ask me what I do at the zoo, I tell them with great pride, lions and tigers!"
Even so, Zhang Ruitao always tightens the "safety string", "As a qualified animal breeder, we must put safety first, and no details can be overlooked." Zhang Ruitao has always kept a distance from the "ligers".
In the two years he has worked in the "Liger Dog" exhibition area, he has never had close contact with the "Liger and Tiger", but the little Shiba Dog can get close to him occasionally.
"After all, lions and tigers are fierce beasts. During the breeding process, the park clearly stipulates that breeders must keep a safe distance of more than 1.5 meters from the beasts, and close contact is not allowed." Zhang Ruitao said, "Lions and tigers are not 'big'. Cats', ferocity is their true face. If you have heard their roars, you will know how shocking and daunting they are. Usually, breeders adopt the principle of no contact with wild beasts such as lions and tigers, including Feeding is also through the feeding mouth."
In addition, in order to ensure the safety of the breeders, Beijing Wild Animal Park requires the beast breeders to strictly implement "two-person operation".
For example, when entering the animal house, whether it is cleaning or feeding, two people must enter at the same time, as security guards for each other, to avoid operation errors.
"You can't operate anything alone, and you can't be sloppy at all. As long as you improve your awareness of self-protection and safety, and then follow the operating procedures, rules and regulations, there will be no problem."
Zhang Ruitao said that the responsibilities of a breeder are not only to feed animals and be a "shovel officer", but also to clean, observe and record animal status, nutrition, deworming, and improve animal welfare. It is all about the healthy growth of animals.
"We need to observe their feeding status, feces, urine, and whether there are any problems such as stammering, inactivity, slipping away, or not being social. If there is any abnormality, contact a veterinarian for joint treatment."
Although you have to be careful when dealing with large beasts, Zhang Ruitao has developed a deep relationship with them after two years of getting along day and night.
"Each animal has a name. The little dog is called 'Niuniu', the big lion is called 'Diandian', and the two tigers are 'Big Tiger' and 'Erhu'. Every day at five o'clock in the afternoon, it is the time to collect animals, and I will put them Called back to the animal house from the sports field. Sometimes, the big lion 'Dian Dian' would not go away in the grass, so I would say to the little chai dog who had already returned to the animal house: 'Niuniu, go and call Diandian back'. He would run back and bark at the big lion a few times, and the big lion would really come back."
Text / reporter Wang Bin