At the Oasis of the Siberian Tiger in Senec, Slovakia, an extraordinary friendship has blossomed between three German shepherds and a pair of endangered Siberian tigers.
Blacky, Hugo, and Jenny, the German shepherds, are now inseparable from the big cat Suria and her newborn cub Sunny.
Both Suria and Sunny were born at the sanctuary, which is dedicated to breeding and protecting Siberian tigers.
Suria, the Siberian tiger, was bred at the wildlife sanctuary and has grown up alongside Jenny the German shepherd, right? Source: According to workers at the wildlife park, the tigers and the dogs are inseparable, despite a believed animosity between cats and dogs. The dogs and the tigers enjoy playing with each other and often engage in play fights but never inflict any damage on each other.
Suria has been close to the dogs since her birth two years ago, and now it seems that Sunny is following in her paw steps, forming her own bond with the canine companions.
Lucia Zustakova, a visitor to the sanctuary, and Martin Ziman, a volunteer at the Oasis, captured stunning photos and videos of the dogs and tigers playing together.
The animals engage in lively play-fights and chase each other, showcasing the incredible bond they share.
Suria the tiger was born in the wildlife reserve in Slovakia some two years ago and grew up alongside the German shepherds. Suria, left and Hugo, right, were introduced to each other soon after they were born some two years ago. Sunny, the four-month-old cub, is already friendly with the dogs and seems highly likely to continue the unusual friendship. Since first being introduced, the dogs and the tigers have been the best of friends, much to the delight of visitors.
Zustakova, 29, expressed her awe at witnessing these interactions: “It is so amazing when you are so near these beautiful animals.
Suria plays with the dogs every day, and they just love her. I love animals and love the oasis – it’s a great project to help these tigers that are facing extinction.”
Founded in 1999 by Yveta Irsova, the oasis is home to 28 tigers, with 23 born on-site. Irsova, who also owns the German shepherds, is committed to saving a small population of tigers from extinction and contributing to the genetic pool for breeding critically endangered lions.
Poaching and habitat loss threaten Siberian tigers, and Irsova and her team are dedicated to preventing their extinction.
Suria’s cub Sunny, who is four months old, seems also to be calm around the dogs and appears willing to continue the unusual friendship. Suria, right, playfully uses her powerful left paw on one of her canine friends in what in the wild would have been a killer move.The unusual friendship has developed at the Oasis wildlife sanctuary in Senec, Slovakia, over the past two years. The oasis is run by Yveta Irsova, who also owns the dogs. It opened in 1999 and houses 28 tigers, 23 of which were born there. The sanctuary aims to rescue a small population of tigers from extinction and contribute to the genetic pool for the breeding of lions. Yveta and her staff are completely passionate about trying to stop the Siberian tigers from becoming extinct with her breeding program.The dogs and the tigers have no problems socializing with each other because they spent such an amount of time growing up together. The Siberian tiger is facing extinction because of hunting and the loss of its natural habitat in its native home in far eastern Russia. The breeding program hopes to scientifically spread the genetic diversity of the remaining Siberian tigers across the world. Workers at the park believe that the dogs and the tigers behave more like siblings rather than rival species.
Martin Ziman, the volunteer, noted the special relationship between the dogs and the tigers: “The dogs are almost the same age as Suria and have grown up together.
They spend most of their time together. They are really like siblings and play together all day long. They never hurt each other.”
