Thursday, Jun 08 2023

All Cities

Choose Your City

'Since 1902 there was a daily 'butter' train, leaving Novosibirsk to Riga, Latvia, with 25 carriages, each loaded with 7 000 kg of butter'

The chronicles of Novosibirsk

Hero goat rushed to safety amid fears over behaviour of his Tiger 'friend'

By Olga Gertcyk

27 January 2016

Odd couple are separated amid concerns big cat Amur is becoming aggressive.

Images and footage of the unlikely buddies wandering their compound together have flashed around the world. Picture: Dmitry Mezentsev

The tiger and the goat have made headlines around the world, with two happy months in the company of each other, a friendship nature never intended. Timur wasn't supposed to last two minutes he was thrown in as live prey for the Siberian tiger at a safari park.

The goat eyeballed Amur, showed no fear, and the big cat gave up his bed so his new friend could settle in.

Crowds have flocked to the Primorsky Safari Park while online updates have been avidly read daily across Russia, and images and footage of the unlikely buddies wandering their compound together have flashed around the world.

BUT... Recently footage has shown the first signs of aggression from the tiger, although the goat simply showed his horns and the cat retreated. For now.

Timur

Timur - named for his bravery - was given a separate enclosure 'until the situation changes'. Picture: Sergey Lanin/PrimaMedia, Anton Fedoseev,

Yet suddenly the pair have been separated. Park director Dmitry Mezentsev said a tigress in a nearby enclosure has entered her mating period. This could lead to unpredictable consequences in the tiger's behaviour even though the female - called Taiga - is his sister.

The aim is to keep the goat 'safe from possible changes in the male tiger's behaviour', he said. Timur - named for his bravery - will be given a separate enclosure 'until the situation changes'.

Mesentsev said: 'Males are very sensitive in this period. They become aggressive and very unpredictable.' Another factor was the goat's obesity which seems to show how content he is living with the tiger: he can't stop eating. He also needs a flea check, apparently.

Timur and Amur

Tigress Taiga

Another issue is that Amur is due to be introduced in the future to his 'bride' Ussuri, another tigress already at the park. Picture: Dmitry Mezentsev, Sergey Lanin/PrimaMedia

'We decided to kill two birds with one stone - to get Timur checked by the vet and take some precautions in case Amur's behaviour changes,' he explained. 'In order not to risk the health and life of Timur the goat, we removed him and combined this with the veterinary inspection.'

Another issue is that Amur is due to be introduced in the future to his 'bride' Ussuri, another tigress already at the park. She shares an enclosure with Taiga.

The goat may not be welcome at this moment. For now the plan is to bring the tiger and goat back together again...

Comments (5)

All comments
Best rated comments

Add comment

I hope to see Timur and Amur back together after Amur mates. Or if Amur wants to stay with his mate, then that should come first. Although I would like Amur and Timur given a chance to say goodbye. Maybe a mate or home could be found for Timur. I just wish I had the money to donate to the Primorsky Safari Park and the wonderful job Putin and Russia is doing to save the wild tigers. We have a lot to learn from Russia.

Janis Schmidt, North Dakota, USA

25/02/2016 02:26

It is crass sentimentality to worry over the fate of Timur as long as other live animals are being fed to carnivores like Amur at the zoo. For a prey animal to be put into the enclosure of a predator causes unimaginable fear before the animal is killed, and unless the predators were trained to kill by their mothers in the wild, they may be very clumsy at it, causing a great deal of unnecessary pain. The only excuse for live feeding is if the carnivore is being conditioned for release to the wild. Otherwise, the food animal should be killed humanely with a captive-bold pistol before being placed into the carnivore's enclosure. If the intent of live feeding is to titillate the public, who pays to watch it, then it's even worse, as such spectacles may incite potentially dangerous psychological responses in viewers, especially young persons.

Kim Rogers Bartlett, Clinton WA USA

29/01/2016 02:03

It's about time the goat was removed from the tiger's pen. Tolerance is not called a friendship, the tiger tolerated the goat. I am glad the goat is safe now. We are in error when we attach human feelings and emotions to animals.

rose beninger, USA

28/01/2016 12:13

I hope the best for Amur and Timur. I love to watch them on the webcams. Here it is 5:00 pm when it is 0900 am at the park so I check on the "dynamic duo" often. I also hope the best for Amur and Ussuri and for healthy cubs in the future. Thank you for all the work you are doing to protect nature and for sharing that work with all of us via the videos, pictures and live webcams.

Pamela Tetarenko, League City, USA

28/01/2016 05:52

hopefully there will be a re union later again....

Benedikt, Moscow,Russia

27/01/2016 13:24