[NTDTV 4/21/2009 11:45:22]
A zoo in Chonburi, Thailand is experimenting with two surrogate mothers, one a pig and the other a tiger.
The two-year-old mother pig is nursing two Bengal tiger cubs while six of her eight piglets are being nursed by a mother tiger.
The zoo hopes to be able to accustom the predatory tigers to other animals.
[Soonthon Kamvisek, Veterinarian]:
“It is to calm the tigers’ fierce behavior because the pig will not teach them to hunt or be wild. The pig will only lie down and feed them, so that could help calm their fierceness.”
Both surrogate mothers are loving to the little ones and never push the babies away when they are hungry.
The strange arrangement has attracted thousands of tourists.
[Nanthiga Sangchan, Thai Tourist]:
“Yes, it is weird as I have never seen it anywhere else before. It shows that whether they are pigs or tigers, they can still live together. It is good.”
The zoo has successfully bred at least 50 tiger cubs a year and is currently housing over 400 Bengal tigers.
Besides bottle-feeding the baby tigers, tourists can also see tricks performed by trained adult tigers.