Fame Pictures
Police discovered the threesome in the back of a car during a drug bust in Atlanta in 2001. The animals, then just fuzzy cubs around two months old, were apparently being kept as pets by drug kingpins. After their rescue, they were sent to Noah's Ark Animal Rehabilition Center, an animal refuge in Locust Grove, Georgia, Noah's Ark's assistant director Diane Smith told Paw Nation.
"They got along so well as babies, they decided to keep them together," Smith told Paw Nation. Eight years on, the unlikely trio remains inseparable, eating, sleeping and romping together around their new enclosure. "I guess no one's ever told them they're different species," Smith said.
Shere Khan and Baloo are particularly close, she said, and the 350-pound tiger can often be seen nuzzling the half-ton bear like an overgrown housecat. Shere Khan and Baloo often get up early to play while Leo, a typical lion, spends most of the day sleeping. Once Leo finally rolls out of bed, the three spend the afternoons together.
The animals are still adjusting to their new enclosure, where, for the first time, they are on display to the visiting public. It has taken Shere Khan a while to get used to the new space, Smith said, but he's coming around -- especially with his buddies Leo and Baloo around for support. The new digs includes a sturdy wooden clubhouse where all three animals sleep together.
Noah's Ark staff hope to eventually expand the habitat to include a creek that runs behind their current enclosure. (Baloo and Shere Khan particularly like to splash around in the water.)
"They really do enjoy each other's company," Smith added. "They interact just like brothers."
To feast your eyes on more Shere Khan-Leo-Baloo adorableness -- including painfully cute baby pictures -- visit their Facebook fan page.
Related Videos
More Cute Stuff
- Lion Love (Daily Squee)
- This Cat Means Business (I Can Has Cheezburger)
- Zebra Tan! (I Has a Hotdog)
- Cat Guys or Dog Guys? (Petside)
- Reducing your Carbon Paw-Print (Discovery)
Sponsored Links
Add your comments
Advertisement
Time-Lapse Tortoise Noms Salad
Everything dynamic and very positively!
I THINK THESE 3 AWESOME ANIMALS ARE INCREDIBLE. THE LORD KNOWS WHAT HE CREATES :).........................BLESSINGS TO ALL OUR ANIMALS ALWAYS............
I AM JUST SO GLAD THAT THERE ARE PLACES THAT GIVE ALL ANIMALS A SECOND CHANCE AT LIFE
lets see some video of this and you would probably make the today show and get ellen degeneres to help out with the food cost. plus send me a video personally , i would love to see some footage.
i also think that if there is a video that the today show will show is and ellen will probaly call up who ever is feeding them and help pay 4 it!!!!
very heart warming & interesting concept. Why do my instincts tell me this will end up badly? Two carnivorous predators who've been supposedly domesticated with undeniable & compelling instincts stirring inside of them. All it will take is one strange scent from maybe a woman's perfume or menstrual cycle to ignite the "wild" in these beautiful creatures & what was a peaceful experiment will end up deadly. Hope I'm wrong, but there's too many documented incidents that end up the same way. Baloo may end up on the dinner menu.
"Why do my instincts tell me this will end up badly? Two carnivorous predators .... " - seems to me you are comparing them to Humans - you know, how we all can't live together, start wars, alienate others because they are different, etc., etc.
You do realize that bears are carnivores too, right?
""Baloo may end up on the dinner menu""
the article says that baloo weighs 1/2 ton (1000 lbs) which is unlikely, but if so then he could snap the tiger and lion in half, just like hulk hogan would snap bruce lee.
Trunks102 - Black bears are mostly ominivoristic. They eat mainly fruits (berries) and vegetables, garbage or anything already dead. They don't hunt for meat.
Bobby, I agree with you. This sort of thing happens all the time, more often then we know. It usually only happens in captivity, and it usually always ends badly. The tiger and lion are not fully grown, they could easily turn on the bear, tigers often hunt bears the same size as that black bear in India. There is a possibility they will not turn on the bear, but lions can not be domesticated, tigers are more likly to be a bit domesticated, they can depend on humans they grow close to over life and feel affection towards them, but lions usually don't it is very rare that they do, not saying it doesn't happen, it just doesn't happen often at all.
and in reply to
'ha'
The bear cannot defeat the tiger or lion, are you crazy? lions and tigers can take down elephants. The bear does not have as viscous instincts as a feline, especially a lion, so it is less likely to start any confrontation.
You couldn't be more right Gina, maybe humans will soon learn some helpful lessons from "wild animals" on how to live together despite our differences.
To Prinzessin: Lions and tigers don't hunt elephants, because they can't. Name one incident where a big cat has hunted an elephant successfully and walked away unscathed.
Also, a bear may not have the predatory instinct of a tiger or lion, but corner one and boy will they fight back.
Besides, judging by how much Baloo weighs, all he'd have to do is sit on either one of the others to bring any fight to an end. :)
I doubt it. These males have been together since they were pups. I think that the three of them will be friends for a while. Or at least until they decide to try to pair them up with any females. THEN it may get messy/strange. My worry is for the humans that are walking in and out of that place. They, I think, are the ones in danger. And when they're attacked, everyone else will turn on the animals for being true to their nature and kill them. THAT would be wrong.
ok ok i just saw this on the today show i guess some one heard me LOLOLOL
If humans could do the same........
True. If humans could do the same it would be a better place. Too bad that we act more like savages than the animals that live in the wild.
I agree, only if humans could do the same. Heartwarming story!
What a great story update. I remember when this happened. I do hope, however, that they keep their eyes on these guys...their instinct runs deeper than their 'friendship'.
The #5 commenter (copy below) is absolutely right! Too many of these mistakes end up in tragedies (for the animals) because humans thought those situations were cute and amusing (and a good donation vehicle by exhibiting them) only thinking of themselves and NOT of the animals involved! How long can trainers keep genuine jungle animals repressing their dormant but true wildness???