Posts tagged "bengal cat"

Recently, eccentric model Bai Ling made headlines by adopting what she claimed was a cheetah/domestic cat hybrid, although experts agree that this would be impossible in nature. Most likely, what she had was a Savannah Cat. Still, people want to know how they can get their hands on their own hybrid pets. Well, be careful what you wish for; hybrid house pets can be a handful. Here is a quick overview of two popular hybrid animals.

The Savannah Cat: A cross between a serval and a house-cat, the Savannah cat is much larger than the typical house-cat, and can reach up to 30 pounds for a healthy adult male. They often have leopard spots, but can vary in color wildly, a symptom of hybridization. Similar to dogs in temperament, Savannahs are extremely loyal and affectionate, can be walked on a leash, and can even be trained to do tricks. They are intelligent and extremely curious, so you will have to cat proof your home.

The Wolf-Dog: With a similar appearance to an Alaskan Malamute, a wolf-dog is a cross between -- what else? -- a wolf and a dog. The dog half of the hybrid usually is wolf-like in appearance, i.e. shepherds, Malamutes, huskies, etc., resulting in varied coat patterns. The wolf-dog's temperament is highly unpredictable, extremely curious, destructive and can often have aggressive traits.

If you want to adopt an animal like this, be sure you extensively research the requirements for adoption and care, as many owners give up on these animals when they become too much to handle.

The world's biggest 'fraidy cat -- at least this week -- is a two-year-old Bengal tiger who's stuck at the top of a tower, too timid to climb back down to Earth.

Tanvir, who lives at Noah's Ark Zoo Farm in Bristol, England, seemed to take to his new, 15-foot "activity tower" -- a structure of wooden platforms and, well, catwalks designed to sharpen the animal's agility and problem-solving skills -- when he scaled it in mere seconds on Monday. But now, he's staging a sit-in, refusing to walk back down.

On Tuesday, the Daily Mail reported that "Tanvir has been spotted peering over the edge of the platform and even dangling his paw over the side, as if to check how high up he is, before slinking back to safety. He spent today stretching and yawning, but resolutely refusing to come down."

The zoo's keepers aren't overly concerned, believing he'll brave the return trip when he's hungry enough. A Bengal tiger can typically last up to five days without food.

This isn't the first time Tanvir has proven to be "mischevious" on the ground but a "wimp" in the air, as zookeepers have described him. Previously, he'd climbed to the top of a tower that was only five feet high, and "even that took him half an hour to get down from," zoo spokesperson Samantha Cordrey told the Daily Mail.

Bengals are known as the second-largest tigers in the world after the Siberian tiger and, like most tigers, are solitary creatures. Rather than living in prides like lions, tigers prefer to live alone in their own, individual swaths of territory, and they are often afraid of humans.

So maybe Tanvir's just looking for a little me-time. According to the zoo's Twitter feed, Noah's Ark had its busiest day ever on August 30, less than six weeks after Tanvir moved into his English digs. (So far, there have been no Tweets about Tanvir's lofty predicament.) The zoo also recently launched a "Tiger Keeper Experience," allowing ordinary folks to help feed the animals.

But if you'd like to add to Tanvir's lack of privacy, see if you can spot him on the zoo's tiger webcam!