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| 2007-03-21 register | login | ||
Baheem and Raja, Tiger BrothersAs any mother of boys will tell you, brothers sometimes fight, and twin tiger brothers Baheem and Raja are no exception. Born in the Cinncinnati zoo May of 2001 and arriving in Tucson at 5 months of age, our tigers have spent their lives together. Their first years were spent growing rapidly, from 50lb cubs to 234 lb adults [check - is this lbs or kg? Adult male tigers should be 400lbs]. Fierce predators, they still need consolation - at two, Baheem engaged in tail sucking, and Raja has been spotted pacifying himself with his tail as recently as last month. But boys will be boys, and upon reaching four years of age Baheem and Raja engaged in fights and scuffles on and off. Keepers and alert visitors have kept a close eye on the pair, and periodically Baheem and Raja have been separated for a 'cooling-off' period. Just like human brothers, they are glad to see each other on being reunited, and may be friends again for some time before starting up. Baheem is the dominant tiger of the two, and has been observed stalking and hunting his brother. Raja is a tiger too, though, and when feeling good will pick on Baheem! Indochinese Tigers (Panthera Tigris Corbetti) are highly endangered species - between 1200 - 1700 may exist in the wild, mainly in Malaysia and some in Vietnam. Little is known about their behaviour in the wild as access to the tigers is strictly controlled. Perhaps Baheem and Raja can teach us important elements of tiger psychology as well as serving as fathers of their species sometime in the future. |
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