Love like humans. A romantic triangle with three endangered Amur tigers took place at Karagandy Zoo this winter. Don’t worry: the story is getting a happily ever after.
Here is the full love story by QazMonitor.
The story began last December when an Amur tiger named Lad was transferred to the Karagandy Zoo from Almaty. Zookeepers hoped that 3-year-old Lad would take a fancy to 3-year-old tigress Mia and both would produce a litter.
But things took an unexpected turn.
In February, the zoo announced that Mia seemed to show interest in 9-year-old Batyr, the tiger next door. Now the new tiger couple is getting used to each other, and the zoo administration hopes to see some offspring soon.
The zoo has not seen an Amur tiger birth for many years.
Gulnara Adambekova, director of Karagandy Zoo, said that Mia is a fully-matured female tiger but has not given birth to a litter yet.
“Our Mia is now 3 years old. She has already reached the period of puberty. Our Batyr lives in the cage next to her. Now we are letting them get accustomed to each other. At first, they spent half an hour together per day, then an hour. Now they can be together for up to three hours. Of course, at feeding time we separate them," the director said.
“They both show their best sides. Mia is a real lady – she behaves gracefully and she is gentle with Batyr. And Batyr behaves like a gentleman. In general, everything is like with humans.”
If everything goes well, the tigers will have their mating season in February or March.
Meanwhile, Lad is still adapting to life in a new place, sometimes feeling homesick but still maintaining an excellent appetite.
