Showing posts with label Human Tiger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Human Tiger. Show all posts

Pictured: The baby tigers who like nothing more than a daily dip in a swimming pool with their female trainers

It's fun in the water for these amazing animals who love to swim at their owner's outdoor pool.

Measuring over two metres in length and weighing 200lb, these one-year-old tigers are having the time of their lives.

Reaching for their human playmates with their giant paws, they dive, splash and even swim - in the same pool.

Together with their handlers, Moksha Bybee and Ragani Ferrante, tigers Balavan, Bali, and Oden display unusually close interaction between man and beast.

Animal expert Dr Bhagavan Antle has taught these amazing creatures to swim as part of an enrichment programme at his animal park in Miami.

'Tigers have a natural desire and ability to swim, exceeding that of all the other big cats,' said Dr Antle.

'It is rarely seen and we wanted to be able to present it to people so they could really get the feel of that incredible beauty and grace that a tiger has in the water.

'Tigers have modified webbing between their toes that makes their feet like flippers and they are superior swimmers.

'Because of those attributes we thought it was something people would love so we built this custom-made pool to allow people to experience this unique behaviour.'

The water-loving animals all live at the Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species, or TIGER, in Myrtle Beach, near Miami.

Filled with 100,00 gallons of water, one side of the entire pool is made of glass, allowing guests of the institute the unique opportunity to see the handlers and the animals up close swimming together.

'There are other pictures out there of tigers underwater but people have never been able to get this close to a tiger because it is so dangerous,' says Dr Antle.

'These are the only shots I have ever seen where people are swimming with tigers like this.'

Dr Antle has a 25-year career caring for threatened species and has about 200 animals in large enclosures at the TIGER park.

He said: 'I started swimming with tigers about 25 years ago.

'We found that in the water people and tigers were on a more equal footing when the tiger was swimming around on the top.

'As they were floating around we could manipulate them more easily because they don't stand up on their back legs.

'When they are younger they love taking baths and then we slowly introduce them to the pool.'

Dr Antle and his animal-trainers give one-on-one tuition to each of the animals while they are in the water.

'These are hand-raised tigers,' he said.

'At the institute we feel that swimming with the big cats gives them a closer bond between the animal and their human companions.

'As part of our wildlife education program they are all hand-reared.' But despite the apparent danger, Doc ensures his trainers are never at risk.

'There is always a team of handlers in the water at any given time,' he explains.

'I don't think many people in the world try to get in the water with a tiger these days. It is all done from the edge when people throw meat and the tiger chases it.

'We are playing with the tigers and letting then have that interactive capacity with the handlers instead of allowing them to have meat.'

Each tiger is introduced to the pool a few months after they are born.

With a potential to grow to over 500lbs and 8ft in length, it is often considered that handlers will only swim with the tigers when they are no more than a year old.

However Dr Antle often looks at each individual case when considering how close his trainers can remain to the tigers.

'I depends on the tiger,' he says.

'I personally have had full-grown 15-year-old adult tigers that I swam with and adult ligers [cross between a lion and tiger]. But that is me and I wouldn't put my staff at the same risk.

'We will allow the tigers to swim with the handlers as they mature but we have to monitor each one on its own merits.'

The TIGER centre has several programmes allowing people to interact closely with the animals.

Many of the animals are also trained actors and have appeared in advertisements and films including Forrest Gump and Ace Ventura.

Cat Man - the human 'tiger' who enjoys climbing trees and eats raw meat every day

As obsessions go this has to be one of the weirdest known to man - someone who would voluntarily file his teeth, split his lip and undergo extensive facial surgery - to turn himself into a 'human tiger'.

Dennis Avner, 50, is descended from American Indians, and has spent 'an uncalculated amount' of money on making himself look like a big cat, after a discussion with a Native chief who inspired him to 'follow the ways of the tiger'.

Avner's body modification operations have included bifurcation (splitting) of his upper lip, surgical pointing of the ears, sillicone cheek and forehead implants, tooth filing, tattoos, and facial piercing - to which whiskers can be attached.

Avner, from Tonopah, Nevada, likes to go by his Indian name 'Stalking Cat'.

'I am Huron and following a very old tradition have transformed myself into a tiger,' he says on his website stalkingcat.com.

The tiger aficionado - naturally - enjoys climbing trees and must eat meat 'every day, just as a tiger would.'

This should be 'as close to raw as possible, or at the temperature that an animal would be if it had just been killed,' he told The Sun.

But Cat can't live the tiger's life 24 hours a day - he has human needs too. These he meets by working in an office - 'the only difference is I look like a cat' - or by making personal TV appearances, which have included Larry King Live, VH1's 'Totally Obsessed' and Kerrang!

His latest public appearance was at the new Ripley's Believe It Or Not! museum, which opened this week in London's Piccadilly Circus.

The museum features oddities from across the world - including a sixteenth-century iron maiden torture device and three antique shrunken heads made by the Jivaro Indians of Ecuador.

But what of Stalking Cat's personal life? How do real-life Cat Men find Cat Women?

It's difficult - but not impossible: 'I'm seeing a couple of women at the moment,' says Cat. 'They understand that being a tiger is more important to me than humanity, which is difficult for many women to cope with.'

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Categories

Amazing (83) Humor (47) weird (44) Interesting (43) cool (40) Incredible (34) beautiful (26) Animal (20) World News (19) wonderful (18) Dogs (15) Crazy Stuff (13) Nasa (11) believe it or not (11) Strange (10) Bizarre (9) Science (9) unusual (9) Amazing Fact (8) Artwork (8) awesome (8) Baby (7) Interesting fact (6) Ugliest Dog (6) World (6) Amazing Animals (5) Amazingly (5) Cat (5) Pets and Animal (5) Woman (5) Daredevil (4) Games (4) Horse (4) Man (4) Monster (4) Pregnant man (4) Technology (4) fattest man (4) space (4) Amazing photo (3) Britney Spears (3) Car (3) Cow (3) Dolphins (3) Fat (3) Fishing (3) Health and Fitness (3) Miscellenous (3) Monkey (3) Oldest (3) Shark (3) record breaking (3) sea (3) spider (3) wedding (3) woman's skill (3) Aeroplane (2) Aliens (2) Amy Winehouse (2) Angelina Jolie (2) Beer (2) Black Scorpion (2) Breakthrough Thinking (2) Britney (2) Cancer (2) Children (2) Chinese (2) Cigarette (2) Classic Cars (2) Current Events (2) Design (2) Dung Beetles (2) Eiffel Tower (2) Electric guitar (2) Elephant (2) Exotic fish (2) Expensive (2) Extraordinary (2) Faces (2) Family (2) Fashion (2) Fat Boy (2) Fergie (2) Food (2) Giant (2) Grand Father (2) Guinness Book (2) Guinness World Records (2) Halloween (2) Historical Perspectives (2) Hot Issues (2) Human Tiger (2) Human being (2) Koala bear (2) Latest News (2) Latest Trend (2) Leg (2) Life on Mars (2) Married (2) Medical (2) Medical Breakthrough (2) Mother (2) Motor Vehicle (2) Nature (2) Nature errors (2) New Discoveries (2) New Discovery (2) New Drug (2) Olympic (2) People Making a Difference (2) Photo Perspectives (2) Robot (2) Rubbish (2) Scientist (2) Sheep (2) Snake-girl (2) Sound (2) Stunts (2) Tattoos (2) Technology News (2) Telephone (2) Travelling (2) Tree (2) UFO (2) Venus (2) Wild Animal (2) X-ray (2) Zoo (2) biggest horse (2) face (2) jewellery (2) mystery man (2) photographer (2) plane (2) pumpkin (2) puppies (2) satellites (2) sexy (2) species (2) swimming pool (2) volcano (2) whale (2) 14 spoons (1) 400m plunge (1) Agriculture (1) Airlines (1) Albert Einstein (1) Albino Animals (1) Alcohol (1) Alesha Dixon (1) Alizee Poulicek (1) Amazing landmark (1) Amazing pictures (1) American dream (1) Amputee (1) Ancient city (1) Andes (1) Anti-terror (1) Antibiotics (1) Apples (1) Architecture (1) BBC (1) BMW (1) Baldy (1) Balloons (1) Bangkok (1) Beaten (1) Bicycles (1) Big Problems (1) Big Shotz (1) BigDog (1) Biofuels (1) Bionic leg (1) Bizarre Fashion (1) Black magic (1) Body builder (1) Bound (1) Brad and Angelina (1) Bread (1) Brick Art (1) Britain (1) British Journalism (1) British sport (1) Brown Bears (1) Bubble-wrap (1) Bullet (1) Burmese python (1) C (1) Carrot (1) Cat Man (1) Celebrity (1) Chihuahua foetus (1) Chimps (1) Christina Aguilera (1) Circle (1) Circus (1) Climate (1) Cloud Formations (1) Council (1) Council workmen (1) Court (1) Crab (1) Credit (1) Credit crunched (1) Crispy Duck (1) Crows (1) Cruise ship (1) Cubans poach (1) Curvy Martine McCutcheon (1) Custom (1) Diabolical (1) Diamond (1) Diesel (1) Disclaimer (1) Dog Brain (1) Dog Liver (1) Dordogne River (1) Dresses (1) Driftwood sculpture (1) Dummy lenses (1) Dustbin (1) Eagle (1) Earthquake (1) Eggstrordinary (1) Electrochemistry (1) Elephants (1) Eminem’s (1) Entertainment (1) Explosive power (1) FOUR Ears (1) Faith (1) Famous (1) Fancy (1) Farmland (1) Fashion craze (1) Female Trainers (1) Fermented (1) Ferrari (1) Festival (1) Firefly (1) Fitness (1) Flintstones (1) Football (1) Footloose (1) Frankfurt (1) Frenzy (1) Fungus (1) Funny (1) Gang (1) Gannets (1) Gateway of India (1) Genetic mutation (1) Ghost (1) Giant Squid (1) Giant squash (1) Global warming (1) Gold Medal (1) Gold chain (1) Gorilla (1) Gost Lungs (1) Grand Canyon (1) Grandchildren (1) Graveyard (1) Great New Product (1) Green energy (1) Gymnastics (1) Haiti earthquake (1) Half-tonne (1) Handbrake (1) Helicopter (1) Hell (1) Hernia (1) Heron (1) Hi-tech (1) Highest Cities (1) Himalayas (1) Historic statue (1) Holy Quran (1) Hope (1) Horrific.vile (1) Horro (1) Horrors (1) Horse Stew (1) Hottest Chilli (1) House (1) Houses (1) Hunting (1) Ice Age (1) Icebergs (1) Icy pond (1) Illicit Use of Drugs (1) Incidents Involving Firearms (1) Insects (1) Iron (1) Italian (1) Japanese Monkey (1) Jennifer Aniston (1) Jennifer Anistonं (1) Jessica Alba (1) Jessica Simpson Nude (1) Jesus (1) Jetpack (1) Jolie (1) Jordan (1) Jules (1) Kim Cattrall (1) Kissing (1) Kiteboarder (1) Korea’s (1) Lake (1) Landmine.Injury (1) Largest Breast (1) Largest Giants (1) Lemon Shark (1) Lindsay Lohan (1) Lindsay Lohan lesbian (1) Little (1) Lorraine Kelly (1) Lounging lizards (1) Love-sick (1) MARZIPAN BABIES (1) MRSA (1) Malaysian tower (1) Manchester. (1) March (1) Mars (1) Meat (1) Metal (1) Microbial (1) Microlight (1) Montauk Monster (1) Mr Berlusconi (1) Mugger (1) Murphy and Edmonds (1) Mushrooms (1) Muslim (1) Muslim extremists (1) Mysterious (1) NOSE (1) Naan (1) Naked Superfood (1) National Park (1) Natural Breast (1) Neck (1) Necklace (1) Network (1) New Viewpoints (1) Next 9/11 (1) Nicole Kidman (1) Oar Fish (1) Obese (1) Octopus (1) Official stamp (1) Oldest mum (1) Optical illusion (1) Orphan deer (1) PLANT LIFE (1) Pakistan (1) Penguin (1) Pensioner (1) Peter Jaeckel (1) Physical Inactivity (1) Pilgrims (1) Politics (1) Pony (1) Poor Diet (1) Poorest Countries (1) Prime Minister (1) Pumpkins (1) Purdeys Drink (1) Quotes (1) Red Bull Cola (1) Red Peppers (1) Rice (1) Robodog (1) Rodeos (1) Royal park (1) Rubbish Art (1) Russian Art (1) Sales (1) Sandwich (1) Schoenbrunn (1) Science fan (1) Scientists (1) Sea Serpent (1) SeaHorse Skewers (1) Sealife (1) Security (1) Sharks (1) Shell (1) Shoal (1) Sick (1) Sign (1) Silk Worm (1) Sip (1) Skin Cancer (1) Skydivers (1) Slaughter (1) Smallest girl (1) Smallest man (1) Smashing news (1) Snow sculpture (1) South Rim (1) Sparked fury (1) Spectacular (1) Spider Rock (1) Spooktacular (1) Sport (1) Squatter Camp (1) St Pancras (1) Stars (1) Statue of Liberty (1) Stunning (1) Sugar (1) Surfer (1) Surgeons (1) Surrogate mother (1) TONNES (1) Teenager (1) Tennessee (1) Thailand (1) The Jungle (1) Thomas Beatie (1) Thorax (1) Tiny premature (1) Titanic (1) Tobacco (1) Toilets (1) Tomb Art (1) Top 10 Entertainmen (1) Tower Bridge (1) Toxic (1) Train suicide (1) Triangle (1) Triplets (1) Truck (1) Tumble (1) Turtle (1) Twin brothers (1) Ugliest cat (1) Unusual technique (1) Vegetables (1) Vehicles (1) Victoria Beckham (1) Victoria’s Defence (1) Victory Column (1) Vodafone (1) Washing Machine (1) Watched (1) Water-Ice (1) Weatherman (1) White House (1) World's oldest man (1) Wrestling (1) Zoos (1) abandoned places (1) aircraft (1) aquarium (1) beach (1) beaver (1) biggest egg (1) body weight (1) boobs (1) bronze statue (1) burglars (1) charmers (1) chase (1) chest (1) cocooned parasitic (1) corals (1) craziest stunts (1) crowded बार (1) cycling race (1) damaged Airport (1) dazzling (1) deep canyon (1) disco (1) discover (1) dragon millipede (1) dramatic Pictures (1) face plant (1) fall (1) foolishness (1) fox (1) gemstones (1) guitars (1) heavens (1) hedgehogs (1) hippo (1) history (1) huntsman spider (1) intaranet (1) jumpers (1) jupitar (1) kangaroo (1) kitten (1) landmarks (1) leaves (1) lens (1) life-saving (1) lights (1) lobster (1) lonely (1) longest legs (1) loudspeaker (1) memphis (1) monsters (1) motorcycle (1) new video (1) nine-year-old (1) ocean (1) oddball (1) open brain coral (1) pandas (1) parkour (1) peacock (1) phone (1) photografy (1) pilot (1) pirate dog (1) planet (1) pole (1) regardless (1) runway (1) sex scenes (1) sex war (1) sexy full-body (1) skeletons (1) skinsuit (1) sky black (1) slasher movie (1) sleep (1) smallest bird (1) smile (1) starlings (1) stone-ishing (1) stuntman (1) sunset (1) surfing (1) surreal (1) swimmer (1) swimsuits (1) telegraph (1) tentacles (1) tissue (1) traceurs (1) transgender (1) twins (1) vistas (1) washing line (1) wetsuit (1) white deer (1) world record (1) world's smallest bodybuilder (1)