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[Carrie McLaren <temporary181 AT stayfreemagazine.org>]

Tiger, Orangutan Babies Playmates at Zoo

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/02/28/international/i035143S45.DTL

(Warning: Seriously cute photos featured)

By NINIEK KARMINI, Associated Press Writer

Call them the odd couples. A pair of month-old Sumatran tiger twins 
have become inseparable playmates with a set of young orangutans, an 
unthinkable match in their natural jungle habitat in Indonesia's 
tropical rainforests.

The friendship between 5-month-old female baby primates Nia and Irma, 
and cubs Dema and Manis, has blossomed at the Taman Safari zoo where 
they share a room in the nursery.

After being abandoned by their mothers shortly after birth, the four 
play fight, nipping and teasing each other, and cuddling up for a 
shared nap when they are worn out.

"This is unusual and would never happen in the wild," said zoo keeper 
Sri Suwarni, bottle-feeding a baby chimp on Wednesday. "Like human 
babies, they only want to play."

The four have lived side-by-side for a month without a single act of 
hostility, she said.

Indonesian tigers and orangutans are both endangered species, 
threatened by rapidly shrinking habitats.

Conservationists estimate there are fewer than 700 Sumatran tigers 
still alive, while fewer than 60,000 orangutans remain in the wild. 
Around 90 percent of the jungle has been destroyed by illegal 
logging, poaching and cut-and-burn farming practices on Borneo and 
Sumatra islands.

The exceptional friendship will likely be short-lived, said 
veterinarian Retno Sudarwati, because as the animals grow up their 
natural survival instincts will kick in.

"When the time comes, they will have to be separated. It's sad, but 
we cant' change their natural behavior," she said. "Tigers start 
eating meat when they are three months old."