Saturday, April 4, 2009

Baby tigers monkey around

Anjana, a two and a half year old Chimpanzee, looks after his new best friends, two 21 day old White Tiger Cubs, at T.I.G.E.R.S. (The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species), in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Whisper ... sweet nothings

Barcroft Media

By MARTIN PHILLIPS
Senior Features Writer

THIS cute chimp isn’t just a primate – she is this baby tiger’s BEST mate.

Loving Anjana cradles the white tiger cub after acting as surrogate mother to him and his twin brother.

And the two-year-old chimpanzee clearly isn’t monkeying around, she has also raised LEOPARDS and LIONS.

Anjana, a two and a half year old Chimpanzee, looks after his new best friends, two 21 day old White Tiger Cubs, at T.I.G.E.R.S. (The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species), in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Pose ... pair smile for the camera

Anjana has been helping zoo keeper China York look after 23-day-old cubs Mitra and Shiva at TIGERS (The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species) in South Carolina, US.

The chimp took on the crucial surrogate role after the youngsters were separated from their mother.

She turned aggressive after being spooked when hurricane Hannah ripped through the institute.

Anjana, a two and a half year old Chimpanzee, looks after his new best friends, two 21 day old White Tiger Cubs, with the help of their keeper China, at T.I.G.E.R.S. (The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species), in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Together ... Anjana, China and the two cubs

Bottle

Anjana has been a constant companion to infant animal carer China — and the chimp loves aping her work.

TIGERS founder Dr Bhagavan Antle said: “Anjana has joined China in caring for baby animals. Monkey see, monkey do and Anjana has helped China raise them.

“She has acted as a surrogate mother to leopards, lions and orangutans and has done the same with these baby white tigers.

“She gives them a bottle and lies with them — she is a great assistant.”

Anjana, a two and a half year old Chimpanzee, looks after his new best friend, a 21 day old White Tiger Cub, with the help of their keeper China, at T.I.G.E.R.S. (The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species), in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Kisses ... cubs kiss chimp

TIGERS has bred and reared many rare and talented animals. This year they unveiled their latest “liger” cub — bred from a lion father and a tiger mother.

The institute has 45 big cats, including white-and-red-striped golden tabby tigers — one of the rarest big cat breeds.

There are also bears, other primates and an African elephant.

Anjana, a two and a half year old Chimpanzee, looks after his new best friend, a 21 day old White Tiger Cub, at T.I.G.E.R.S. (The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species), in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Sit ... cub hitches a ride

Love

The highly-trained carers at the institute have trained animals to appear in more than 500 movies, including Hollywood blockbusters Dr Dolittle and Forrest Gump.

Dr Antle added: “The animals are given thousands of hours of training and constant care.

“People think it is dangerous to get so close to wild animals but the handlers have been with them since they were cubs and have developed a special friendship based on love and respect.”

That might be the case but Anjana should be careful around her feline friends.

Anjana, a two and a half year old Chimpanzee, looks after his new best friend, a 21 day old White Tiger Cub, at T.I.G.E.R.S. (The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species), in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Dad ... Anjana has embraced family life

White tigers can grow to nearly 660lbs and when they do, Anjana will no longer be just a cub sandwich — she could end up as a portion of chimps.

m.phillips@the-sun.co.uk

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