To our eyes
they look like unlikely playmates, but no-one seems to have told this baby
macaque not to monkey around with tigers.
Pictured at
the Hefei Wild Zoo in China’s Anhui province, the tiny rhesus monkey, named
Taoqi, was perfectly at ease as he rolled around with the big-cat-to-be.
Still at
the fluffy stage, the blue-eyed tiger cub was happy to snuggle with its smaller
friend.
Give us a cuddle: Baby rhesus macaque Taoqi cosies up to a young tiger cub at a zoo in Hefei, China |
One shot
shows cheeky Taoqi climbing over the cub's back, while in another he fearlessly
bats at the tiger's face.
A quick
look at the cub's open mouth reveals the budding teeth that characterise these
hunting cats.
It's
anyone's guess if their friendship will go the distance, but for the moment,
the tiny predator is clearly feline good around his great ape.
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Peekaboo: Taoqi peers fearlessly at the camera as he clings to the cub's back |
Mind the teeth! The tiny tiger shows its budding fangs as its macaque friend goes in for a stroke |
Although
Taoqi lives in captivity in eastern China, rhesus monkeys are native to South,
Central and Southeast Asia. They are venturesome creatures, and learn to swim
at just a couple of days old.
Often happy
to live alongside humans, many rhesus monkeys raid refuse for food, or rely on
their neighbours for handouts.
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