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Monday, September 30, 2013

Not the usual household cats! Brazilian family live with SEVEN tigers in their home

ANIMAL-lover Ary Borges was worried about the plight of endangered tigers- so he moved SEVEN of the massive cats into his own house.

The dad-of-three rescued two of the tigers from a circus eight years ago, and has since multiplied the endangered species in his home in Brazil. 

The striped man-eaters now live in a garden sanctuary alongside Ary and his wife and three daughters. The tigers even swim with Nayara, 20, Uyara, 23, and Deusanira, 24, in the family's backyard pool. 


Ary, 43, said: "I was never worried about my daughters co-existing with these animals.

"You have to show the animals respect and love - that's how you get it back from them."

The girls feed meat directly into the mouths of the fully-grown cats as they join their human friends in the kitchen for dinner- and they even lounge around the house in the evenings. Perhaps more shockingly, Ary even lets his two-year-old granddaughter Rayara take a ride on the backs of the predators.

Rayara's mum Uyara, who works with slightly smaller animals in her job as a dog trainer, believes her daughter is perfectly safe with the tigers.  She said: "Rayara loves playing with the tigers - she sees my dad interacting with them and she goes crazy.

"But it's safe. I would never expose her to a dangerous situation. Every day since they were born we have taken care of them and fed them so their instincts become dormant.

"They are part of the family. I can't imagine life without them."

Daredevil Nayara regularly goes swimming with Tom, the 35-stone tiger, to keep him in shape. The baby of the family said: "He wouldn't get in the water with anyone else now - he associates the pool with me."

Read more at Express UK