Three Unusual Brothers

[Ray S S]

Greetings , here is some very remarkable information and pictures that I received in an email.

Enjoy

Ray.

Three Unusual Brothers

They make an unlikely trio, but Baloo, the bear, Leo the lion, and Shere Khan the tiger have forged an unusually
strong bond. Considering that they would be mortal enimies if they were to meet in the wild, it is stunning to
see their unique and genuine friendship in these intimate pictures.

Rescued 8 years ago during a police raid in Atlanta , Georgia, the three friends were only cubs at the time at
barely two months old. They had been kept as status symbol pets by the drug barons.

Delivered to the Noah's Ark Animal Rescue center in Locust Grove , Georgia, the decision was made to keep
the youngsters together, because of budding rappaport.

"We could have separated them, but since they came as kind of a family, the zoo decided to keep them
together" said Diane Smith, assistant Director of Noah's Ark. "To our knowledge, this is the only place where
you'll find this combination of animals together."

Living with the zoo's founders for the past eight years, Shere Kahn, Baloo, and Leo have now been moved to
a purpose-built habitat where the US public can now witness first hand their touching relationships.

"We didn't have the money to move them at first," said diane. "Now their habitat is sorted and they have
been moved away from the children's zoo areas where the public couldn't really get a good look.

"It is possable to see Baloo, who is a 1,000 lb. black bear, Shere Kahn, a 350 lb. tiger, and Leo, who is also
350 lbs. messing around like brothers. They are totally oblivious to the fact that in any other circumstance
they would not be friends."

Handled by Charles and Jama Hedgecoth, the zoo's owners and founders, the three giants appear to have
no comprenension of their animal differences.
"Baloo and Shere Kahn are very close," says Diane. That is because they rise early, and as Leo is a lion,
he likes to spend most of the day sleeping. It is wonderful and magical to see a giant American Black bear
put his arm around a Bengal and then to see the tiger nuzzle up to the bear like a domestic cat.
:When Leo wakes up, the three of them mess around for most of the day before they settle down for some
food. Surprisingly for three apex preditors with the power to kill with a single bite or swipe of their paw, they
are very relaxed around each other."
"They eat, sleep, and play together," says Jama. "As they treat each other as siblings, they will lie on top of
each other for heat and simply for affection. At the moment they are getting used to their new habitat. Shere
Kahn is being reticent about the move, but Baloo, the bear, is very good at leading him on and making him
feel comfortable and safe."
Explaining that the three 'brothers' have always seemed to share a unique bond, Charles said, "Noah's Ark
is their home and they could not possibly be separated from each other. You just have to remember who
you are dealing with when you are with them, though. It's when you forget that these fellows are wild animals
that you get yourself in trouble."
Jama said, "The clubhouse had to be very sturdy for the guys, because they all sleep in it together."
She added, "We had to include a creek, because the tiger and the bear both like to be in the water."

[Felinepeachy]

Great story and pics Ray.

Unfortunately the keeping of large wild animals by drug dealers isn't uncommon.

[Ray S S]

Thanks, Peachy, When I saw this one I just had to post it. It is so strange to see these three natural enimies
being so cuddly with each other. LOL.

Ray