Later on, Koza killed & ate Cairo

February 4, 2006 2:53 PM

Cairo, an Italian mastiff puppy, was introduced as a playmate to 10-week-old Koza, a lion cub whose twin died, at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. The idea is that lions are social animals, but there are no other lion cubs at the park for Koza to interact with. Cairo is the next best thing.
posted by jonson (44 comments total)

thweet.
posted by Protocols of the Elders of Awesome at 2:55 PM on February 4, 2006

cuuuuute
posted by clubfoote at 2:58 PM on February 4, 2006

I hope Cairo enjoys playing as the dominant one for a couple weeks...
posted by pwedza at 3:00 PM on February 4, 2006

Wow. Serious cuteness inside
posted by Busithoth at 3:04 PM on February 4, 2006

I've seen the handlers at the San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park take cheetahs for walks through the park as a walking, up-close exhibit. They often have large dogs walking right alongside the cats on the same leashes. The dogs and cheetahs are friendly to one another, and since the dogs are totally calm around people, that calms the cheetah down. One of the handlers said a calm cheetah is a Good Thing, because "you try holding on to a cheetah's leash when he takes off at 70 miles per hour."
posted by frogan at 3:20 PM on February 4, 2006

Via this website? Anyway, this article says that the lion cub and the puppy are together only one or two hours at a time, and that the lion cub may move from the zoo in a month or two.
posted by iviken at 3:42 PM on February 4, 2006

Per Frogan's mention, here's The Cheetah and the Golden Retriever at the San Diego Zoo.
posted by cenoxo at 3:45 PM on February 4, 2006

Per Frogan's mention, here's The Cheetah and the Golden Retriever at the San Diego Zoo.

As a duck/pheasant hunter, this has given me an interestin' idea for next season.
posted by hal9k at 3:51 PM on February 4, 2006

Man. that cat looks like he's pissed off at the dog for most of those pictures.
posted by schroedinger at 4:15 PM on February 4, 2006

You stay classy San Diego.
posted by guruguy9 at 4:15 PM on February 4, 2006

Perfect desktop material, thank you jonson.

Staying with the cuteness theme, Bella and Hogan.
posted by ceri richard at 4:33 PM on February 4, 2006

Once a mom, always a mom: A Dog Feeds Two Tiger Cubs....
posted by cenoxo at 4:42 PM on February 4, 2006

Once a mom, always a mom
posted by Bucket o' Heads at 5:05 PM on February 4, 2006

All the cuteness is top-notch, but given what Bucket o' Heads has shown us, isn't anyone a touch concerned that all this cross-species love will bring us that much closer to the abominations we've recently been warned about?.
posted by BT at 5:43 PM on February 4, 2006

cute. But I wish they would have introduced Pat Robertson instead.
posted by stirfry at 5:51 PM on February 4, 2006

When in Rome...
posted by cenoxo at 6:50 PM on February 4, 2006

Isn't there something in the bible against interspecies maternal relationships?
posted by Citizen Premier at 7:30 PM on February 4, 2006

More from the "Its only a matter of time" department:

'Hamster, snake best friends at Tokyo zoo'
posted by dgaicun at 8:33 PM on February 4, 2006

And h-e-e-e-e-e-e-r-e's Mzee and Owen!
posted by rob511 at 9:18 PM on February 4, 2006

for those too lazy to click the link, dgaicun's is the best one because the hamster was dropped into the snake's living area as a meal.
priceless.
posted by juv3nal at 9:45 PM on February 4, 2006

Aw, Rob, that picture is only 72% cute, this one is 81% cute.
posted by dgaicun at 9:51 PM on February 4, 2006

. . . err, um.
posted by dgaicun at 9:52 PM on February 4, 2006

That mastiff is one false move away from a much more interesting photo set.
posted by makonan at 9:58 PM on February 4, 2006

Lion cubs are sweet and very affectionate. They remain this way for most of their first year. I lack experience with older lions, but suspect from all I've seen and read, that lions are really more laid-back than their reputation suggests. Seems likely that, after being human-raised, the only thing keeping them from continued public contact is their strength (and keeping them from even accidently getting a taste of human blood).

I've played with both lion and tiger cubs. Tigers are much more cat-like, and get dangerous. You don't ever want to be lower than a tiger cub after 6 months! Haven't met cheetah cubs yet, but hopefully some will be happening before long (some breeding pairs are cohabiting here). Cheetahs are more beautiful than most TV images suggest.

Sadly, the tiger cubs had to be sequestered away from the public after some stupid human female freaked out because he sniffed her (she was warned he'd do that!). She freaked, tripped, fell, and the tiger grabbed her by the throat. (no serious harm). Last time I visited the tiger, the poor thing (frighteningly large now) laid on the other side of the fence and rolled around on his back, like a housecat begging for attention. I felt bad for the tiger's loneliness. This was no imagining on my part, one of the keepers told me the cat was every bit as affectionate as ever.

I'll never be so impressed by circus acts with lions and tigers again.
posted by Goofyy at 9:58 PM on February 4, 2006

Thanks, dgaicun, yours is wicked cute. If the remake of "The Odd Couple" is cast nontraditionally, I'm so there!
posted by rob511 at 10:50 PM on February 4, 2006

These are all so good! I love me some strange!
posted by stirfry at 11:07 PM on February 4, 2006

Also: The Cute Factor and Planet Pupulon
posted by dgaicun at 12:12 AM on February 5, 2006

Squirrel puppy, via Cute Overlord where there's like a million more such.
posted by dgaicun at 12:26 AM on February 5, 2006

When I saw this baby sloth this morning, I was quite sure it would be the most painfully adorable thing I would see today. But then I clicked on jonson's link at 11:50.... That baby sloth is dead to me now.
posted by maryh at 1:34 AM on February 5, 2006

dgaicun, I'm the person you found and left the message for on the lj about inter-species friends. I added a [via mefi] link to give props.
posted by piratebowling at 2:21 AM on February 5, 2006

Take us to Cute Factor Nine, Mr Scott.

The engines cannae take it, Cap'n!

Scottie, you're relieved. Jonson - get in here... and bring that picture of the lion and the puppy.

Seriously cute - thanks. My favorite is the last one, where the lion at last seems to start fighting back...
posted by greycap at 2:28 AM on February 5, 2006

dgaicun, I'm the person you found and left the message for on the lj

No, I'm the person who shattered all your fragile illusions of Net privacy. This, on the other hand, is just stupid super-cuteness. [via] [via]

(see why footnoting sucks!)
posted by dgaicun at 2:48 AM on February 5, 2006

Not all loving interspecies encounters are cute.

(I'm fully footnoting how I came across this picture just to show you how pointless 'via' can be)

[via] [via] [via] [via] [via]
posted by dgaicun at 3:15 AM on February 5, 2006

Polar Bear and Dog, People and Tiger, and, of course, Tiger and Piggies [via Lets Be Friends]
posted by dgaicun at 4:09 AM on February 5, 2006

Ok, I think this one is my favorite (from an AP story):



This is the story of a fish named Falstaff and Chino, the dog who loved him.

The two met three years ago, when Chino's owners, Dan and Mary Heath, traded Portland for Medford and a house with a backyard pond.

Falstaff, a 15-inch orange-and-black koi, lived in the pond. Chino, a 9-year-old golden retriever, did not.

But every day, Chino would pad out to the pond and peer into the water, waiting for Falstaff to appear. Falstaff would swim to the surface, offering what seemed like a finny greeting. Together, the inter-species pals forged a strong bond.
posted by dgaicun at 6:11 AM on February 5, 2006

From Interspecies Friendships (PDF)

I think I find this interesting because it seems like it should be taboo! Pat Robertson secretly finds this whole business very disturbing.
posted by dgaicun at 6:36 AM on February 5, 2006

these little guys are so cute. i was at the wild animal park last week and they were napping. glad i got to see them.
posted by trishthedish at 9:05 AM on February 5, 2006

Cairo and Koza are so cute I can't stand it, and I'm not usually a big cute animal picture fan. I thought it was interesting that they play the same way my dog and cat do: dog gets cat down on the floor and kind of nibbles his neck, which cat absolutely adores. Now please don't tell me if the post title is the truth, because I will never be able to look at my purring cat the same way again.
posted by mygothlaundry at 9:47 AM on February 5, 2006

I love being a mammal!
posted by Afroblanco at 12:12 PM on February 5, 2006

holy crap. this thread turned into a cuteness apocolypse.
posted by Busithoth at 3:48 PM on February 5, 2006

seriously dgaicun, you really brought the big guns. I'm somewhat in awe...
posted by jonson at 11:57 PM on February 5, 2006

Dogs and cats, living together, mass hysteria!
posted by ewkpates at 5:52 AM on February 6, 2006

Ah, good old schmaltzy Boston Globe:

Willy the hog pairs with antelope at zoo


posted by dgaicun at 2:47 AM on February 24, 2006

Wuzza Wooza.
posted by dgaicun at 10:39 PM on February 27, 2006