Tiger Nibbles Elder
Poster Riku (@riku_0710 on Instagram) captured a sweet moment, a white tiger (presumed) mom fending off the vicious attack (where “vicious attack” means loving nibbles) of her progeny. Nom-nom, take that Mamma! I simply adore the matching mom and baby ear markings, clearly visable dispite the munching! The carnage took place at the Izu Animal Kingdom in Higashiizu, Japan.
Riku has recently published a Japanese-language book containing his photos of the seven snow leopards born at Izu Animal Kingdom in 2018, 2020 and 2024 to mom Syrup. He started the project after acquiring a single-lens camera to capture shots of his mini dachshund. When he visited zoo leopards while vacationing in 2016 he fell in love with photographing their images and has since captured many wonderful shots that he shares on his various social media accounts. His book on the Izu white tigers is his second, with his first also containing shots of big cats at zoos. A percentage of the sales of the book will be donated to the Izu zoo for the ongoing care of Syrup and her clan.
"Hey, Grandpa!"
"Ouch!"
That was great. Little cat asserting dominance over big cat. Big cat putting up with it because that is the cycle of life. If you go to the source there's a second video attached that shows a very sleepy cub trying to wake up but failing. Very cute. So much squee. Thanks, Martini, for the good times that we need.