A rare two-month-old Siberian tiger cub desperately roared in fear when forced to pose with tourists for photos at a Chinese zoo. Witnesses at the Harbin Siberia Tiger Park in north China videoed the smiling tourists holding the panicky cub in their laps as the defenseless animal struggled as he continued to roar and “clearly didn’t want to be touched.”
According to the Daily Mail, the Siberian tiger also known as the Manchurian tiger is one of the world’s most endangered species with only 500 left in the wild. The cats typically have a lifespan of 20 years and live in Siberia and in northeast regions of China.
The zoo manager was told to pass the crying cub into the gloved hands of tourists for photo opportunities charging $7.00 for each picture. The witness, Ms. Liu videoed the disturbing situation on China’s blogging platform Weibo who was outraged when she heard the cub screaming in obvious fear and distress. Weibo users were critical of the zoo officials calling the treatment of the cub as cruel.
“Isn’t the zoo supposed to protect these animals? It seems they can do anything just for the sake of money,” a reader posted.
In response, the zoo fought back insisting the photo experiences with the cub were not harmful. The Paper reports the zoo is now under investigation by the provincial forestry bureau. The photo sessions have been canceled.
(Photos via Weebo)
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So smart!
The shepherd head tilt!!
Everybody knows the Chinese have absolutely no compassion for any animal and they will do anything for a buck. The whole mentality of the Chinese needs to change but I bet it’s only going to get worse. They don’t even enforce the laws they have now!
Ignorant people to exploit this cub and produce such fear in an animal.Clearly this animal is in distress and just wants to get away. Hope the government or animal groups force the zoo to stop this practice.
MY, PEOPLE ARE SO STUPID AND IGNORANT. POOR BABIES,
Investigate DEEPLY!