当老虎爱上潜水 tigers like a daily dip in a swimming pool

The baby tigers who like nothing more than a daily dip in a swimming pool with their female trainers
水池里上演美女与野兽




A nervous swimmer might scan the waves for Jaws. In this case, it's more a matter of Claws.

But the tiger cubs splashing happily in the water are too busy diving, paddling and having fun to think about hunting.

Keeping their 200lb frames afloat takes quite a bit of effort, which is why their handlers join them in the water to keep a close eye on their progress.


Swimming cats: Moksha Bybee swims with Balavan a one-year-old tiger at the animal park in South Carolina
游泳的猫：莫克夏拜比与Balavan一只一岁的虎在南卡罗来纳州的动物园里游泳

'Tigers have a natural desire and ability to swim,' said Dr Bhagavan Antle, who set up the tiger pool at his animal park in South Carolina.

'It is rarely seen and we wanted to be able to present it to people so they could really
get the feel of that incredible beauty and grace that a tiger has in the water.

'Tigers have modified webbing between their toes that makes their feet like flippers and they are superior swimmers.

'Because of those attributes we thought it was something people would love so we built this custom-made pool to allow people to experience this unique behaviour.'  
The pool, which is filled with 100,000 gallons of water, has one side made of glass, allowing visitors a close-up view.

Each tiger is introduced to the water a few months after they are born. But with the potential to grow to over 500lb and 8ft long, their time swimming with humans is limited.


Water sight: The tigers are drawn to the water and have naturally webbed paws which help them swim
水里的样子:老虎被吸引到水里，它们会自然蹼爪，让自己浮起来。

By the time they are a year old, their handlers prefer to sit it out on the sidelines.

Together with their handlers, Moksha Bybee and Ragani Ferrante, tigers Balavan, Bali, and Oden display unusually close interaction between man and beast at the park which is called The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species, or TIGERS.

'There are other pictures out there of tigers underwater but people have never been able to get this close to a tiger because it is so dangerous,' said Dr Antle.

'These are the only shots I have ever seen where people are swimming with tigers like this.'  

Dr Antle has a 25-year career caring for threatened species and has about 200 animals in large enclosures at the TIGERS park.

He said: 'I started swimming with tigers about 25 years ago.


Swimwear: Moksha Bybee leaves the pool after swimming with Balavan
泳装：莫克夏拜比与Balavan游泳后，离开泳池

'We found that in the water people and tigers were on a more equal footing when the tiger was swimming around on the top.

'As they were floating around we could manipulate them more easily because they don't stand up on their back legs.

'When they are younger they love taking baths and then we slowly introduce them to the pool.'  
Dr Antle and his animal-trainers give one-on-one tuition to each of the animals while they are in the water.

'These are hand-raised tigers,' he said.

'At the institute we feel that swimming with the big cats gives them a closer bond between the animal and their human companions.


Animal trainers Ashley, Moksha, Julia, China and Rajini with three baby tigers in the pool
动物训练员阿什利，莫克夏，朱莉娅，中国和Rajini和三虎宝宝在泳池

'As part of our wildlife education program they are all hand-reared.'  But despite the apparent danger, Dr Antle ensures his trainers are never at risk.

'There is always a team of handlers in the water at any given time,' he explained.

'I don't think many people in the world try to get in the water with a tiger these days. It is all done from the edge when people throw meat and the tiger chases it.

'We are playing with the tigers and letting then have that interactive capacity with the handlers instead of allowing them to have meat.'  
Although it is only advisable to swim with tigers up until they are a year old Dr Antle  looks at each individual case when considering how close his trainers can remain to the tigers.

'It depends on the tiger, he said.

'I personally have had full-grown 15-year-old adult tigers that I swam with and adult ligers [cross between a lion and tiger]. But that is me and I wouldn't put my staff at the same risk.

'We will allow the tigers to swim with the handlers as they mature but we have to monitor each one on its own merits.'  

Many of the animals are also trained actors and have appeared in advertisements and films including Forrest Gump and Ace Ventura.

中文翻译:

在海边的游泳者要不时巡视海面以防大鲨鱼，不过，对于美国南卡罗莱纳州一家动物园的女训兽师们来说，与小老虎们一起游泳已是她们的例行工作。

　　这些小老虎们在泳池里高兴地潜水、拍打水、戏水，它们是不会想到捕猎的。小老虎们要使自己重90公斤的身体浮在水面上要付出许多努力，这就是女训兽师们也要下水以关注它们的游泳进展情况的原因。

　　南卡罗莱纳州濒危和稀有动物园创立者安特尔称：“老虎们游泳的愿望和能力与生俱来。人们很少看到老虎游泳，我们想把老虎的这一能力展示给人们，这样人们就可以欣赏到老虎在水中难以置信的美丽和优雅。老虎是游泳的高手。由于老虎具有这样的特质，我们想，人们会喜欢看老虎游泳，所以我们为它们特制了一个游泳池，以使人们有机会观赏老虎这一独特的行为。”

　　装有10万加仑水的游泳池的另一边是由玻璃制成的，这使游客们可以近距离地欣赏老虎游泳。每只老虎在出生数个月后就会被带到泳池，但是由于老虎们的体重会达到226公斤，体长会达到2.4米，它们与人类一同游泳的时间是有限的。当老虎们长到一岁时，训兽师会倾向于站在泳池旁边看它们游泳。女训兽师们和她们所训练的老虎们关系非常密切。安特尔称：“以前也有老虎在水下的照片，但是由于太危险，人类还未如此近的与水下的老虎在一起。这是我所见过的人与老虎一起游泳唯一一组照片。”

　　安特尔在过去的25年里一直在培育珍惜动物，他的老虎园里有200种动物。他说：“我在25年前开始与老虎一起游泳。我们发现，在水中，人和老虎处于更为平等的状态，老虎们在最上面游泳。当它们浮在水面上，我们能够更容易控制它们，因为它们无法在水中使用后腿。当老虎小的时候，它们喜欢洗澡，我们慢慢地把它们带到泳池。我们认为，与老虎们一起游泳可以使动物和它们的人类陪伴产生更密切的关系。作为我们野生动物保护项目的一部分，它们都是我们亲手喂大的。我们采取了措施以保证训兽师们没有任何风险，在水中总是有一组训兽师。我们与老虎们一起玩，使其具备与训兽师互动的能力。”

　　尽管专家们建议训兽师在老虎一岁以后不要再与它们一同游泳，不过，安特尔在考虑训兽师与老虎关系密切程度时会逐个考虑。他说：“这取决于老虎。我本人曾与一头15岁的老虎一同游泳，我也曾与成年虎一同游泳。不过，只是我这样作。我不会让我的工作人员冒同样的风险。我们将允许老虎在成长时与训兽师一同游泳，但我们对每只老虎都进行监控，观察它们的性格和成长状况。”

　　动物园里的许动物曾在500多部电影中出镜，其中包括好莱坞大片《怪医杜利德》、《阿甘正传》。安特尔称：“这些动物接受了数千小时的训练，饲养者一直在照料它们。人们认为与这些野兽如此接近太过危险，但是训兽师自它们还是幼仔时就与它们再一起，与它们建立起了一种基于爱和尊重的特别友谊。”