In the wild, they'd be sworn enemies. But at a nature preserve in South Carolina, an orangutan and three tigers are now the best of friends.
A male orangutan at the Myrtle Beach Safari has taken a liking to three tiger cubs, after watching his human caretakers nurse the three baby cats.
Discovery Family visited the preserve recently, recording adorable video of the ape bottle-feeding, cuddling and petting the three baby cubs just like he was their mother.
"Orangutans spend a lot of time with their human caregivers, sometimes when they are nursing tiger cubs," the preserve wrote about the unlikely relationship.
"The orangutans often show genuine interest in the cubs and want to help with their feeding and their cuddling. At both things, they prove to be very proficient."
And this isn't the first time that an orangutan has made friends outside of its animal family.
In 2007, a set of newborn Sumatran tigers and two young orangutans got along like gangbusters at a zoo in Indonesia.
- Daily Mail