Safari park employee holding two tiger cubs by the scruff of their necks and kissing them.
The employee from the Safari Aitana park showed the two cubs named Buddha and Sumo some ‘tough love’, in a video obtained from the wild animal reserve.
Meanwhile, the two cubs remained calm despite seeming quite surprised by their human pal’s way of expressing love and care.
Spread over a surface of ​​1.5 million square metres (16 million square feet), the Safari Aitana park provides a home for wild animals from five different continents.
Located in the municipality of Penaguila, in Alicante, Spain, the reserve was founded by Maria van Soldt and Juan Sevila in 1975, who passed it down to their son Daniel Sevila.
In an exclusive interview with Newsflash, Daniel’s daughter Laura Sevila, 22, explained that the adorable video was taken in October 2022.
The 22-year-old plane pilot, who grew up surrounded by animals, said that the two tiger cubs are doing well and are being raised by their mother Delhi.
Delhi, who was born at the park 10 years ago, has reportedly spent her whole life with the Sevila family.
Laura said: “Every two days we are weighing them and checking their health.
“Last week they turned two months old, therefore in the video they are about one and a half months old.”
Laura emphasised that the reserve’s aim is to shelter animals in captivity and provide them with a better life.
She stated: “When animals are born here, we take care of them during their whole life, as we create a bond with them and don’t like to separate from them.”
Another piece of footage shows owner Daniel giving a playful elephant named Bimba a good rub.
Laura said: “Bimba and Pequena are our two African elephants. They are 42 and 40 years old.”
She explained that the elephants came to the park when her father was a 10-year-old boy and added: “They arrived at the park when they were around five years old, so they have grown with my father Daniel.
“He is considered to be the ‘boss’ of the group, so both elephants trust him.
“My father and I are the only ones to have this type of contact with the elephants.”
“We consider the elephants as part of our family.”
Despite being a Safari park, the reserve located at an altitude of 1,000 metres also provides shelter for animals brought by the Spanish police.
These mostly include animals intended for illegal animal trafficking, said the 22-year-old woman.
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Story By: Georgina Jadikovska, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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