Head bumps, rising up on their hind legs, wrestling and hugging, even a kiss from Max in the den, the brothers are back together!

When Stripes returned to the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary from hospital yesterday, we kept the brothers separated, they sat at the gate and nuzzled each other through the mesh. Today, once we knew Stripes was settled, we opened the gate and they were clearly pleased to be together again.

The boys were six month old cubs when ADI rescued them from a circus in Guatemala, seven years later and they have grown into big powerful tigers (although they still have some problems resulting from intense in-breeding in the circus). Although tigers are considered to be solitary animals in the wild, there is increasing evidence that in captivity they enjoy each other’s company where there are not the territorial pressures of the wild such as food. Certainly, the tigers at ADIWS with their large habitats enjoy their family groups and socialising, and Max is very happy that Stripes is home.