Eduardo Serio founded the Black Jaguar-White Tiger Foundation when he rescued a jaguar kitten from a human who intended to do it harm. That was in October 2013, and the Foundation has since rescued hundreds of animals of several species.
In a video posted in October 2015, Serio is seen lounging with a group of lions when a spotted leopard unexpectedly comes from behind and runs toward Serio's back. In an amazing show of interspecies interaction that would be impossible in nature, a tiger named Aztlan, who had seen Dharma's stalking behavior, leaped out to intercept the leopard before any contact was made with Serio.
Advertisement
The leopard, named Dharma, came to Serio as a kitten being raised on cow's milk and paying the price for the unnatural diet. Serio raised the leopard by hand, even teaching him to climb trees. "I love my boy with the same intensity that he loves me back," writes Serio on the Foundation's Facebook page. He claims that the stalking behavior is something "he always does," in play.
Whether Dharma was playing or not and whether Aztlan or Serio was the intended victim/playmate is impossible to tell, but the visual of the speedy cat racing up behind Serio is striking. The video has earned more than 2.7 million views on YouTube.
Advertisement