The TelegraphTraditionally, trainers have struggled to build an attachment with the largest of the big cats because the sheer bulk of the animals limits the potential for physical interaction.
But the Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species, or TIGER, near Miami, claims to have overcome the problem by encouraging both tigers and humans to swim together in a specially adapted pool.
Tigers are known as the best swimmers of all the big cats with modified webbing between their toes to make their feet more like flippers.
Although a number of wildlife parks have encouraged the animals to swim for exercise, the routine has usually consisted of little more than trainers throwing lumps of meat into the water for the tigers to collect.
Bhagavan Antle, director of the centre, said he wanted to give the 200lb, two metre long creatures an opportunity to exercise properly without giving them meat.
He also wanted the public to be able to appreciate the grace and power of the big cats in the water so he built a giant outdoor swimming pool expressly for the purpose.
...The hand-reared tigers are introduced to the water a few months after birth and the trainers then give one-on-one tuition to each of the animals while they are in the water.
"At the institute we feel that swimming with the big cats gives them a closer bond between the animal and their human companions," said Mr Antle.
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