There’s nothing better than having a big cat as your guardian. A tiger saved a man’s life after a leopard came prowling and ready for the attack. The whole moment was filmed and uploaded on YouTube by the man, who’s the founder of the Black Jaguar White Tiger, a sanctuary for big cats in Mexico City.
Let’s see the cats in action and find out more about Eduardo Serio and his big cats. Were they playing or attacking – there’s only one way to find out…
20. Hanging Out With the Cats
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When you go to work to take care of tigers, lions, and leopards, you know the risks. But Eduardo Serio wasn’t expecting one of the leopards to act like this. Fortunately, another big cat was paying attention.
19. Tummy Rubs
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Eduardo was in the big cats’ enclosure and he was tending to the lions. He leaned down to rub a lion’s fur when Dharma the leopard thought the man was a great prey. So, the leopard started prowling…
18. Making the Move
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You can see how the leopard slowly moves through the grass, preparing to make his move. People seeing this video have been shocked and commented, each having different opinions.
17. Surrounded By Predators
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The man is surrounded by six lions and a tiger called Aztlan, who is ready for action. When Dharma gets closer and prepares for the jump, Aztlan runs toward the leopard and he knocks him off his feet!
16. One More Tap
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While Serio realizes what was happening, he backs away one step, as Dharma reaches a paw toward his leg. At that very second, Aztlan slaps down the tiger to show him not to mess with his human friend. Then something amazing happened!
15. The Video Became an Internet Sensation
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This video was filmed in October 2015 and until today it gathered more than 9,980,000 views since it was shared by the sanctuary. However, the interesting part of the video is its title, which made us wonder…
14. Posted on Reddit
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At first, the clip was posted on Reddit, where some of the information was wrong. It said Eduardo was a zookeeper, implying that it all took place in a zoo. But he is the founder of the sanctuary, and it definitely is not a zoo. The story gets even more interesting…
13. People Reacted
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Some people called Eduardo Serio mad, that he had it coming. But they didn’t look for answers and had misguided opinions. Others knew about him and explained: ‘he saves these beautiful felines from a life of torment, neglect and shocking health problems’. And that’s not all!
12. We’ll Never Know
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Perhaps the tiger and the leopard were playing, or maybe Dharma was indeed trying to attack Serio. We’ll never know what the intention really was. Some people believe that the leopard was playing, while other said that the movement was not saying ‘playtime’ at all!
11. A Dramatic Video
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Even though it looks like the tiger was ready to maul his caretaker, the video’s title says otherwise: ‘The Kids Playing. Aztlan Saved Me From Dharma’s Attack :)’. So did the tiger actually intend to kill? One thing’s for sure…
10. One Thing’s For Sure…
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Perhaps Serio knew that he wasn’t actually in danger. He thanks the tiger for helping out, though. No matter what the man’s relationship with the big cats, we know it’s better not to get between them, not even when they play!
9. It’s Not a Zoo!
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The Black Jaguar-White Tiger Foundation is a nonprofit organization that caught life after Serio witnessed a terrible case. He decided to save a wild feline and that’s how his mission evolved, saving hundreds of animals. They have a website and social media accounts to show all their hard work. Here’s how everything started…
8. A Terrible Discovery
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He was a businessman, living in LA. In one trip to Monterey in 2013, he received a call from his cousin. The man was furious because he heard a pet store wanted to buy a baby Black Jaguar to drug her so they can make her pose for photographs…
7. Leaving Everything Behind
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When Eduardo heard it, he was also enraged and he ended up saving the baby Panther from a terrible future. He took the little cat who he named Cielo and called his girlfriend saying ‘pack some things’ because they were going to move to Mexico!
6. Eduardo Serio is Their Hero
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Serio didn’t return to Los Angeles, sold his cars and his house and kept all of his belongings in warehouses to make a dream come true: this is how The Black Jaguar-White Tiger Foundation was born.
5. Gaining Respect and Love
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So far, the man and his friends have together saved over 295 felines – ‘Lions, Jaguars, Tigers, Leopards, Lynxes, Pumas and Servals from a life of abuse in circuses, zoos, and breeders, both legal and illegal ones’, wrote their official website.
4. Trust and Friendship
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A lot of the big cats came in with injuries or different illnesses and Serio was offering all the help he could give. This way, all the big cats at the sanctuary love and respect him. Which makes us think that Dharma was trying to win his attention…
3. Big Cats and Their Instincts
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Nonetheless, it’s always better to tread carefully near the wild cats, because when the instinct kicks in, you could be in a life and death situation. The foundation also works with the Mexican Government and tries to start a program to reintroduce into the wild native species to Mexico.
2. Making a Dream Come True
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Building a wild felines sanctuary has only brought a lot of happiness and a second chance to a healthy life for hundreds of animals. Serio’s dream has come true and he will not stop here, even if Dharma comes prowling from behind…
1. A Better Life
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These big cats now live in semi-captivity, and they are kept from breeding to avoid overpopulation. All the cats inside the sanctuary are rescues: ‘we will never breed our rescued Animals if we are not going to be able to re-introduce them into their natural habitat.’
He aims to inspire people to cherish the planet and make people get along, ‘because if a Leopard and a Lion can Love each other, then it is possible for us humans to do the same.’