Woman Filmed Pregnant Friend Taking Selfie With Tiger And Captured Moment Cat Noticed Her Baby Belly

Jan 08, 2021 by apost team

In a video posted back in 2017, Natasha Handshoe, who was 27-weeks-pregnant at the time, sparked a tiger's curiosity at the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, Ind. Visiting the zoo with her friends, the group captured this footage after the tiger seemed to clearly be interested in the fact that Handshoe was pregnant.

A Zoo Trip To Remember

Back in 2017, Britany Smith-Osborne took a trip to South Bend, Ind. Potawatomi Zoo with a few of her friends and her cousin. Her cousin, Handshoe, was six months pregnant when the group of friends visited the zoo. Smith-Osborne recorded a video of an encounter between Handshoe and a tiger that shocked those who were present and is likely to change the way animals are viewed.

Handshoe was standing next to an enclosure that housed one of the zoo's tigers. Handshoe's friends and other bystanders noticed the attention paid to her by the tiger. One of Handshoe's friends commented she didn't know whether the situation was amusing or scary.

They theorized the tiger might be aware that Handshoe was pregnant. The women decided to find out if this was true, according to news from The Daily Mail.

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Handshoe stood on a ledge close to the glass enclosure. She pressed her belly against the glass. The group of women knew with certainty at this point Handshoe's pregnancy was the target of the tiger's attention. One of the women commented on the tiger: "I don't know whether to laugh or be scared. That is so crazy... I want to pet him,” The Daily Mail reported.

The tiger moved close to the glass and sniffed. Next, the tiger snuggled against the glass in the spot where Handshoe's baby bump touched the glass from the other side. It was obvious to the girls the tiger could sense Handshoe's pregnancy and was focused on her baby bump. The girls enjoyed the moment before finally walking away from the tiger enclosure.

Smith-Osborne told ABC: "It truly was a sweet moment between Baby girl Handshoe and the Tiger!"

The video has certainly been making the rounds online, being posted on multiple channels. Speaking for the zoo, a social media commenter spoke on the moment captured between Handshoe and the tiger, "This is why the zoo is here, to help us make connections to nature!"

“Natasha is an animal lover,” Smith-Osborne says of her cousin to ABC. “She has three fur-babies at home, so I think this meant more to her than most people. Natasha was just so touched that the tiger could sense she was pregnant." According to Handshoe's Facebook page, she gave birth to a daughter named Harper. What an incredible story to be able to tell your child! We bet Harper will be telling this encounter her mom had while pregnant with her all the time when she is older.

The Amur Tigers

According to Potawatomi Zoo, the tiger in question is named Morgana, and she is an Amur tiger. She shares her enclosure with her sister, Glinda. The sisters last made an appearance on the zoo’s social media accounts in November 2020 in a post that revealed how the keepers tell the two apart: by the number of lines on their right eyebrows (Morgana has two while Glinda has one). The zoo’s website explains that the lifespan of these tigers is about 15 years, but it's longer when in captivity. Their diet consists of mainly elk, deer, and wild boar, and they need an animal the size of a deer weekly in order to stay alive. 

To tell the difference between Amur tigers and other species of tigers, look out for the color of their stripes. Amur tigers have widely spaced brown stripes instead of black ones. Since they thrive in cold climates (they are found in the cold forests of the Russian Far East as well as cold mountain climates), Amur tigers’ coats are usually lighter colored than their southern counterparts and they grow thicker winter coats that help keep them warm.

Animal instincts are a very real thing, and this includes their perception of all things nature. Morgana is not the first animal known to have shown interest in a pregnant woman. Back in 2016, an orangutan named Rajang from Colchester zoo in Heckfordbridge, England rose to fame after a video of him kissing a woman’s baby bump went viral. When he spotted the expecting woman from his enclosure, he strolled right up and gave her belly a kiss through the glass!

This wasn't the first time for Rajang, according to the Daily Mail. This clever orangutan is known for kissing baby bumps in several viral videos. When he sees a pregnant woman from behind the glass, he zeroes in on her and gives her all of his attention. It turns out that the half-Bornean, half-Sumatran Rajang is absolutely fascinated by pregnancy. Colchester Zoo reports that Rajang is a real fan of interesting tummies. Not only does he love baby bumps, but he's attracted to belly buttons and scars too!

And it seems like animals aren’t just able to perceive or sense if you’re pregnant, they can also recognize when a human is just a baby, and treat them as such. In 2016, a video of an orangutan kissing a human baby through the glass circulated the Internet. The orangutan had been swinging on a rope in the exhibit and swung up extremely close to the glass window. Then, out of nowhere, the animal gave the baby boy, who was just six months old at the time, a kiss through the glass. It did not even stop after one, offering the little boy several heartfelt kisses.

According to American Kennel Club, dogs can tell when their female owner is pregnant even before she does because of the change in scents caused by hormones. Some dogs would become protective of their owners when this happens. Not only can dogs pick up physical changes, but they can also sense alterations in your emotions and moods. Regardless of whether you're an animal lover or not, their ability to pick up on things like Handshoe's pregnancy is truly amazing.

What did you think about the encounter between Handshoe and the tiger? Do you think the tiger's intentions were completely friendly? Let us know in the comments and pass this article on to start a discussion with others!