3/3/2006: Lion cub and mastiff puppy are pals
 

http://cellar.org/2006/mastifflion1.jpg

Lion cub Koza is 10 weeks old, at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. She was born with a twin in the same litter, but it was a difficult birth and the twin died and the mother wound up in a condition unable to raise her cub. That makes it harder because lions are social animals.

http://cellar.org/2006/mastifflion2.jpg

So they decided to introduce Mastiff puppy Cairo, to ease the transition. These two would be enemies if they were fully grown - and the lion would win, outweighing the dog by 400 pounds to 90. But for the time being, they are playing (or so it seems), hanging out for an hour at a time while they get used to each other.

http://cellar.org/2006/mastifflion3.jpg

full story and photo gallery

I don't think I'll ever get tired of these kinds of stories, or the pictures. I'm all warm and fuzzy inside. Or is that the rum? Gotta love Fridays.

I am going to have to disagree with the weight of the mastiff ...

from: http://mastiff.org/faq/faq.mv#II08c

The mastiffs I have seen weigh at least 180 pounds. But the pictures are great! The lion would win against the mastiff anyway, but I still wanted to share that they weigh a lot more than 90 pounds. :blush:

90??
 

For some reason I think 90 lbs for a full grown mastif is quite a bit on the light side. My black lab is 110, and a real full grown Mastif will tower over him.

Nowhere near 400 though, and less sharp pointy things, so I suppose the point is the same. :) :)

dammit iggy
 

you beat me by a couple seconds. :)

:D

I try

The lion doesn't look like he's really enjoying the encounter.

Curse You Iggy!!!!!

I had this dog that got real lonely, so a kitten was acquired for company. After a while, the cat got fairly large, and the two would wrestle all day. Even when the dog got cancer, the cat would clean the tumor and cheer up the dog. This reminds me so much of that.

I saw video of this. The dog was in full "play mode" and they were both giving each other the full business with play biting, running, tackling, etc.

Why are you cursing me, Pancake man? Did I beat you to the punch as well?

That's a big 10-4 good buddy

Of the 3 kinds of Italian mastiffs, Neapolitan, Cane Corso and Lakota Mastino, Cairo looks like the latter. Lakota mastinos are considerably smaller than the other two.

The English Mastiff, or just plain Mastiff, is the monster. AKC minimum for a male is 30 inches at the shoulder. :speechls:

Fridays are always my fav on the IOTD. Good stuff.

Reminds me of my lab puppy and my pond ducks playing. That was a few months ago. Now if he catches one....well, you know.

90 kilograms = 198.416036 pound

I can't confirm it, but I think the Lakota Mastino can weigh up to 90kg, which is amost 200lbs. I could be wrong, but I think that is where the confusion is coming from.

Speaking of Cane Corsos...have any new pictures of your friends gorgeous doggy?