They say love attacks when you least expect it and for one staff member at Siberian Tiger Park, that love came with stripes and tiny paws.
The video, shared by China Insider on Instagram, quickly made its way across social media feeds, capturing the hearts of viewers worldwide.
But before we talk about the adorable “ambush,” here’s a bit about where it all happened.
Where the cubs call home
The viral moment unfolded at Siberian Tiger Park in Harbin, Heilongjiang, the world’s largest natural reserve for Siberian tigers.
Spanning 1.2 million square metres and housing over 600 big cats, the park gives its cubs semi-wild conditions to grow up in.
Here, they learn to wrestle, pounce, and test their instincts before they grow into the apex predators they’re destined to be.
With that in mind, it’s easy to see why moments like this happen all the time.
The adorable “ambush”
In the clip, a park staff member was seated on a small plastic stool, keeping watch over the cubs.
What he didn’t realise was that one mischievous baby tiger had other plans.
Creeping silently from behind, the cub launched a sudden pounce on his waist, a move that startled the man for just a split second before he turned around, scooped up the little “attacker,” and cradled it like a baby.
Clearly, this wasn’t his first run-in with a playful predator-in-training.
What a dream job is this?
As expected, the internet had plenty to say. Many netizens swooned over the cuteness of the surprise attack:
“That attack was so cute and the attacker is the cutest.”
“WHAT A DREAM JOB IS THIS, I WANT IT.”
“I want such scary encounters too.”
Others couldn’t resist teasing the original captions calling it “scary footage,” writing: “Scary? Urmmm… okayyy :D”
Watch the video here:
