The story of a teenager whose playmate is a tiger!

The Dhaka Times Desk The story of a teenager whose playmate is tiger! After hearing such words, anyone may feel strange. But in reality the story is true. A teenager whose daily companion is a tiger!

The picture shows Tiago, a 12-year-old Brazilian teenager, with a pair of jaguars in a lake. Many may consider it a fake picture. But actually it is not. This is the real scene and spend most of the day with these young tigers! One of these tigers is literally hugging Tiago's neck. As the photo went viral on social media, many people suspected that the photo might be fake.

It was later proven that the photo was accurate and Tiago often took such photos with tigers. Born in Brazil, Thiago Silveira grew up playing with the Jaguars from a young age. Tiago spent most of the day with them.

Tiago, a 12-year-old boy from Brazil, told BBC News, 'Some of my friends told me the picture was fake. But that's not true, the picture is a real picture. Many liked the film and wanted to see both jaguars. Not everyone is as lucky as me, so I want to share my experience with them.'

Tiago's father Leandro Silveira and mother Ana Jacomo are both scientists. His parents work at the Jaguar Institute in Brazil. Their main goal is to research and preserve the wild animals of America such as tigers, leopards, and jaguars.

Tiago's father said, 'Our son was born in an environment where he grew up with jaguars from childhood. Learned very naturally how to get along with them. We certainly don't let him do everything. But he himself knows what should be done or what should not be done.'

Tiago's father said, they are part of Tiago's daily life, it is nothing unusual in his life. When Tiago was born, his parents were raising three jaguar cubs.

On the way out for a walk, they would stop to feed their four children. Tiago and three jaguar cubs. Silveira's family used to go out with the truck. So Tiago had the rare experience of growing up with a tiger-like animal.

Tiago said, 'For us it is a relationship of love and respect. I have always helped my parents in taking care of the animals. I like their company very much.'

Silveira gives her son the same advice she gives to ordinary people about what to do when confronted by a jaguar.

'These kinds of animals don't kill people to eat,' said Leandro Silveira. They do what they do only in response to human behavior. So they should be respected. By looking at their body language you have to understand how close to them or how close not to go.'

He also said, 'You have to first understand where to draw the line. If a jaguar really wants your company, it will come to you on its own. It's just that they are not social animals. But they can always form lifelong bonds with people.'

Tiago's mother says she has never been in danger with her son or jaguars. But Anna said she never left her son alone with the jaguars.

"We have always been very careful about jaguars and other animals," he said. We follow very strict safety rules.'

Silveira and Jacamore sanctuaries are built on their 123 acres of land. But they don't allow tourists to enter there. The reason is that they don't want to disturb the animals, they want to respect them all the time.

In 2002, they established this reserve solely for jaguar research. Later, at the request of Brazil's Environment and Natural Resources Conservation Agency, they took over the care of orphaned jaguar cubs. Today, their forest area is mainly considered as the breeding ground of jaguars.

Silveira says 95 percent of the breeding and maintenance program is funded privately, with the rest coming from various donations. They currently care for 14 jaguars. Among them are four children. In this way, they raised 35 animals in the last decade.

The jaguar is also on the endangered species list of the country. Jaguars are found in 21 countries in the world, but Brazil has about half of the world's jaguars.

They do not return any jaguars that come to their reserve back into the wild. The reason is that farmers kill jaguars to save their cows, goats or sheep.

All of these jaguars have developed a close bond with humans as they grow up with humans. Silveira thinks that if they are left in the forest, they will come to the locality in search of people and eventually lose their lives at the hands of people.