The Billy makes friends with a tiger - no kidding! Goat who was put into a killer cat's lair as lunch survives after the two animals become friends instead 

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The goat had been intended as the tiger's lunch, but now the pair have become some of the animal kingdom's most unlikely friends.  

Staff at a Russian safari park are 'stunned' at the goat's bravery and the Siberian tiger's readiness to make friends with his meal.

Extraordinary images show Amur, the obedient big cat, reduced to resting on the roof of his home after the brave goat occupied his bed.

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Best of friends: Amur the tiger went against his nature and befriended the goat thrown into his lair for lunch

Bed hog: Not only did the goat survive the potentially fatal encounter, but he even then stole the tiger's bed

'The goat showed no inkling of fear, eyeballed the tiger, and took over his shelter,' a keeper from the Far Eastern Safari Park in Shkotovsky, in the Primorsky region of eastern Russia, told The Siberian Times. 

'Our tigers get live prey twice every week, and Amur knows very well how to hunt goats and rabbits. 

'But recently he came across a goat that he refused to hunt.'

After seeing the bravery of the goat, the keepers named the confident goat Timur - meaning iron.

'We think that the goat had never come across tigers and so didn't know that he should have been scared of them,' said the keeper.

'Amur the tiger is quite cautious by nature, and decided not to go to the trouble of hunting Timur.

'But the brave goat not only saved his own live. He also kicked the tiger out of his bedroom and is sleeping on Amur's 'bed' for the fourth night.

Eastern: Keepers at the Far Eastern Safari Park in Shkotovsky, in the Primorsky region of eastern Russia were stunned by the goat's bravery, naming it Timur - meaning iron

Unlikely pair: Timur treats Amur the tiger like a leader in the enclosure, even though keepers say the goat seems to be in charge

'We named the goat Timur - he was just a nameless prey at the point when he entered the cage - out of respect for his bravery.'

Footage recorded by astonished keepers shows the goat following the tiger around the enclosure, trotting after it when it gets left behind. 

While Amur the tiger takes a rest in the clip, Timur takes the opportunity to munch on some nearby grass. 

Follow the leader: Video footage recorded by keepers show Timur the goat following his new found friend around the enclosure

Against nature: Keepers believe that the goat didn't know it should be afraid of the tiger, and the cautious tiger decided not to go to the trouble of hunting him

Keepers say that every day the tiger and goat take walks together, and appear to be 'friends'.

Timur follows the tiger and has taken Amur for a leader, even though it really seems to be the goat in charge of this surprising arrangement.

The keeper added: 'Timur's bravery and Amur's cautiousness got them to this paradoxical situation.'