Big cats are the hottest status symbol for wealthy young men in the Persian Gulf. Instagramming your cheetah in a Lamborghini is the new 'gramming your brunch.
11.Riding your lion seems vaguely ill-advised and maybe not good for the lion...
12.According to a report from the International Fund for Animal Welfare, illegal trade of big cats in the UAE is a growing problem. Not all big cats are illegal; they need proper papers to be sold.
13.Big cats have become popular for young men in the Gulf as a status symbol. It becomes problematic when someone gets a cute cub but doesn't want to keep it once it turns into a giant animal.
14.There's nothing to suggest Humaid's pets are anything but legal.
15.Just a cheetah attacking my head, nothing weird here, please move along.
16.Just a cheetah on a Rolls-Royce, no biggie.
17.More big cats and fancy cars.
18.Why he is stacking turtles?? This seems really ill-advised. Leave the turts alone.
19.Humaid isn't the only guy from the Persian Gulf to have a popular Instagram of his big cats. This guy, @Swakll from Kuwait, has almost 150K followers:
20.Dude, that's just gross. That's raw meat!
21.Based on the spotted fur and size, I believe this is actually a liger (tiger + lion crossbreed).
22.Swakll chilling with his liger and Lambo.
23.Texting while lioning, lol
24.His brother @saadturkii also keeps exotic pets. Here he is with a baby tiger:
25.@kbk5 lets his lion cubs chase around his friends at home:
26.And then chills with the full-grown lions inside.
27.This guy from Qatar likes to take his cheetah boating:
28.Suicide doors up with my cheetah on a leash, don't mind me.
29.@Jasem_Ali owns a while male tiger
30.Princess Maryam of the UAE once came to visit his lion.
31.Interesting, Humaid has a photo with the princess on the same day with the white lion. He and @jasem_ali must be friends or associates. Humaid captioned this photo "my boss" (Google translation).
32.Baby lion snugglefest!
Follow these guys if you want a delightful break between brunch pics in your Instagram: