The fiercest house cats
Nine tigers amble about Borges' humble home in the middle of an industrial neighborhood in southern Brazil, even if experts say the situation is "crazy" and sure to eventually lead to a mauling, though one has yet to occur.
Borges also has two lions, a monkey, and a pet Chihuahua named Little inside his makeshift animal sanctuary, where man and beast live together in his spacious red-dirt compound, separated from the outside world by tall metal fences and high wooden walls.
Borges is in a legal battle with federal wildlife officials to keep his endangered animals from undergoing vasectomies and being taken away from him.
Borges says it all started in 2005 when he first rescued two abused tigers from a traveling circus. He defends his right to breed the animals and argues he gives them a better home than they might find elsewhere in Brazil.
While Borges does have a license to raise the animals, Brazilian wildlife officials say he illegally bred the tigers, creating a public danger.
Borges cares for Tom, eight other tigers and two lionesses.
Ibama, Brazil's environmental protection agency that also oversees wildlife, is working through courts to force Borges to have the male tigers undergo vasectomies so they cannot reproduce, confiscate his caretaker license and obtain the cats. Borges appealed and the matter is pending before a federal court.
To date, there have been no problems with Borges' animals attacking anyone or getting loose.
Ary's daughter Nayara Borges, 20, who grew up with the tiger cubs sleeping in her bed until they became too big, says she thinks the big cats would be mistreated if taken away, "and our family would go into a severe depression."
Upkeep for the tigers and lions costs about $9,000 per month. Borges pays for it by renting the tigers out for movie and commercial shoots, charging $9,000 a day, and with the money he makes in running a dog kennel within his compound.