text: An Australian rebel fighter has been showing off his new pet on social media after buying a tiger cub whilst fighting in Syria. The photo shows a beautiful young tiger cub in the hands of a freelance rebel fighter, known as Ahmed Shaheed. The extravagant purchase will remain with its mother until it is old enough to become Shaheed's pet. The 28-year-old fighter from Sydney, showed off his new furry investment, posting a picture of the tiger cub on his social media account. His extravagant purchase was met with surprise by one of his fellow fighters, Abou Shaheed al-Muhajir. Unwilling to reveal the cost of his furry investment, the fighter did confirm that he had bought the tiger cub from a small village, near the Syrian city of Aleppo, where he has recently been based. The news comes just a month after the 28-year-old revealed on social media that he was looking to buy an exotic pet to keep him company. Photos of three potential pets were tweeted by Ahmed Shaheed, starting with a sad leopard sitting in a dirty cage. He commented: 'I just made the zoo keeper an offer for this, he said no to start off but the dollar goes a long way.' The wealthy gunslinger also tweeted a picture of a little owl. Possibly due to its three year life expectancy, the grumpy looking owl didn't seem to particularly interest the rebel. The surprising news comes just a month after the 28-year-old revealed on social media that he was looking to buy an exotic pet to keep him company. A sad leopard sitting in a dirty cage, was the first possible animal that took the fighter's interest. Shaheed preferred the tiger despite it costing more money. Possibly due to its short life expectancy, the grumpy looking owl didn't seem to particularly interest the rebel. Unwilling to reveal the cost of his furry investment, the fighter only confirmed that he had bought the tiger cub from a small village, near the Syrian city of Aleppo. Keen to get opinions on the owl, Shaheed wrote: 'Or should I buy this one and teach it to send messages.' However it was the tiger that really appeared to attract the Aussie fighter's attention. Sitting alone in his den, the beautiful large tiger is pictured sitting proudly in the shade. Unusually it wasn't just the tiger cub that seemed to be the big talking point from new photo. A few social media users appear to be more concerned by the fighter's apparent lack of facial hair in the photo. Despite claiming to have been fighting in Syria for well over a year, the Aussie fighter's neck and chin area appear to be cleanly shaved. Keen to hide his identity, the former Bond university student posted an obscured photo of himself stroking a four month old lion. The fighter recently showed off his war booty of $525 and a Kalashnikov rifle, possibly explaining how he managed to pay for the tiger cub. One user cheekily wrote on Shaheed's Ask.Fm page: 'Is that u holding the tiger? Cause the beard should be longer to appear for someone who been there more than year and a half lol' With his ego bruised, the 28-year-old militant swiftly replied back, insisting he was looking up at the sky for any potential incoming fire from jets. 'I'm looking up at the sky in that pic thought i heard a jet. Is this advice on my beard coming from someone still chilling in darul kufr (land of the disbelievers) while jihad is fard ayn (obligatory)?' Shaheed is not the first fighter to purchase a pet tiger. Deputy commander of rebel group Jaish al-Mujahideen wal-Ansar, Abdul Karim Krymsky, was pictured holding a young tiger last month. Shaheed is not the first fighter to show off a pet tiger, colossal Chechen fighter Abdul Karim Krymsky posed with another tiger. Ahmed Shaheed is believed to be a former Bond University student, who reportedly left his home in Sydney and traveled to Syria to join the Al Qaeda affiliated group Jabhat al-Nusra. According to his Ask.Fm page, Ahmed became disillusioned with Jabhat al-Nusra and left the group. When asked who he is fighting for now, he wrote he was 'doing my own thing.' It is possible that Ahmed Shaheed has joined another rebel group in the Aleppo Liberation,based around the broken city of Aleppo. Asked why he chose not to join ISIS, Shaheed was clear: 'Dawla (ISIS) seems to be only involved in the infighting in Sham (Syria) and restricted to a few cities in sham. I want to travel the whole of syria fighting Bashar (al-Assad) and his allies, staying away from any group involved in infighting.' Shaheed posted a picture of his fellow fighter, Abu Baraa, in Doureen, near the Alawite dominated port city of Latakia. Keen to document his travels whilst fighting around Syria, Ahmed posted a picture of a well preserved Roman ruins in Hama province.
target: The photo shows a beautiful young tiger cub in the hands of a rebel fighter, known as Ahmed Shaheed .
  Shaheed is believed to be a former Bond university student from Sydney .
  The 27-year-old considered buying an little owl and a leopard from a zoo near Aleppo, Syria .