#Tiger stardom in Yorkshire

AS wild creatures go, these cute tiger cubs knock the stripes off all rivals.

 

By Stuart Winter

PUBLISHED: Tue, Jun 2, 2015
 

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One of the famous youngsters' first vet visit

 

Not only are they members of the most exclusive big cat clan in the world, they are fast becoming global superstars.

The three cubs are Amur tigers, super rare big cats from the Siberian wilderness and were born at the award-winning Yorkshire Wildlife Park earlier this spring.

Their public debut became an internet sensation when staff at the park were filmed measuring the tiny cubs.

Two months later and the cubs are once again delighting wildlife lovers as they take their first, tentative steps into the outside world, with their devoted mother, Tschuna, keeping an ever-vigilant eye.

The patter of tiny tiger feet happed after Tschuna was introduced to the cubs' father, Vladimir, last September.

As yet, the youngsters have not been named but, in keeping with the park's policy of giving all animals born there this year monikers beginning with the letter H, expect staff to be looking through Russian dictionaries for some weeks to come.

Amur tigers are the largest and rarest of the tigers, once roaming across Russian Siberia into China and Korea. Poaching and logging sent their numbers plummeting to the point where there were fewer than 50 individuals in the wild.

Their plight has been championed by Prince Michael of Kent and also Russian leader Vladimir Putin and conservation efforts have seen the wild population increase to an estimated 500 animals, while their numbers are also being bolstered by a breeding programme.

Cheryl Williams, director at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, near Doncaster, said: "We are hoping that the cubs will be great ambassadors for their species and that we will be able to raise a lot of money to help Amur Tigers in the wild through the Yorkshire Wildlife Park Foundation.

"It is wonderful to have three healthy cubs of this incredibly beautiful animal.

Amur tiger cubs are so endangered and we are delighted they have been born here. They are a great success story for the European Breeding programme and our conservation work here in Yorkshire. It is fantastic news: they are very playful and full of life."

The 70-acre park has a worldwide reputation for conservation and welfare and has grown from 66,000 visitors six years ago to expected annual figures of more than 600,000 in 2015.    

The Yorkshire Wildlife Park Foundation is raising money for Amur Tigers in the wild. Visit www.ywpfoundation.com for full details.

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