Mews: Amur Tiger cubs in Woburn Safari Park!

Hi everyone,

While i realise that not everyone may agree with tigers held in captivity I just thought I had to share the news of the Amur Tiger cubs that have been born in a Safari Park here in the UK! These are one of the most endangered species of tigers so having cubs of them are fantastic news. 🙂

Below a video from the Zoo telling us more about the the Tiger mother and her little cubs.

Below the official article on these amazing news. And at the bottom you’ll find another cute video of the tiger cubs close up! 😀

A pair of wonderful new arrivals has been welcomed at Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire with the birth of two critically endangered Amur tiger cubs, born to four-year-old tigress, Minerva.

Rare Amur tiger cub at Woburn Safari Park

These tigers are amongst the largest and rarest cats in the world, and the new cubs signify an important achievement not just for the Park, but for the international breeding programme of this threatened species.

The as-yet unsexed cubs are the first to be born at Woburn Safari Park in 23 years; arriving overnight in the bespoke Tiger House and weighing in at a healthy 800-1200 grams. First time mother Minerva is understandably protective of her new babies and the Park is delighted that she has taken to motherhood brilliantly, remaining settled and calm.

The proud new mother and her two cubs are all together in a special private den, away from the public, with as little disturbance and noise as possible. The cubs will start to explore the 9 acre tiger reserve in early 2016, until then they will continue to be under the constant watchful eye of their mother.

Genetically, Minerva is ranked as the 7th most important female in the captive tiger population across Europe and together with the cubs’ father Elton, they are a very important genetic match, coordinated by the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP).

Mother tigress Minerva washing her cub at Woburn Safari Park

There are 326 Amur tigers (also referred to as the Siberian tiger) in captivity across Europe and Russia, and only approximately 520 in the wild – a slight increase in wild numbers in the last 10 years.

Jo Cook, Co-ordinator at Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance and also species co-ordinator for the European breeding programme (Europe & Russia) commented:

“This is the first litter for Minerva and Elton and so far she’s doing a great job as a new mother, although there is still a lot for her to learn. These cubs will make an important contribution to the European breeding programme for Amur tigers, as Minerva in particular is genetically very important and doesn’t have many relatives in the population.

Minerva with cubs Woburn Safari Park

“Maintaining a healthy captive population of Amur tigers in zoos and parks is important because they act as an insurance population and can be used for reintroductions should that become a necessary conservation action to support wild Amur tigers. The tigers in captivity also help raise awareness and inspire visitors to do what they can to support these projects that are protecting these amazing animals in the Russian Far East and northeast China. Not only is Woburn Safari Park playing a role in the Amur tiger breeding programme, but it is also raising funds for the Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance which supports conservation activities such as anti-poaching and population monitoring in Russia and China.”

Woburn Safari Park is home to five Amur tigers; two females – Minerva and Neurka, one male – Elton, and the two new cubs. Their home in ‘Kingdom of the Carnivores’ is a specially designed nine acre enclosure complete with sleeping platforms and bathing pools as they are the only big cats that like water.

Minerva feeding cubs Woburn Safari Park

For more information on other new arrivals at Woburn Safari Park in 2015, visit Woburn Safari Park

As promised here the video of the little cubs:

We hope you enjoyed reading about the cubs and if we get any additional photos or videos from the park we will make sure to share these with you. Maybe we will even get a chance to visit them in 2016!

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Thanks,

Marc

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43 thoughts on “Mews: Amur Tiger cubs in Woburn Safari Park!

  1. Bipolar1Blog says:

    So gorgeous! I took a screen shot of all the pictures when I saw this article on FB. They are so beautiful, and every cub that’s born is precious because it staves of extinction. Great post! xxxooo

  2. The Canadian Cats says:

    Fantastic video and pictures of Minerva and her cubs. This is as close as I’ll ever get to Siberian Tigers so I do thank you for glimpse into their world. I loved the video where Minerva is licking her cub and dragging it off her arm in the process. hehehe

  3. kittiesblue says:

    They are absolutely the cutest babies ever. We pray they will remain healthy and grow into gorgeous adults that can help the breeding population. Thank you for sharing this with us. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

  4. controversialcook says:

    It’s a million times better a tiger kept in captivity if well kept than a tiger killed by poachers or kept in tigers farms starved and mistreated in order to be killed and turned into quack medicine products.

  5. Holly'sMom says:

    Beautiful and adorable. Love how the mother’s tongue basically slides the cub along as she licks it! haha Precious. About fifteen years ago there was a program on PBS, I think, called The Awesome Pawsome. It was about tigers at a tiger park/zoo in New Zealand, I believe. They were fascinating to see too. You were even able to watch the cubs being born. Hmmm, might need to google and see what became of them. Sorry to digress. Your videos and article made me think of them. Thank you for this! Love tigers!

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