Knowsley Safari in Merseyside has today revealed their female Amur tiger, Yuki, gave birth to a female cub and a male cub, who have been named Akira and Ozo respectively.
The vets have checked Akira and Ozo over, given their inoculations and are happy with their progress. The latest health checks on the cubs have revealed both are growing fast – in fact they are now 10 times the size they were when they were first born!
Welcome The New Tiger Cubs With Knowsley Safari
Six-year-old mother Yuki is bonding with her cubs well while seven-year-old male tiger, Makari, who fathered the cubs, remains in the neighbouring habitat.
Animal keepers have reported that both cubs are quite adventurous and enjoy exploring new areas each day. Mother Yuki keeps them within sight most of the time and still carries them back to their dens when they wander too far.
Pete Johnson, Animal Team Manager – Carnivores, at Knowsley Safari, said: “Initially it was the male cub Ozo that was a little braver and first to leave the cubbing den. He is also often first to instigate play-fighting with his sister, who is a little more cautious and calculated but still very active and playful.
“Each week they discover new areas of their habitat to play in. From quite an early age they enjoyed playing in the shallow streams and last week they began climbing on the logs, but there are still a lot of areas left for them to explore.”
An Early Christmas Present For Mum Yuki
The arrival of the Amur tiger cubs marks a significant milestone in protecting the future of this big cat species – the largest in the world, which is classified as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Pete continues: “As expected, and is totally natural, mum Yuki is extremely protective of her cubs. Yuki has been given the choice of where to den and where to take the cubs since they were born. She kept them in the cubbing box for the first four to five weeks until they were big enough to walk around on their own, then she made a den among some small trees in their outside habitat. Since then, they’ve spent the majority of their time there and mum is comfortable letting the cubs explore with people watching.”
“The arrival of Akira and Ozo has been a very proud and exciting time for the Safari and we couldn’t be happier with the way all of the tigers are adapting.”
A Significant Milestone For Knowsley Safari
This is the first time in almost 30 years an Amur tiger has been born at Knowsley Safari, with the last tiger birth being in 1996.
There are only around 500 Amur tigers left in the wild, and the cubs at Knowsley mark an important step forward in conservation efforts to protect the species, which is at risk in the Russian Far East from poaching and loss of habitat due to logging and deforestation.
Knowsley Safari supports Wildcats Conservation Alliance conservation projects, which aim to save wild tigers for future generations. To find out more about Knowsley Safari’s conservation activities and to book tickets, please visit: www.knowsleysafariexperience.co.uk.