Posted June 28, 2019 in New Arrivals
PAWS for exciting news! 3 endangered tiger cubs have been born at Colchester Zoo!
Tiger Cub Update! It won’t be long before we find out the sex of our three cubs but keepers do have their suspicions that one could be a male and if so he is proving to be quite a mummy’s boy as he particularly enjoys playing and cuddling up with Taiga.
Tiger Cub Update! Taiga has been taking very good care of her cubs and is proving to be a great mum! Here you can see Taiga trying to give one of them a clean but the cub has other ideas and would rather play!
Our tiger cubs are two weeks old and have opened their eyes! Here’s another quick sneak peek from our cub cam at Taiga’s little tigers who are all growing stronger each day as Taiga continues to be a very attentive mum. It will be another few weeks yet before they are out and about but we’ll keep you updated with more updates over the coming weeks.
Colchester Zoo is delighted to announce that our Amur tigers have successfully bred and 3 healthy cubs were born on the 14th June 2019.
The Tiger keepers had been preparing for the birth since successful mating’s between Taiga and Igor earlier in the year and had a specially prepared den set up with bedding materials and a camera in place so we could view any activity. A few days before the cubs were born Taiga began showing nesting behaviours was restless and looking uncomfortable so keepers knew the birth was imminent. To their delight, on Friday morning there were 3 cubs in the den.
It takes around 2 weeks for tiger cubs’ eyes to open and at around 4 weeks the cubs will be up and about in the den as they become more stable on their feet! It will be a number of weeks until they are big enough to begin exploring and for now the cubs will remain off show as they receive the care and attention required from Taiga. At 6 weeks the cubs will receive their first vaccinations and it will be then that they will be sexed and named.
Taiga is 4 years old and is proving to be a very attentive and loving mum. This is the first time in Colchester Zoo’s history that tigers have successfully been raised at the zoo. This birth comes 2 years after Taiga’s arrival in February 2017 when she was welcomed to the zoo following a breeding recommendation from the EEP (European Endangered Species Programme) co-ordinator.
Dad Igor was born on 28th June 2005 and arrived at Colchester Zoo in November 2006 from Vienna Zoo. Igor is dad to the cubs however for now they will be kept separate from Igor as they grow up to ensure their safety.
Colchester Zoo is also home to another female tiger called Anoushka. Anoushka was born at Linton Zoo on 20th July 2004 and came to Colchester Zoo in July 2005. Igor and Anoushka have an amazing friendship and show love for one another however as she is a hybrid the zoo has not been able to breed this species before, so to have 3 tiger cubs is extremely exciting for the zoo but also amazing news for the population of Amur tigers as they are currently listed as endangered on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List.
Amur tigers come from the Amur Region along the eastern border
between China and Russia with their habitat containing some of the coldest
areas in the world. They are also known as Siberian Tigers and are the largest
and palest of all tiger subspecies.
We will make further announcements of their progress in the coming weeks. In
the meantime, we hope you enjoy our video footage captured from the den!
