KentOnline

bannermobile

News

Sport

Business

What's On

Advertise

Contact

Other KM sites

CORONAVIRUS WATCH KMTV LIVE SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTERS LISTEN TO OUR PODCASTS LISTEN TO KMFM
SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE
News

In pictures: Rare tiger cubs take first tentative steps

By: KentOnline reporter multimediadesk@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 09:45, 21 May 2008

...but this one looks sad
Looking to mum for support
Mimicking mum
Mum Ingrid gives her youngster a wash
One gets playful...
The cubs keep close
The Siberian cubs look to see what their next move will be
Together they venture out of their pen
Is it safe to come out? The Siberian tiger cubs at Port Lympne. Picture courtesy Richard Barnes

Aren't they cute? These Siberian tiger cubs may look appealing but they will grow up to weigh 250 kilos and measure up to 2.8 metres in length.

The critically-endangered cubs were born earlier this month at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park to Ingrid and Tugar.

They were born following a gestation of three and a half months.

Tigers are generally solitary animals but the cubs will spend their first two years with their mother. In the wild, they would occasionally meet up with their father and share kills. Unlike many zoos, Port Lympne and its sister park Howletts leaves the male together with is mate throughout the birth and rearing of the cubs.

mpu1

The Siberian or Amur tiger is the largest of all cats and powerfully built with fierce retractile claws. It hunts mainly boar and deer and has even been known to kill bears.

With an estimated 500-700 in the wild, there are actually more in captivity.

Read more

More by this author

sticky

© KM Group - 2024