Whipsnade Zoo’s eight-week-old endangered tiger cubs Dmitri, Makari and Czar have just received their first health checks – and keepers have released footage of the event.
While seven-year-old tigress mum Naya and dad Botzman enjoyed breakfast in their den, the zoo’s team of vets were able to safely enter the tiger family’s main enclosure. Here they checked the Amur tiger cubs’ eyes, ears and teeth, and gave them routine vaccinations.
Team leader Donovan Glyn said: “This was such a wonderful moment for the keepers here at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, not only having the incredible privilege of seeing these beautiful cubs up close, but helping our vets assess Dmitri, Makari and Czar, who are all doing really well.
“The cubs weighed in at about 8kg (17lb), and it’s amazing to see how much they’ve grown in the couple of months since they were born. You do have to be very mindful of that when you’re going in to give them vaccinations – they’re not quite like little kittens anymore – but we’re an experienced team that has the cubs’ welfare as our number one priority, so we were able to keep them calm and content throughout the process.”
Amur tigers are classified as Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species with only an estimated 500 left in the wild. The cubs were born on Saturday 23rd June as part of the European Endangered Species breeding Programme (EEP), which works with zoos across Europe in the conservation of this magnificent big cat.
To view footage of the Amur tiger cubs during their health check click here.
For more information on visiting ZSL Whipsnade Zoo and seeing the tiger cubs go to www.zsl.org
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