Three Siberian tigers, one male and two females, are the newest additions to a western Sweden wildlife park. These cute and cuddly baby cats, who weigh around two kilogrammes each, will someday grow into far more ferocious creatures weighing over 300 kilogrammes.
Although the three tigers were born on 12 April, their mother, whose unique genes make her one of the world’s most important breeding tigers, has only recently emerged from her den to eat.
In an interview with the Local, Nordens Ark project leader Christer Larsson said the cubs sounded quite funny when calling for their mother. Larsson also said, “Of course they’re extremely cute, just like any small cat, but when they finally open their eyes and you can make eye contact with them – then that will make the difference.”
The cubs come from the world’s largest tiger species, Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica). The mercury plunges as low as -50°C in the natural habitat of these endangered tigers, Russia’s far eastern mountains. Nordens Ark and the World Wildlife Fund work closely together to keep these tigers from going extinct in the wild.
Larsson said, “If there’s a road, then people will come and inevitably chop down the trees, and then the smaller animals start to disappear and the tigers have nothing to eat.”
The zoo wants the three newest additions to this family of endangered tigers to grow up in an environment as close as possible to their natural habitat. Although the cubs will soon be introduced to the viewing public, Larsson has not ruled out reintroducing them to the wild in the future.
“If you want to see three extremely playful tigers, be sure to visit us in about four or five weeks and all through the summer,” Larsson said. “Those little buggers will be running all over the place.”