Three endangered Amur tiger cubs at nearby ZSL Whipsnade Zoo got a special treat this morning to celebrate their first birthday, a multi-coloured party piñata.
But Dmitri, Makari and Czar, won’t be getting the sweets that usually fill the traditional Mexican birthday treat, with it instead being filled with their favourite meaty treats.
It is the first in a week full of birthday surprises for the cubs, which will culminate in them getting huge gift boxes full of their favourite foods on 22 June at the Zoo’s Sunset Safari event.
Team Leader Donovan Glyn said: “To have three endangered Amur tiger cubs, growing into strong and healthy males, is something to really celebrate, especially when you consider there are only 500 left in the wild.
“A pinata is the perfect party game for a tiger cub, because they love to explore new things and practice their pouncing skills! I suspect they’ll waste no time in tearing off the paper to get to the good stuff!”
The birth of the cubs on 23 June 2018 to mum Naya and dad Botzman, was heralded as a success for the European Endangered Species breeding Programme (EEP) which works with zoos across the continent to breed the endangered species.
Amur tigers were once found throughout the Russian Far East, northern China and the Korean peninsula. By the 1940s, hunting had driven the Amur tiger to the brink of extinction, no more than 40 individuals remaining in the wild.
The subspecies was saved when Russia became the first country in the world to grant the tiger full protection.
The Amur tiger population had increased to around 500 in the 1980s, although poaching increased after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Continued conservation and anti-poaching efforts have helped keep the population stable at around 540 individuals.
