A PAIR of critically endangered young tigers have become the latest attraction at Edinburgh Zoo.
The year-old Sumatran tigers, Tibor and Chandra, arrived from Heidelberg Zoo last week and are now settling into their new home in the Zoo's jaguar enclosure.
They will spend the next six months there as part of their quarantine before being moved
over to the existing tiger enclosure.
The pair have been brought in to replace the Zoo's two Amur tigers, Yuri and Sasha, who have been moved to the Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore.
And the two youngsters – described as mini-tigers – are expected to be a huge hit with the public. They were carefully moved by van and ferry across Europe
Like the Amur tiger, Sumatran tigers are critically endangered, with only a few hundred left in the wild. The smallest sub-species of tiger – with males averaging 234 cm in length from head to tail and weighing about 136 kg – they are found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Their stripes are narrower than on other sub-species and they have a more prominent neck ruff.
The main threat to the wild population is habitat loss and poaching for the traditional medicine trade.
Alison MacLean, head keeper of carnivores at Edinburgh Zoo, said the two animals already seemed to be enjoying their new home.
"They are quite young and we want to let them settle in at their own pace, so we leave it up to them to explore in their own time," she said. "They have been incredibly bold, though, and even with the poor weather, when you might have thought they would want to stay inside, they have been out and about exploring the enclosure.
"It has a lot of climbing elements, which maybe they didn't have in Germany, and they are enjoying that. They are beautiful creatures, and they will be a huge hit, because they are very much the typical tiger people expect to see, although a bit smaller." Ms MacLean admitted that she had been sad to see Sasha and Yuri leave, but was "delighted" with their huge new home, which she said they would love.
The pair were moved as part of a five-year redevelopment of the park which will see it take in more species from mountain and tundra habitats around the world.
The move means they can be given a far bigger area to roam around in, and it is hoped they will also breed, to help conservation efforts of the rare species.
Previously known as Siberian tigers, the Amur tiger was renamed in the 1990s when the last disappeared from Siberia. They are now found only in isolated populations around the Amur river valley in the far east of Russia, and it is estimated there are just 500 left in the wild.
Doug Richardson, animal collection manager at Highland Wildlife Park, said: "We are very excited about having these living conservation icons in our care.
"The arrival of the tigers is the latest step in the evolution of the Highland Wildlife Park and one that I am sure will help to raise our profile both within and outside of the Highlands community."
The full article contains 541 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
