Party at AquaZoo Leeuwarden: four Amur tiger cubs born

Four Amur tiger cubs have been born at AquaZoo Leeuwarden. It is the first time the zoo in Friesland has welcomed young tigers.

The foursome was born early on the morning of June 15. "The birth of cubs is very special anyway. You hope for it, but when it actually happens, it is very special," says head zookeeper William Kreijkes. "And then there are also four of them - we never dared to dream that. So far, both the cubs and the mother are doing really well. It always remains exciting how it will go on, but for now it looks good."

Mother and young are currently still inside. According to William Kreijkes, it is very difficult to predict when they will go outside. "The cubs still have their eyes closed right now. They will open first in the coming days. After that, we will have to wait and see: the animals can decide for themselves if and when they will explore the outside enclosure."

Endangered
The Amur tiger, which occurs in the basin of the river of the same name on the border of China and Siberia, is seriously endangered in the wild: only a few hundred animals remain in the wild. The biggest threat is humans. They are widely hunted by poachers for traditional Asian medicine, among other things. In addition, the habitat is becoming smaller and smaller due to forest fires and logging. In the last hundred years, as much as 93 percent of their habitat has disappeared.

Therefore, European zoos have management programs with the goal of conserving this species and ensuring a healthy population in the parks. These animals are also not owned by the zoos, but by the management programs. For each species, there is a coordinator who determines which animals are allowed to mate and where any young go. No money is involved in this.

"So zoos can't buy or sell animals," William explains. "If you want a particular animal as a park, you really have to demonstrate that you can take good care of the species and meet all the requirements."

Brand new residence
AquaZoo was allowed from the program last year to welcome the two adult tigers to the just brand-new, more than five thousand square meter enclosure, consisting of caves, hills, climbing trees and a watercourse. Female Aïda comes from Safaripark Beekse Bergen and male Vadim comes from Sosto Zoo in Hungary. "There was a demand for an additional location to accommodate tigers. We really wanted to contribute to the preservation of this species, so we are very happy with the arrival of these four cubs," says general manager Jeroen Loomeijer. "It is extra special that they were born in the year we celebrate our 20th anniversary. We couldn't have received a nicer gift."

AquaZoo also helps support tigers in the wild. In fact, the zoo helps the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) through Stichting Wildlife. Among other things, this society is committed to the Amur tigers.

WCS, for example, has set up a program to combat poaching in officially protected areas. For example, they track down poachers and are talking to one of the largest logging companies about closing roads built to transport timber. This is because these roads go right through the habitat of this species, making it easier for poachers to enter areas. Nine of these logging roads have already been closed.

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