Banham Zoo celebrate return of tiger to newly refurbished enclosure
The Norfolk zoo has marked the occasion with a ribbon cutting
Last updated 1st May 2021
Banham Zoo in Norfolk has been celebrating the return of its resident Amur tiger to his newly refurbished enclosure.
A ribbon cutting was held at the unveiling of the new enclosure which has been given a face lift over the last few months.
Male tiger, Kuzma, has been staying at the sites sister zoo, Africa Alive in Suffolk, while the work was done.
The ceremony earlier this week was attended by local five year-old tiger enthusiast Freddie Baage and his family.
Freddie was invited along after a recent visit to the zoo, where the Zoological Society of East Anglia CEO, Claudia Roberts, had spotted him becoming quite upset when he found the tiger enclosure empty.
He was specially invited to come and cut the ribbon on Kuzma's return home.
Freddie spoke about his love for tigers saying: "I felt really excited to be invited to the ribbon cutting ceremony because I love tigers and I got to be one of the first people to see Kuzma come out of his enclosure for the first time.
"I like tigers because they run really fast, they are my favourite colour orange and they can eat 300 hamburgers all in one go!"
Freddie found out from a keeper talk at the zoo two years ago that Amur tigers could eat the equivalent of 300 burgers.
Charlotte Bagge, Freddie's mum, said: "On hearing that tigers could eat the equivalent of 300 burgers, Freddie instantly embraced them as kindred spirits and whilst "300 hamburgers" were duly requested for his own supper that night he still hasn't managed to beat Kuzma's record - yet!"
The repairs to the tiger enclosure are just one of the upgrades to both the zoos as a result of the Zoological Society of East Anglia being awarded a lifeline Zoo Animals Fund grant of £752,000 by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) earlier this year.
Claudia Roberts, CEO at the Zoological Society of East Anglia, said: "We are delighted to see the much-loved Kuzma return to our zoo.
"Although he has been in the capable hands of the team at Africa Alive for the past three months, he has very much been missed by staff, keepers and visitors alike.
"When I first met Freddie and saw how sad he was that Kuzma wasn't in his usual home, I just had to invite him along to be our special guest at the ceremony and see Kuzma explore his newly refurbished enclosure for the first time.
"I was even more delighted when Freddie's mum said the experience was so magical it would no doubt kindle a lifelong passion for zoology and conservation both Freddie and his sister Tabitha - even little brother Pip was talking excitedly about tigers.
"For me, that's exactly what we should be doing."
Once Kuzma has settled back into his home, the zoo has plans to receive a female Amur tiger as part of the European breeding programme on a recommendation of breeding for this pairing.
Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers, are classed as endangered by the IUCN, with only around 500 though to be left in the wild.
This particular breeding programme maintains a population of around 250 Amur tigers housed in European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) zoos which are managed by a breeding programme coordinator to maintain as much genetic variability as possible.