New home for Edinburgh Zoo's tigers in a bid to increase cub chances
Never mind Panda Watch - we could be on TIGER cub watch this year at Edinburgh Zoo.
Never mind Panda Watch - we could be on TIGER cub watch this year at Edinburgh Zoo.
The attraction's Sumatran tigers are getting a new enclosure in a bid to increase their chances of breeding.
"Tiger Tracks" will open in June - and will house Jambi and Baginda, the pair that experts at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland hope will go on to breed and increase the numbers of the rare creature.
Less than 400 of them are thought to be left in the wild.
The new enclosure is more than 3 times the size of the tiger's existing home at the zoo, and will cost around half a million pounds.
It'll feature a viewing tunnel for visitors, covered pathways, a high level viewing area, a feeding post and cubbing den.
Chris West, CEO of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland said: "We are delighted to be able to develop a new modern and dynamic Sumatran tiger enclosure with the needs of both our visitors and animals in mind.
"97% of wild tigers have already died out in just over a century, so with the help of well-coordinated breeding programmes around the world it is our hope that we will be able to increase a captive breed reserve population of this endangered species and protect them from a similar fate."