Four 'extremely rare' Amur tiger cubs born at Longleat Safari Park in May have been caught on camera exploring the outdoors for the first time.
The cubs, which are living at Longleat in Wiltshire, have attracted worldwide attention since their birth as they are some of the rarest tiger cubs in the world.
Currently, the Amur tiger is one of the most endangered animals in the world with only 450 left in the wild across the globe.
In the 1930s the tigers had nearly died out due to hunting, and at one stage it is thought the population fell as low as just 20 to 30 animals.
The playful cubs have been seen loving the outdoors (Image: Longleat Safari and Adventure Park/PA Wire)
Now the four newly vaccinated cubs were allowed into a paddock at the Wiltshire park with their mother Yana for the first time.
“We have some very happy cubs," said Eloise Kilbane, of Longleat.
“Yana went out first and was rolling around, scratch and scent marking and checking it was all okay before she called the cubs out.
"All four came out and were exploring the paddock.
“Days like this are what keepers dream about. Your animals exploring for the first time while showing the success of the breeding programme as they are happy and healthy in their environment.”
The four cubs were born to mother Yana and father Red, both nine years old, in May 2024.
They are Yana’s second litter, as she gave birth to two cubs called Rusty and Yuki in 2019.
It is expected that the cubs will go into the main paddock at Longleat in late summer.
The rare cubs were born at Longleat in May 2024 (Image: Longleat Safari and Adventure Park)
Darren Beasley, head of animal operations at Longleat, said their introduction to the outside world will be a gradual process led by Yana.
“We want to make sure the cubs are confident and crucially Yana is happy with where they can go,” he said.
“We will be letting them out for a short period each day in the paddock close to their house so they get used to the smells and different textures before moving them to an area which can be seen from the Safari Park.
“We will share details of this so visitors know when they will be able to look out for them.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here