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In pictures: Rare tiger cubs take first tentative steps

09:45, 21 May 2008

Is it safe to come out? The Siberian tiger cubs at Port Lympne. Picture courtesy Richard Barnes
Is it safe to come out? The Siberian tiger cubs at Port Lympne. Picture courtesy Richard Barnes

Aren't they cute? These Siberian tiger cubs may look appealing but they will grow up to weigh 250 kilos and measure up to 2.8 metres in length.

The critically-endangered cubs were born earlier this month at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park to Ingrid and Tugar.

They were born following a gestation of three and a half months.

Tigers are generally solitary animals but the cubs will spend their first two years with their mother. In the wild, they would occasionally meet up with their father and share kills. Unlike many zoos, Port Lympne and its sister park Howletts leaves the male together with is mate throughout the birth and rearing of the cubs.

The Siberian or Amur tiger is the largest of all cats and powerfully built with fierce retractile claws. It hunts mainly boar and deer and has even been known to kill bears.

With an estimated 500-700 in the wild, there are actually more in captivity.

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