A zoo in Greece has welcomed three Sumatran tiger cubs, boosting conservation efforts for the critically endangered subspecies and helping maintain a safety population.
The two-month-old Sumatran tiger cubs – two males and one female – were born in July at Attica Zoological Park near Athens.
This week, the cubs have had their first veterinary examination, receiving their microchips and first vaccinations.
The zoo's veterinary team also conducted a thorough health check to monitor the development and overall wellbeing of the cubs.
Due to habitat loss, poaching and human-wildlife conflict, the Sumatran tiger is one of the world’s most endangered tiger subspecies, with as few as 400 Sumatran tigers remaining in the wild.
Classified as critically endangered, the Sumatran tiger is found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
“The Sumatran tiger is one of the most threatened tiger species in the world, and among felines in general,” Theodoros Babilis, head keeper of cats and monkeys at Attica Zoological Park, told the Associated Press.
Critically endangered tiger subspecies
Zoos in Europe and across the world are maintaining a safety population of Sumatran tigers "so that in the future there can be potential reintroductions of this species into the wild," Babilis added.
Arsenoi Psaroudaki, a zoo and wildlife veterinarian, told the AP: “It’s very humbling to be able to work with the rarest tiger species in the world.”
In more news, two endangered Przewalski’s horses born and raised at Marwell Zoo in England have been returned to the wild in their native Kazakhstan after a 3,000-mile journey.
