Paignton Zoo to welcome two Sumatran tigers

Sisters Carrie (left) and Padme (right) are just under two years old

A zoo is set to welcome two new tigers after its last critically-endangered tiger passed away.

Sisters Carrie and Padme, who are just under two years old, are expected to arrive at Paignton Zoo in Devon before Christmas.

The pair will be travelling to the zoo from a safari park in Denmark following the death of 18-year-old Sumatran tiger Shakira.

Paignton Zoo said the move would support a population management scheme.

The sisters will travel more than 800 miles (1,287km) from their current home at Ree Park Safari in Denmark.

The death of Shakira had left Paignton Zoo without any Sumatran tigers, after a male called Lucu was sent to Edinburgh Zoo in November to be part of a breeding programme.

The stripes on Sumatran tigers are closer together and their fur darker than other subspecies

Carrie and Padme's move has been recommended by a conservation programme overseen by London Zoo.

The sisters will be housed in an old lion exhibit, as Paignton Zoo also prepares to welcome two new lionesses in a separate enclosure.

The tigers are native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra where fewer than 400 are thought to remain in the wild.