Two rare Amur tigers born at UK safari park

Two rare tiger cubs have been born at a safari park in the UK.

Knowsley Safari in north-west England welcomed the baby Amur tigers at the end of last month.

Keepers say they are "over the moon" with the new arrivals, in what they describe as a boost for conservation efforts.

Amur tigers are the largest cat species in the world and are classified as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with only around 500 remaining in the wild.

What's happened?

The baby tigers arrived on 29 July to mother Yuki and father Makari.

The cubs are the first Amur tiger cubs to be born at Knowsley Safari for nearly thirty years.

Keepers at the zoo said that Yuki was doing well and feeding and bonding with her cubs in their den.

However, it will still be a few months before staff will be able to find out whether the new arrivals are boys or girls.

The cubs are expected to stay indoors for the time being, before venturing out in the paddock later this autumn.

Amur tigers are native to the far east of Russia and can weigh up to 300kg.

However, in the wild the animals face threats to their survival from poaching and loss of habitat because of logging and deforestation.

Pete Johnson from Knowsley Safari explained how excited the team were to welcome the two little arrivals.

He said: "We're over the moon to welcome the new Amur tiger cubs and to see Yuki bonding with them so well.

"We're monitoring remotely and it's lovely to see the cubs finding their feet and getting noticeably bigger each day. Importantly, the cubs' arrival also brings hope for the future of these incredible big cats."