Longleat Safari Park has welcomed four new Amur tiger cubs, increasing its tiger population to seven and marking the largest family group in the United Kingdom. The cubs, born in May 2024, are the offspring of tigers Yana and Red. Their names, Ginger Biscuit, Dora-Boo, Heidi, and Seeka, were chosen with public assistance.
This is the first litter born at Longleat in 20 years. The park previously celebrated the birth of tiger cubs in 2019, when Rusty and Yuki were born to the same parents. Three of these offspring have since been relocated to other wildlife collections as part of the European Endangered Species Programme. This initiative aims to sustain a healthy captive population for Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers.
The Amur tiger is classified as one of the world's most endangered big cats, with an estimated wild population of only around 450 individuals. These animals face significant threats in their natural habitats, including poaching and loss of forests due to logging and fires. The limited genetic diversity within the existing wild population makes them particularly susceptible to challenges such as disease outbreaks and the impacts of climate change.