A grrrrrrreat birthday at Kincraig!
It’s happy purrs day!
RZSS Highland Wildlife Park’s female Amur tiger, Dominika, turned seven today (Wednesday, May 11) and to help her celebrate keepers laid on an array of birthday treats.
They wrapped boxes, filled with tasty treats, in colourful birthday paper and created a meaty birthday cake for the birthday girl.
Vickie Larkin, Head Carnivore Keeper at RZSS Highland Wildlife Park, said: “Whilst Dominika doesn’t know it’s her birthday, it does provide a fun opportunity for the keepers to get creative with the tigers’ enrichment and make something unusual and different for the tigers.
“Enrichment plays a very important role in all the animals’ lives, as it provides mental and physical stimulation and allows them to exhibit natural behaviours.
“Dominika loved pouncing on the boxes and tearing off the wrapping to get to the tasty treats inside.”
She was born at the park in 2009 and was later joined by her mate Marty, who arrived in April 2012.
In May 2013, Dominika gave birth to two cubs who were named Murray and Viktor. They have since moved onto other collections to join the over-arching breeding programme, where they will play an important role in boosting the captive population of this increasingly threatened species.
Amur tigers, the largest member of the cat family, are listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, with approximately 350-450 individuals left in the wild. Over three quarters of tiger deaths in the wild are directly attributable to humans, mainly due to poaching that supports the traditional medicine trade, but increasingly disease from domestic dogs is negatively impacting the population.
As humans continue to encroach upon tiger habitat, increased competition for territory and food means that there is also an increased likelihood of tigers attacking livestock and people and this usually results in the tiger being killed.
