In June 2018 Botzman and Naya gave birth to their gorgeous Amur Tiger Cubs Czar, Dmitri and Makari at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire. I have fallen in love with the tiger cubs and thoroughly enjoyed my visits to them. At the beginning of February I made the most of our snowy weather and visited Whipsnade, I was so excited about going and when I got there I was not disappointed. Makari had so much fun running and playing, there is something extra special and magical about watching tiger cubs in the snow!!

Amur Tigers have a thick coat and extra fur in their paws to protect them from the colder weather. Unfortunately in the wild they are critically endangered and could be extinct within the next 20 years which is very sad and shocking, a world without these beautiful and majestic big cats is unimaginable. In 1947 Russia was the first country to ban tiger hunting and give them protection. There are only about 500 Amur Tigers left, it is estimated we have lost 97% of wild tigers which is horrific and heartbreaking. Some of the biggest threats these tigers face are habitat loss from logging developement and being poached for their fur and body parts to be used for Chinese Medicine.

One of the organisations that fund conservation projects and give tigers some hope for the future is Wildcats Conservation Alliance. One of the projects they are involved in is Amur Tiger Conservation in Lazovsky Zapovednik and Adjacent Areas. ZSL and Wildcats Conservation Alliance are working together alongside Phoenix Fund and WCS Russia to develope anti poaching through tiger monitoring and environmental education activities. For more information on their projects or how you can help the survival of big cats in the wild please visit https://conservewildcats.org

Below are a few of my favourite photos of Czar, Dmitri and Makari