Rare Tiger Arrives at Blair Drummond Safari Park
15 January 2019, 10:36
A rare Amur tiger has arrived at a UK safari park after being transferred from a German zoo.
Vitali, a 17-month-old male cub, was born at Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg and has moved to Blair Drummond Safari Park in Stirlingshire ahead of its reopening in March.
He joins four-year-old female Hope, who arrived at the park last March from the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster where she was born.
Staff at Blair Drummond are already delighted with the pair's progress together.
Head keeper Brian Reid said: "We are delighted to have Vitali join us at the Safari Park. He is a beautiful tiger and has settled well into his new surroundings.
"Hope is responding positively to the company of another tiger. They spend the majority of their time together and Vitali has very quickly adapted to his new routines."
The Amur tiger is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's
Red List as endangered.
Vitali's transfer to Scotland was recommended by the European Endangered Species Programme.
Animal collections manager Sheila Walker said: "Male tigers usually reach sexual maturity at about four to five years old, so it will be a few years before Vitali will be old enough to breed.
"Brian has a great team working with him and they spend a lot of time providing enrichment to stimulate natural behaviours."
