International Tiger Day is celebrated each year on July 29th. This holiday has arisen in 2010 in St. Petersburg during the International Forum "Tiger Summit". As part of this large-scale event, devoted mainly to discussing and finding solutions to the problem of the elimination of wild tiger populations, this significant date was identified.
The tiger is the largest predator of a cat family, this striped "kitty" has up to 3 meters in length at an average weight of 250-300 kg. The name of the magnificent and predatory beast "tiger" came to us from the ancient Persian language, which means "sharp, fast", apparently, the tigers are quite consistent with their name. There are 9 types of tigers, 3 of them: Bali Tiger, Caspian Tiger and Javan Tiger, unfortunately, have disappeared forever from the face of the Earth.
Unfortunately, only 5,000 individuals survived in the wild, and this number continues to decline. So, for the last century the number of these animals has decreased by 25 times. And today tigers are under threat of extinction. In most cases, they become victims of poachers. And this problem cannot but worry nature-friendly communities around the world, including our country.
In Mykolaiv zoo a group of Siberian tigers from 5 individuals is currently held. In 2005 in Mykolaiv zoo two females were born: Penelope and Agrippina. Male Helios (2006 year of birth) came to us in 2008 under the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) from Poland (Poznan). And also the young male Avgur, who was born in 2017. And the youngest tiger that was born recently on July 22 this year by a pair of Helios and Penelope. To see a baby is still difficult, we must wait a little while, when the striped cat grows up.
Siberian origin of tigers especially makes itself known in winter, tigers love the snow. In our zoo, tigers are in an open enclosure in summer and winter, where they spend an active time. There is also a pool and a convenient bridge in the enclosure, where our cats enjoy having a dinner.
You can see Siberian tigers in our zoo in the "Island of beasts" enclosure.