CHESTER ZOO has announced the arrival of a critically endangered tiger.
Dash, a male Sumatran tiger, has arrived at the zoo and will be introduced to the existing, expansive tiger habitat in the Islands section.
Tigers are the largest of the big cats, and the largest carnivorous land mammal in the world.
Previously, Chester Zoo was home to male Sumatran tiger Fabi, who arrived in 2009 and successfully bred with Kirani with three sets of cubs. Fabi was then moved to a new home at Paignton Zoo.
Chester Zoo's new arrival Dash, a critically endangered tiger.
Tigers' natural habitat extends across Asia from Russia through to Summatra and Indochina. Of the nine subspeices of tiger, three are already extinct – Bali, Caspian and Javan.
Sumatran tigers are the smallest of the subspecies. They have webbed paws, which means that they’re brilliant swimmers and they often take to the water to cool off. Their stunning coats of orange and black stripes are unique to each animal and help them to camouflage by breaking up their body shape. Sumatran tigers have stripes which are closer together than other tigers.
They are solitary animals,only coming together to mate. Gestation takes about 100 days from mating to birth, and baby tigers will remain with their mothers for up to two years. A litter can be between one and seven cubs.
More to follow.
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