In a heartwarming display of maternal care, a mother tiger is seen nursing one of her triplets in their debut outing at a zoo in Russia.
The seven-week-old cub, though seemingly unimpressed, receives affectionate licks from its mother, Iris, a female Amur tiger, as they venture into the open air for the first time at the Royev Ruchey zoo in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia.
Watch the video at the end.
Kaktus, Jasmine, and Narciss, the trio of cubs, were born to Iris and her mate Kedr, adding to their already large litter of seven offspring.
This new arrival marks a significant moment for the critically endangered Amur tiger species, with only around 300 individuals estimated to remain in the wild, primarily in Russia’s Far East.
Despite their once-widespread presence across northern China, the Korean Peninsula, and eastern Russia, Siberian tigers faced severe threats such as habitat loss and poaching during the 20th century. By the 1940s, the population had dwindled to 20-30 individuals in the wild.
