The nine-week-old trio of Amur tiger cubs at the Highland Wildlife Park have had their first medical check-up, with the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland revealing they are two girls and a boy.
The litter of cubs were born on May 18, and could prove to be vital to the future of their endangered species.
Following the check-up, staff confirmed all three were doing well and said they would be given names soon.
At the moment, they are being kept away from the eyes of the public in a cubbing den with their mum Dominika – though visitors to the park will still be able to see dad Botzman prowling around the outside viewing area.
Botzman, who was born in Moscow and moved to the park in October 2020 as part of a European breeding programme, will be gradually introduced to the young trio as they grow older.
Only 500 left in wild
At the time of the cubs’ birth, there were only around 500 Amur tigers left living in the wild.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), which operates the park near Kingussie, supports tiger conservation programmes in Nepal as well as being part of the breeding scheme.
Dominika herself was born on the site in 2009, and she gave birth to her first litter in 2013.
Staff at the RZSS have also been developing methods to evaluate tiger diets within the RZSS WildGenes laboratory, which is based at Edinburgh Zoo.
Earlier this year, the wildlife park offered members of the public the chance to win the chance to feed the tiger family as part of a prize draw raising money towards a new £5.5 million visitor and education centre on the site.