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Endangered tiger cubs take first steps outside
The cubs are now 10 weeks old, and are getting braver day.

The three cubs live at Highland Wildlife Park in Scotland.

Endangered Amur tiger cubs at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland's (RZSS) Highland Wildlife Park have taken their first steps outside.

After spending most of their time in the cubbing den with their mother Dominika, the triplet cubs had their first health check and vaccinations from staff last week, and will now be able to go outside often.

Animal collection manager Keith Gilchrist commented on the exciting development: “At ten weeks old, our cubs are getting braver and more playful every day, with their personalities already starting to develop. It is lovely to see just how excited our visitors are to meet them.

“Given how young they are, they won’t be allowed outside for the whole day and will likely only be out for short bursts, followed by long naps indoors.”

The Amur tiger, which is classified as endangered on the IUCN red list status, can grow up to 10.75 ft, and tends to weigh around 660 pounds. They live primarily in birch forests in eastern Russia, and are the world's largest tiger subspecies.

Following their health check, two of the cubs have been named as female, and one as male. The female cubs are being named by two of the park's donors, and the RZSS are running a competition to name the male cub.

Keith added: “We wanted to give the trio names which would pay tribute to their native home and help raise awareness of the plight this endangered species and sadly many others, face in the wild.

“Two of our generous donors will be naming our female cubs and we are asking the public to help us name our little boy on our social media platforms, by picking from two names shortlisted by our keepers, Aleksander and Dimitri.”

Visitor information for Highland Wildlife Park can be found at highlandwildlifepark.org.uk

 

Image (C) RZSS

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Birmingham Dogs Home makes urgent appeal

News Story 1
 Birmingham Dogs Home has issued an urgent winter appeal as it faces more challenges over the Christmas period.

The rescue centre has seen a dramatic increase in dogs coming into its care, and is currently caring for over 200 dogs. With rising costs and dropping temperatures, the charity is calling for urgent support.

It costs the charity £6,000 per day to continue its work.

Fi Harrison, head of fundraising and communications, said: "It's heart-breaking for our team to see the conditions some dogs arrive in. We really are their last chance and hope of survival."

More information about the appeal can be found here

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News Shorts
Avian flu confirmed at premises in Cornwall

A case of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 has been detected in commercial poultry at a premises near Rosudgeon, Cornwall.

All poultry on the infected site will be humanely culled, and a 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone have been put in place. Poultry and other captive birds in the 3km protection zone must be housed.

The case is the second avian flu case confirmed in commercial poultry this month. The H5N5 strain was detected in a premises near Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire, in early November. Before then, the disease had not been confirmed in captive birds in England since February.

The UK chief veterinary officer has urged bird keepers to remain alert and practise robust biosecurity.

A map of the disease control zones can be found here.