Category: Animals
Published on: February 4th, 2025
We are delighted to welcome five-year-old female Amur tiger, Yuki, who is settling well in our 10,000 square metre Tiger Trail. Yuki represents a positive step forward in our conservation efforts to support this endangered big cat species. In the wild, Amur tigers remain under threat from poaching, declining prey populations and deforestation.
Q&A
Amur Tigers are an endangered species, with only around 450 remaining in the wild. Yuki’s arrival at Knowsley Safari is excellent news and a step forward for the EAZA* Ex Situ breeding programme (EEP), which aims to protect the populations of endangered species.
Yuki is settling well into her new home on Knowsley Safari’s Tiger Trail and is enjoying being outside in her large paddock. She has found herself some discreet lookout points where she can take her time getting used to her surroundings. If you have a keen eye for stripes, then yes, Yuki can be spotted!
Breeding programmes are an important part of species conservation and Yuki’s arrival will see her join male Amur tiger, Makari, who arrived at Knowsley Safari in 2023. Yuki and Makari have been carefully chosen for their compatibility, following recommendations from the EEP, based on their age and genetic viability.
All big cats have the potential to be aggressive, especially if they feel under threat, however Makari has never killed another tiger. He came to Knowsley from Whipsnade Zoo and has been chosen for the breeding programme due to his genetic viability. Since we have had Makari, we have worked closely with him to develop his husbandry training and have built a positive rapport between him and his keepers. We have found that Makari mostly displays a calm temperament and is clearly a very intelligent tiger.
Yuki and Makari’s behaviour is being very closely monitored by our expert animal team. We will monitor Yuki closely for signs that she is coming into season (‘oestrus’), which is when she is most receptive to mating with a male. When she is in season we will begin a ‘soft-introduction’ process whereby we begin reducing the distance between both tigers. During this time, we will move some of Makari’s bedding into Yuki’s den to simulate the gradual encroachment of a male into her territory. This will then lead to a ‘mesh meet’, where we will allow the tigers to meet each other through neighbouring dens. Makari and Yuki will be able to get very close and interact through the mesh, whilst still being physically separate. If we observe positive behaviours from both tigers, then we will plan a physical mix in one of the outdoor paddocks.
Since Yuki arrived at Knowsley in January, our keepers have been working closely with her every day as she settles in. As Yuki began showing a lot of interest in Makari from afar, our keepers began the process of softly introducing them, allowing them to get gradually closer to each other and closely monitoring their behaviour throughout. All of the signs were positive from both tigers, so it was time to let them meet each other. Although tigers meeting for the first time can entail some aggressive exchanges, this is completely natural and all part of getting to know one another. Yuki and Makari are now happily living together in their habitat. This is a promising step for the future of their species, with fewer than 500 Amur tigers left in the wild, their introduction plays a vital role in the European Breeding Programme.
