Three cubs of the rare white Bengal tiger born in Crimean safari park were shown to the public on Tuesday, Oct. 23.
Born in early October, cubs were still not able to open their eyes and squeaked as they tried to crawl on the park grass.
The Crimean safari park ‘Taigan’ chief zookeeper, Leokadia Perevalova, said the birth of the blue-eyed Bengal tiger triplets was an important contribution to the park’s collection, which also helps to save the animals from extinction.
“We have a beautiful addition to our collection, the Bengal tiger couple brought us three babies. Two of them are boys. These ones. And the girl is in the center, she’s a little smaller. The little ones are developing really well, their mom feeds them well. She looks after them. We are very happy about this addition (to our park). Especially since it’s a Bengal tiger,” Perevalova said.
White tigers are a genetic variation of the better-known orange Bengal tigers.
Between 5,000-7,000 tigers live in the wild, down from 100,000 at the start of the 20th-century. Poaching, deforestation and over-hunting of their natural prey have hit their numbers.
The peninsula of Crimea is recognized internationally as part of Ukraine, although it has been largely integrated into Russia after Moscow annexed the territory in 2014.
