{"id":103279,"date":"2025-07-29T23:10:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T23:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/103279\/"},"modified":"2025-07-29T23:10:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T23:10:16","slug":"largest-sumatran-tiger-litter-in-the-uk-born-in-pembrokeshire-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/103279\/","title":{"rendered":"Largest Sumatran tiger litter in the UK born in Pembrokeshire"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MeganMegan Lee Photography<\/p>\n

The four cubs arrived in June and are “doing well”<\/p>\n

Four rare Sumatran tiger cubs have been born at a Welsh Zoo, sparking new hope for the critically endangered species.<\/p>\n

Mum Terima, who is 11, welcomed the “very noisy, and very cute” cubs around six weeks ago at Manor House Wildlife Park.<\/p>\n

Park officials have been keeping news of the arrivals under wraps as the cubs were allowed to settle.<\/p>\n

The four cubs, whose genders are yet unknown, were born on 8 June making Pembrokeshire home to seven tigers. Celebrity owner Anna Ryder Richardson said: “This is the largest litter in the UK, possibly in Europe, and it’s very exciting.”<\/p>\n

\"MeganMegan Lee Photography<\/p>\n

Mother Tarima had another cub in 2024 which was the first time Manor House Wildlife Park had been successful in their breeding attempts<\/p>\n

Kim Wilkins, head keeper at Manor Wildlife Park said having four cubs was “exceptionally rare”, adding that a normal litter size for a Sumatran tiger is two or three. <\/p>\n

“When I saw four I was over the moon, what an achievement,” said Ms Wilkins.<\/p>\n

The tigers at the park belong to a breeding programme, which makes recommendations as to which tigers move where “in order to keep a genetic variability to keep that gene pool healthy”, Ms Wilkins added. <\/p>\n

“When these babies grow up, they will also join the wider breeding programme and will be moved around the world in order to keep that breeding process going.”<\/p>\n

\"Head<\/p>\n

Head keeper Kim Wilkins described the birth of four cubs as “exceptionally rare” <\/p>\n

There are estimated to be fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild due to habitat loss and illegal poaching. <\/p>\n

The Pembrokeshire litter is believed to be the largest born in the UK, with three previously born at London Zoo<\/a> and two at Chester Zoo<\/a> last year. <\/p>\n

Interior designer and TV presenter Ryder Richardson added: “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The tigers have a very important job to do because they have been genetically matched to breed. <\/p>\n

“The breeding group are really hoping that one of our four is a male.”<\/p>\n

The pairing and breeding of particular animals is managed by a studbook holder<\/a>, who makes matches according to genetic diversity and other suitability criteria.<\/p>\n

Participating in the European Endangered Species Programme<\/a> means that if zoos are asked to send an animal to another zoo for breeding, they will co-operate to ensure the population overall is as strong and healthy as possible.<\/p>\n

Ryder Richardson added: “You wont be able to see Sumatran Tigers in the wild, during ours or our children’s lifetimes. It’s happening in front of our eyes and it’s tragic.<\/p>\n

“Our zoo will probably not be allowed to breed again, unless we bring in another male, or swap the females which we don’t want to do. <\/p>\n

“For Wales, it’s a rare opportunity and it’s important for people to come and see, and learn.”<\/p>\n

\"MeganMegan Lee Photography<\/p>\n

The European Endangered Species Programme, who are responsible for the breeding group are hoping one of the cubs will be a male<\/p>\n

Manor House Wildlife Park has been attempting to breed from their 10-year-old male Jaya and 11-year-old female Terima for more than eight years.<\/p>\n

They had been unsuccessful until their first cub Zaza was born in 2024.<\/p>\n

\"Anna<\/p>\n

Anna Ryder Richardson is known for appearing on the BBC show Changing Rooms and a documentary about her ownership of Manor House Wildlife Park<\/p>\n

Manor House Wildlife Park officials said they are open to suggestions on naming the cubs once their genders have been identified.<\/p>\n

Park owner Ryder-Richardson said she is hoping “for some Welsh names.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Megan Lee Photography The four cubs arrived in June and are “doing well” Four rare Sumatran tiger cubs…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":103280,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[159,67,132,68,837],"class_list":{"0":"post-103279","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-united-states","10":"tag-unitedstates","11":"tag-us","12":"tag-wildlife"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114939050462104074","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103279\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}