Two adorable Siberian tiger cubs had their coming out party at the Cologne Zoo in Germany last week — as they explored their new home alongside their mom, 13-year-old Katinka.
The cubs — a female named Tochka and a male named Timur — were born in mid-April at the zoo, one of several facilities trying to breed the endangered big cats to bolster their numbers.
Both weigh just under 30 pounds, and wandered about their enclosure in what was their first public outing.
“We are very happy and proud of the offspring of this highly threatened species,” Alexander Sliwa, the zoo’s curator, said in a statement
Also known as Amur tigers, the endangered species lives in the far east of Russia and northeastern China. About 240 live in captivity as part of a European program that aims to both expand their population and help them survive.
Zoo officials brought Katinka in last summer from a zoo in Nuremberg in exchange for a Cologne tiger named Akina, in the hope that tiger pairs at both spots would produce offspring.
Katinka hit it off with 9-year-old Sergan, the cubs’ father, the zoo said.
With Post wires
