Three cubs were born to Amur tigers Zara and Bengal at the Skazka Zoo in Yalta, the Crimea. The staff of this private zoo says that the birth of triplets is a major event for zoologists because these animals are quite reluctant to reproduce in captivity.

"The cubs, who were born a few days ago, are all healthy. We have taken them away from Zara. She has never fed cubs before, so we use a special cat food to feed them. They haven't got names yet, because first we want to observe these cubs – two female and one male – and get to know them better," the zookeepers say.

In late March, another Amur tiger, Amura, also gave birth to a cub, who was named Skif. The cub's father is also Bengal, who shares an open-air cage with the two female tigers.

When the cubs grow up, they will either stay at the Skazka Zoo or will be moved to its branch, a safari park in the Belogorsk District, the Crimea.

There are 300 to 400 Amur tigers (also known as Siberian or Ussuri tigers) living in the wild. Almost the same number are kept in zoos.

Scientists make every effort to preserve the population of this species, which is mostly confined to the southern part of the Russian Far East. Around 10% of Amur tigers live in China.