Two Amur tigers cubs underwent a standard veterinary examination at the Centre for the Rehabilitation and Reintroduction of Tigers and Other Rare Animals. The examination showed that the cubs are in good health, their rehabilitation is going well and they have every chance to return to the wild.

Vets paid special attention to Saikhan’s adult set of teeth growing in and the tigress’ healing paw. The cubs were immobilised before the examination, so that they could not injure themselves or the vets. “This complete veterinary examination is, sadly, indispensable. Saikhan’s head injury could have disrupted the replacement of his milk teeth with permanent ones. Much to our joy, the process is off to a good start, with nothing abnormal detected. In the future, video footage captured by trail cameras will show the end of the process without veterinary intervention. The female tiger has no trouble with her teeth either. Good teeth, especially canines, are key to a tiger’s successful hunting,” said Sergei Aramilev, director of the Far Eastern branch of the Amur Tiger Centre.

Wounded Saikhan was found in the Pozharsky District of the Primorye Territory in the middle of January this year, and the emaciated tigress was discovered in the Lazovsky District in December 2016. Now the cubs are undergoing rehabilitation together in a spacious 1.2-hectare enclosure with conditions imitating the wild taiga.