Tiger mauls mate to death while attempting to breed at Merseyside safari park
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A female tiger has died in Merseyside after being fatally bitten by her mate during a guided breeding session at a popular safari park – and she’s not his first victim.
Amur tiger Sinda, 14, was trying to breed with male tiger Miron when she was bitten and killed instantly.
Miron, six, who arrived at Knowsley Safari, Prescot in 2020, had previously had breeding sessions with Sinda, who had been with the park since 2010.
While living at Copenhagen Zoo in 2018, he fatally injured another female tiger, but was still eligible for the European breeding program in which the park participates.
Zookeepers who monitored the session said no signs of aggression were detected by their team of experts, and previous mixing sessions over a two-year period had gone well.
The big cats were mixed on Nov. 12, when the fatal incident happened. The speed of events prevented staff from intervening.
The park said he had not shown any unusual signs of aggression towards his females and incidents like this are common in the wild.
Sinda, 14, photographed at Knowsley Safari in 2019, died on November 12 after being bitten by a male the team hoped she would mate with
The incident at Knowsley Safari (pictured) was “carefully managed” by the big cat team, the park said
Sinda lived in the park almost all her life after arriving in 2010 when she would have been just two years old
The safari park released a statement saying: ‘We are saddened to announce the loss of Sinda, our 14-year-old female Amur tiger.
Sinda suffered fatal injuries while crossing with our male tiger, Miron, as part of a European breeding program.
‘Miron arrived at Knowsley Safari in 2020, having mixed successfully with Sinda on several occasions.
“This release, like the last one, has been carefully managed by our expert animal team, taking into account each tiger’s behavior and following the same strict procedures.
“Before the mixing, normal positive character traits were seen with no signs of aggression.
Unfortunately, due to the speed of the incident, there was nothing that could be done to intervene and Sinda died instantly from her injuries.
Amur, or Siberian tigers (stock image) are an endangered species and it is hoped that breeding programs will help increase their population
‘Sinda was a very popular tiger with both visitors and keepers and had been on Knowsley Safari since 2010 – she will be greatly missed.
“Our focus now is on making sure both our team and Miron are taken care of during this difficult time.”
They said such incidents “were not uncommon during big cat mixing and the reason is often not known.”
They added that Miron’s continued welfare was the park’s “priority” and that it would work with the body overseeing the breeding program “to ensure that his care continues and that his needs are met within the program.” met’.
They added that tragic incidents like this are also seen in the wild during breeding.
Miron had previously been to the Copenhagen Zoo where he fatally injured a female tiger.
But Knowsley Safari stressed that he had shown no “unusual” signs of aggression towards any of the park’s females and that interactions between Sinda and Miron had been managed over a two-year period.
The park consults the European breeding program for advice on next steps to meet Miron’s needs.
Amur or Siberian tigers are an endangered species and are native to the far east of Russia and northern China, but some are said to live in North Korea as well. Only 500 remain in the wild.
They tend to live 10 to 15 years in the wild, but up to 20 years in captivity. They tend to weigh 660 pounds and are one of the largest tiger species in the world.
Like most tigers, they usually only live to about three years of age and are critically endangered by poachers.