Moving a Siberian Tiger

Описание: Tamair is a male Siberian Tiger at a local big cat sanctuary, the "Wildlife Heritage Foundation" - http://www.whf.org.uk

I had the opportunity a few weeks ago in October 2007 to help move Tamair to his new enclosure, to make way for the new Siberian Tiger Makari, who will be part of a breeding program with the female Amur Tiger, Ronja.

Video contents:
The first part sees volunteers and WHF & Paradise Park staff help carry in and secure a 180KGs (398lbs, 28 stone 6lbs) enforced container into Tamair's enclosure, while Tamair is currently shut in his sleeping quarters.

Tempting Tamair:
The idea was to tempt Tamair into the container of his own will with some meat and the familiar face of a WHF handler. However, Tamair can be uncooperative at the best of times, and that day was no exception!

The Vet:
In the likely event of Tamair not wanting to play ball, a vet was on hand to tranquilise and revive Tamair and he would have to be moved the hard way.

Heavy Lump: WHF & Paradise Park handlers gradually move a sedated Tamair out of his sleeping quarters and into the crate, ready for his move to his new enclosure. With the help of myself and several volunteers, as well as a van from Paradise Park, we were able to move the heavy lump!

Weight Expectations:
Just before going into Tamair's new enclosure, we weighed Tamair in his crate. With the crate we had a weight of 389KGs (855lbs, 61 stone 1lb). Taking the weight of the crate off, Tamair weighed 208KGs (457.6lbs, 32 stone 9lbs).This is about average for a male Siberian Tiger.

Wakey Wakey:
Once the container is secure with the entrance to Tamair's new sleeping quarters, the vet gently revives Tamair so he can walk straight in. Tamair was fully revived within a few hours.

The Siberian Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) is a rare subspecies of tiger (P. tigris). Also known as the Amur, North China, Manchurian, Ussuri, or Korean Tiger, it is arguably the largest of the 6 extant tiger subspecies.

The Siberian Tiger is critically endangered. The wild population is only 450-500.

Wildlife Heritage Foundation -- W H F is a UK based charity working hard to ensure that the big cat species of the world are protected from extinction. Based in Kent UK they are an active partner in the European Endangered Species Breeding Programmes (EEP), as well as setting up education programmes for the people that share the habitats of these wonderful cats. The WHF is also raising awareness and funding for big cat projects around the world.

Adopt one of their cats and you will help feed, house and care for it for a whole year.

http://www.whf.org.uk