Star of BBC Two series ‘Big Cats About the House’ and ‘Bears About the House’, Giles Clark cut the ribbon to Paradise Wildlife Park’s new Land of the Tigers. Giles is also the Director of Big Cats and Conservation at our sister charity The Big Cat Sanctuary and it was an incredible honour to have him with us on the special day.
It was amazing to see our beautiful Amur tiger sisters settled in their new habitat and excited to see new faces. Giles Clark knows these sisters well with their triplet Amasia staying at The Big Cat Sanctuary. After a fantastic tour of Land of the Tigers, complete with an exciting park announcement (keep your eye out for this!), Giles took part in one of our Big Cat Feed experiences. Both Aleena and Siberia were keen to take a tasty snack from Giles. A once in a lifetime experience to feel a real life Amur tiger lick and pull meat through your (gloved) hand!
The Land of the Tigers habitat will be the first of its kind in the UK. No other Amur tiger habitat in the UK features a pool deep enough for both tigers to be fully submerged under water. Additionally, it is the first mixed habitat of its kind in the UK with the introduction of koi carp and grass carp in the pool. This acts as fantastic enrichment for the tigers to see fish they have never seen before and spike their natural interests. Moreover, we have built a viewing area where you can come face to face with our tigers while they swim, as well as admire the beautifully coloured carps and we cannot wait to give you this totally unique experience.
This is what Giles Clark has to say about it: “It was incredible to see the Amur tigers, Aleena and Siberia settled into their new home: Land of the Tigers! It is an absolutely fantastic habitat, which has put the animal’s welfare at the very forefront, as well as a focus on educating our public on the issues this species face in the wild. We need people to continue to visit zoos and sanctuaries to raise awareness for our planet’s wildlife and Land of the Tigers is the perfect place to see nature in all its beauty.”
In the wild, Amur tigers are constantly under threat due to negative human impacts, including habitat destruction, poaching, the illegal wildlife trade and many other issues. Paradise’s Land of the Tigers habitat focuses on the illegal wildlife and logging trade where the unsustainable and unlicensed mass destruction of forest leaves the wild Amur tiger endangered to extinction (as classified by the IUCN.)
Paradise has structured the new habitat around themed shipping containers that would be comparable to those used to transport chopped down trees within the illegal logging trade. Not only does Paradise want Land of the Tigers to be a fun day out for the family but also a tool to help raise awareness for Aleena and Siberia’s wild cousins who are struggling in the wild.
Paradise CEO Lynn Whitnall had this to say:
“We are very excited to be developing our tiger habitat in 2020. This will be the second brand new habitat in as many years following the success of our Lion Pride Lands. Land of the Tigers will bring visitors closer to our beautiful tigers than ever before through the incredible underwater viewing part of the habitat. Amur tigers are endangered, so we hope for the patter of tiny paws in the years to come to further contribute to the European Breeding Programmes and continue to show our charities contribution to conservation both in the UK and around the world.”
Paradise is also home to 800 animals, including 10 individual big cats, the largest anaconda on display in the UK and a bespoke World of Dinosaurs, complete with 30 motion sensored dinosaurs! Paradise is the perfect day out for the family. Gather your loved ones for an experience like never before at Land of the Tigers to create memories that will last a lifetime. Make sure to book your tickets to see Land of the Tigers!
