How to move Amur tigers...

Last week, I was fortunate to be involved in one of those processes that everyone dreams of doing, moving big cats.

The cats in question were two Amur tigers, Siberia and Alina. Born last year, and featured on the TV show, Nature's Newborns, the two girls were from an original litter of four. Sadly the runt of that litter didn't make it through the first 24 hours, but the three remaining cubs survived. The three remaining tigers, as pure-bred Amur's, will play a vital role in the breeding and reintroduction program. Only two of the three girls would be coming to Paradise, and the decision over which two was actually made by themselves. The two boldest cubs came into the house when called, and the cub that most heavily relied on her mother Ronja, was the one that stayed with her.

The long planned move would take them from the Wildlife Heritage Foundation in Kent, to Paradise Wildlife Park in Hertfordshire. They were destined to share an enclosure with Paradise favourite, Rocky the hybrid tiger. For the most part, cats aren't tranquilised for their moves. Usually, the cats are gradually trained to go into the movement crates of their own accord and travel fully awake. But in this case, it was necessary to perform some important health checks and vaccinations, so to keep the stress to a minimum for the animals, we combined all of the activities together. Follow the story through the photos and captions below...

There was much to do before the process began. This is one of the crates used for the move. They are deliberately small to reduced the free movement for the cats during transit to reduce the risk of injury.

Dr. John Lewis of International Zoo Vet Group and Wildlife Vets International preparing the anesthetics and paperwork for the move. John is probably the world's leading authority on big cat medicine and conservation. John is a member of the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group, veterinary advisor to the Amur leopard and tiger Endangered Species Breeding Programme (EEP), a range of felid and primate field conservation programmes, a trustee of the UK based charity AMUR and is widely published on veterinary aspects of non-domestic medicine.

To keep the stress to a minimum. John asked us to stay outside for the first procedure with Alina as her sister Siberia was in the adjacent enclosure. But here you can see Alina being carried out first having had all her checks completed.

John and Aaron Whitnall checking on Alina as she is carefully maneuvered into her crate.

Safely into the crate, we kept a close eye on her breathing.

To help our keepers at Paradise Wildlife Park identify the two new tigers, I took 'mugshot' photos of their faces to show their unique eyebrow markings.

John administers the stimulant to bring Alina out of the anesthetic.

People were stationed to watch her breathing carefully and track her progress. There was a heart stopping moment when it appeared she had stopped breathing. But she soon started again. It's normal for cats to hold their breath as they wake from the sedative. But John wasn't taking any chances. In the event that she had stopped breathing, a tube would have been inserted into her nostril and she would have been helped along, much like with a person.

Alina came around with no problems, and the outer case for the crate was installed.

She was then carried to the van where it was dark and quiet.

She's not light.

Then it was the turn of Siberia who by now knew that something was up. However she remained calm throughout.

John calmly and quietly walked in with the dart gun, hiding it behind his back so as not to cause distress to Siberia.

It took a few minutes for the sedatives to take effect and then she was out cold.

As soon as it was safe, John immediately began the examination and I followed him in.

Becky checks Siberia's microchip against her records.

John takes a photo of her eyebrow markings.

Checking for any dental problems.

Using a stethoscope, John checks Siberia for any heart mumours. A common problem with Amur tigers.

Checking her claws and pads.

There is an app for that! Amazingly John performs an ECG on Siberia using an iPhone. Amazed? I was!

After the examination, Siberia is lifted into her crate.

John answers some questions from the students and volunteers present.

Tightly wedged in, the crates are unable to move during transit.

At the other end (in the pouring rain) the girls are unloaded.

The crate is then safely put up agains the entrance to the house.

It's then a waiting game for the tigers to get enough confidence to leave the crate on their own.

Finally out of the crate, Siberia settled down quickly.

And that was it! The girls are currently in the sep aclimatising to their new environment. Rocky isn't sure about them just yet. Probably fed up of being duffed up by girls! But he'll no doubt get used to them soon. They'll be apart for at least 30 days before a gradual introduction process is begun. I'll keep you posted on the developments!

**UPDATE

Rocky and the girls have been introduced! And they're getting on brilliantly. As you can see from the photo below!