Today, many distinguished guests arrived at the Minsk Zoo – Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Sergei Khomenko, Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus Sergei Maslyak, Chairman of the Minsk City Executive Committee Vladimir Kukharev and Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation – Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the ANO “Center “Amur Tiger” Konstantin Chuichenko.
The reason for the visit is unique. The zoo is celebrating a housewarming party for an Amur tiger cub who arrived in the Belarusian capital from the Amur Tiger Center.
Last fall, drivers found a tiger cub on the side of the road in the Amur region of Khabarovsk Krai. The baby’s paws were damaged and he had to undergo surgery. Due to the injury, he was unable to return to the wild, so it was decided to send the tiger cub to a zoo for maintenance.
The Amur tiger is the largest and one of the rarest subspecies of tiger, is on the verge of complete extinction, is included in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, as well as in Appendix I of the CITES Convention. Hunting for the striped predator was banned at the global level back in 1948.
As part of the import of the tiger cub into the territory of Belarus, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, as the Administrative Authority of the CITES Convention, issued a permit based, among other things, on the availability of conditions for keeping the animal that meet the species and physiological characteristics of the species.
By the way, the conditions here are excellent: a large enclosure, an artificial rock with a resting area, a built-in waterfall, snags and stumps so that the tiger cub can sharpen its claws, and a shelter if it wants to be alone.
“He feels well, he is receiving food according to the ration. The adaptation process has already been completed,” the capital’s zoo said about the new ward.
The Minsk Zoo is actively involved in rescuing wild animals that have found themselves in dire straits. Its collection contains about 400 species of animals, including exotic and rare representatives of the fauna of Belarus. Permanent exhibitions (exotarium, aquarium, terrarium) are open here.
By accepting and creating conditions for the maintenance of representatives of the world fauna that are on the verge of extinction, the Minsk Zoo makes its invaluable contribution to the issue of preserving rare species of wild animals.
The culmination of the event was the signing of the certificate of transfer of the Amur tiger by Vladimir Kukharev and Konstantin Chuichenko. Now the foundling is an official resident of the Minsk Zoo.
In addition to everything else, the baby was given a new nickname. Now, in addition to the first “popular” name Velvet, the tiger cub has a second, official name – Sinbad.
