A female tiger at Knowsley Safari suffered a fatal bite injury during a breeding attempt.
A spokesperson for the park today announced the 14-year-old Amur Tiger, called Sinda, sustained fatal injuries during a breeding attempt. Sinda, who had been at the safari park since 2010, received the severe bite injury from male tiger Miron on Saturday, November 12.
The two tigers had mixed successfully on several previous occasions since Miron arrived at the park in 2020. The spokesperson said the introduction, part of a European breeding programme, was managed by the park's animal team.
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They said breeding attempts take into account each tiger's behaviour and follow "rigorous" procedures. Only once positive behaviour was displayed by the tigers were physical introductions made.
The park spokesperson said: "Before the mixing, normal positive character traits were seen with no signs of aggression. Due to the speed of the incident, there was unfortunately nothing that could be done to intervene and Sinda died instantly from her injuries."
They added the "severe" bite injury was "immediately fatal". Due to the instant nature of the death a vet couldn't have prevented Sinda from dying.
The park said any animal introduction carries an element of risk, adding "this type of incident is naturally seen in big cats in the wild". Amur tigers are an endangered species, with only around 500 remaining in the wild.
The ECHO understands Miron, six, had not shown unusual levels of aggression to female tigers at Knowsley Safari. But a question and answer section on the park's website added he had fatally injured a female tiger while at Copenhagen zoo in 2018. Knowsley Safari Park were aware of this, but "given the facilities and expertise of the time it was felt we could meet Miron's needs."
The park spokesperson added: "Sinda was a very popular tiger with visitors and keepers alike and had been at Knowsley Safari since 2010 – she will be greatly missed. Our focus is now on ensuring that both our team and Miron are cared for during this difficult time."
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