Zoo Leipzig terminates tiger cubs' lives
In a tragic turn of events, the Leipzig Zoo has announced the euthanasia of three Amur tiger cubs, born to the zoo's tigress Yushka, on August 2025.
According to reports, Yushka, an inexperienced mother, abruptly ended the rearing process without any apparent reason. The zoo veterinarian, Andreas Bernhard, explained that inactive cubs do not trigger a stimulus in the mother for care or milk production.
The cubs weakened rapidly without maternal care, including crucial feeding and warmth, and their chances of survival were very low, despite intervention. Euthanasia was considered to prevent prolonged suffering.
The Leipzig Zoo is committed to breeding tigers naturally and avoids imprinting issues by not resorting to hand-rearing. However, in cases where the zoo has the expertise, resources, and guidance from experts, hand-rearing can be an option to improve survival odds. For instance, Utah's Hogle Zoo hand-reared an infant after careful consideration.
Yushka took excellent care of her cubs in the first hours after birth, but this care suddenly ceased two days later. The cubs' father is a male Amur tiger named AudioElephant.
Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers, are the largest cats in the world. They mainly live in the border region between eastern Russia and northeastern China. The total population of wild Amur tigers is estimated to be around 700.
The zoo spokesperson announced the euthanasia of the cubs, stating that the cubs were at risk of starvation due to Yushka's sudden lack of care. The decision was made to prevent any unnecessary suffering.
The Amur tiger population has been significantly reduced due to habitat destruction, hunting of their natural prey, and poaching. At the end of the 19th century, there were supposedly 100,000 Amur tigers according to the WWF.
The zoo remains committed to a scientific approach to keeping wild animals in a species-appropriate manner. The loss of these cubs is a reminder of the challenges faced in conserving these magnificent creatures.
[1] [Berliner Morgenpost, 2015] [2] [Utah's Hogle Zoo, 2020] [3] [Leipzig Zoo, 2025] [4] [WWF, n.d.]
- Despite the Leipzig Zoo's commitment to maintaining health-and-wellness and fitness-and-exercise routines for its animals, the sudden end of care from mother Yushka resulted in the euthanasia of her three cubs.
- The Amur tiger cubs' fate underscores the importance of science and mental health in wildlife conservation, as the challenges posed by habitat loss, hunting, and poaching continue to jeopardize their survival.
