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The Port Lympne big cats have always been a huge attraction so when they announced the birth of 2 Amur tiger cubs on 27 June 2010, visitor figures rocketed.  We had hoped to visit when the cubs made their first public appearance, however, due to various other commitments, we didn’t actually make it down there until today.  The cubs, little sisters called Zaria and Roza were approximately 19 weeks old by this point but they were still small and incredibly cute.

Their mother Ingrid Alexandra, was named after the Princess of Norway.

We spent a wonderful hour watching the cubs play and Ingrid delighted us when she decided to give one of her girls a bit of a wash. The interaction between mother and cub was just precious.

The cubs eventually collapsed in a heap from exhaustion – have you ever seen a more sweeter sight than this?

With the cubs fast asleep and their parents also settling down, we decided to go and visit Port Lympne’s pride of magnificent Barbary Lionesses.  The Barbary Lion is also known as the Atlas lion as they used to roam the Atlas Mountains.   Personally, I prefer to believe that they were named for the ancient Titan Atlas, doomed forever to hold up the sky as punishment for siding with his fellow Titans against the Olympian gods.

We spent far too much time with the tiger cubs so by the time we got to the snow leopards, the light was starting to go.  I managed to grab a record shot before it was time to leave the park.

I guess we will have to come back to see the rest of the Port Lympne big cats and also pay a visit to their smaller cousins, of which there are quite a few here.