Three newborn tiger cubs euthanised after mother stops caring for them at German zoo
The Amur tiger cubs, just three days old, were put down to prevent suffering, a statement said.
The zoo explained that hand-rearing was not considered an option, as it would conflict with principles of species-appropriate wildlife management.
The cubs were born on Wednesday evening to Yushka, a first-time mother.
The tigress turned away from her offspring a few hours after giving birth.
Such behaviour is sad from a human perspective but is part of life in the animal kingdom, said zoo director Jörg Junhold.
Over the next two days, without their mother's care, the cubs became frigid and increasingly weak.
'At this point, when the young animals no longer show any active behaviour and thus no stimulus for feeding or milk production is triggered in the mother, we must fulfil our heavy responsibility and spare the young animals the suffering of starvation,' explained veterinarian Andreas Bernhard.
However, the zoo plans to continue its Amur tiger — also known as the Siberian tiger — breeding programme with Yushka.
'She will be able to contribute to the survival of the species through natural breeding in the future,' explained zoo director Junhold. — Bernama/dpa
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