Hidden camera captures rare video of Siberian tiger cubs playing

Jan 29, 2019

They’re furry, they’re playful and they’re one of the cutest things trending on the web right now.

What happened: In mid-December, a hidden camera installed in the Land of the Leopard National Park in Russia’s Primorsky Krai region captured rare video of four Siberian tiger cubs.

• In the video, the cubs can be seen resting and playing on a hilltop, at times pulling tails and rolling in the grass.
• The park posted the video on YouTube last week and it has since gone viral with more than 85,000 views.

The park’s YouTube page states, “For the first time, a phototrap recorded four young cubs of the [endangered] cat on video at once, showing their usual life, full of exploration, games and relaxing rest.”

• Videos of Siberian tigers are rare, as they are reclusive animals, according to The Moscow Times.

Land of the Leopard is a 650,000-acre national park which was established to protect what is considered the world’s rarest cat, the Amur leopard, according to Natural World Safaris.

• About 70 to 80 Amur leopards are expected to live in the wild, and, according to NWS, the number of Amur leopards in the park grew from 30 to 57 between 2007 and 2015, showing that conservation efforts have aided in population growth.

• The park is also home to a group of Amur (or Siberian) tigers.

In the 1940s, the Amur tiger was nearly driven to extinction, with only 40 reported living in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

• Amurs were saved when Russia became the first country in the world to grant them full protection.
• According to the WWF, conservation efforts have helped the population stay stable at around 540.