Siberian Tiger at the Hagenbeck Zoo, Hamburg (Germany)

The Siberian Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) - also known as the Amur Tiger - is the largest of the cat species. It is characterised by orange-yellow fur with thin, black stripes and a paler undercoat on its belly. Its head is also very large, with strong jaws containing large canines. The species was once common and widespread in the Far East of Russia and the North-Eastern borders of China and North Korea, but by the 1940s it had been hunted to near extinction for its fur, with only 40 Siberian tigers remaining in the wild. The population has slowly recovered thanks to conservation efforts in Russia, and there are now about 560 individuals in the wild. Hagenbeck Zoo is participating in the European Endangered Species Breeding Program (EEP) for Siberian Tigers. In 2022, two healthy tiger cubs were born in the park. The average lifespan for Siberian Tigers ranges from 16 to 18 years. Wild individuals tend to live between 10 to 15 years, while in captivity individuals may live up to 25 years.

The Hagenbeck Zoo (Tierpark Hagenbeck) is a zoo in Stellingen, Hamburg, Germany. The collection began in 1863 with animals that belonged to Carl Hagenbeck Sr. (1810–1887), a fishmonger who became an amateur animal collector. The park itself was founded by Carl Hagenbeck Jr. (1844–1913) in 1907 and it is still operated and owned by the Hagenbeck family today. It is known for being the first zoo to use open enclosures surrounded by moats, rather than barred cages, to better approximate animals' natural environments. Over the years, the zoo has gained a good reputation for successfully breeding rare and endangered species such as the Asian Elephant and the Siberian Tiger.