Duke and Tora Update

In this blog, I will give an update on the wonderful Duke and Tora, who remain in the new big cat building out of visitor view for the time being. I will tell you a bit about their personalities, husbandry and what they’ve been up to recently.

Their New Home

Duke and Tora, our pair of hybrid tigers, moved into the brand new tiger house in May 2025 and as rambunctious as they are, this was quite a huge change for them, so we saw their tentative side while they got used to their new digs. The new space has a huge indoor facility which includes a large pool with window viewing. Duke is quite a fan of the pool and enjoys following staff into it through the viewing windows which wrap around the corner of the pool.

They have a large climbing frame outside with high platforms so they can relax up high with great views of the new areas of the park.

Duke is the more cautious of the pair and will always let Tora ‘go first’ when it comes to anything new, from enclosure exploring, new enrichment and training, Tora has always been the first to try it out. Duke will watch from an area he feels safe and get the low-down upon her return with multiple head rubs and chuffs. Whilst he may not be the most courageous, he certainly is full of love and calm-natured.

The two are very sweet together and are the most talkative tigers with a chorus of chuffing with every visit.

What is Chuffing?

Chuffing is a vocalisation made by tigers as a positive greeting noise to express comfort and non-aggression. Duke and Tora will make this sound to each other during the day and will doll them out to us keepers too. Of course we must do it back to them should you be honoured with a chuff!

Training

Being off-show for the moment, it is important to keep Duke and Tora stimulated as people-watching is limited. Although they do get a good peek from the top of the outside platform. So far we have introduced injection training, laying down, blood draw training with Duke and also started scale training.

We recently got brand new bar scales to weigh some of the larger animals in the park and have been introducing them to duke and tora. So far, we have managed to get Toras front paws on, her inquisitive and courageous nature has made her excel with this training. Duke on the other hand is still remaining a safe distance away from them, I have my work cut out for me convincing him to take part!

Enrichment

Big cat enrichment can be a challenge as it must be appropriate for the species and the individuals. Big cats often respond well to scent-based enrichment such as oils, perfumes and herbs, spread around the enclosure, beams and platforms, not only does this encourage exploration and tracking, it also gives a good flehmen response or ‘stinky face’. This is a natural behaviour in which they pull a cheesy grin that is actually pulling in the scent to a specialized organ in the mouth to help them decipher an interesting smell.

Tactile enrichment is quite a fond favourite of Duke, which is anything they can move around, sink their claws into, or bite. One the most successful examples being hessian sacks filled with straw and scent or food. Boomer balls, barrels and card boxes also give the cats something fun to make a dent in!

Feeding

All of the big cats are on a gorge feed diet. This is how they eat in the wild and what they are designed to do, so of course we try to match that feeding style.

Gorge feeding is where they will consume a large amount of meat in one sitting and then fast for several days, not needing to hunt in between. We give Duke and Tora 3 large feeds per week, during feeds they must be separated to avoid fighting, even though they are the best of friends, when it comes to food, it is safest to keep them separate until they are finished. It is very clear when they are finished and ready to go back to each other, if they are willing to walk away from the bones, this indicates that they are gorged and satisfied and no longer protective over them.

Duke and Tora are adored across the park and we will be celebrating their 8^th birthday on the 25^th April!