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London Zoo names its terrific tiger trio!
Image source, ZSL London Zoo
ZSL London Zoo welcomed three Sumatran tiger cubs earlier this year, and the adorable additions have now been named!
Siblings Inca, Zac and Crispin were born to parents Gaysha and Asim at the conservation zoo in June.
The tigers, which are critically endangered animals, were given their names following an auction last month which gave ZSL supporters the chance to decide what the babies would be called.
Image source, ZSL London Zoo
"Inca, Zac and Crispin are great names for these feisty cubs - now four-months-old and growing fast.," said ZSL London Zoo tiger keeper Martin O 'Sullivan.
"Inca loves her food and is always ready to defend a bit of chicken from her brothers if necessary. Crispin is a little quieter than his two boisterous siblings, and is definitely a mummy's boy - preferring to snuggle up to Gaysha in the sun - while Zac is the largest cub and loves playfighting with his sister, getting an early start on developing their hunting skills.
"We can tell the trio apart by the stripe patterns on their faces, which are unique to every tiger - we're delighted that all three have now been officially named."
Why are these tiger triplets so important?
Image source, ZSL London Zoo
Inca, Zac and Crispin are part of a global conservation effort to protect Sumatran tigers through a breeding programme involving lots of different zoos.
Sumatran tigers, which are the smallest types of tiger that exist, come from the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
The animals are currently facing great challenges which threaten their existence.
Image source, ZSL London Zoo
There are only around 300 Sumatran tigers currently left in the wild, with poaching - which is the illegal hunting of animals - having the biggest impact on their numbers.
Habitat loss, where environments animals live in are destroyed, is another big factor affecting Sumatran tigers living in the world. A big driver of habitat loss is human activity, like deforestation.