Chester Zoo has announced that critically-endangered tiger twins have been born at the zoo, and hidden CCTV cameras captured the incredible moment on video.
The tiny Sumatran tiger twins were born to first-time parents Kasarna and Dash at the UK’s leading charity zoo earlier this year on 7 January, and since then, the new family has spending lots of quality time bonding with each other in their den.
Zookeepers say the new arrivals will be named once they start to gain in confidence and venture outside – which they’re expecting will be some time in early April.
Until then, their adorable early life antics have been caught by the zoo’s CCTV cameras.
At the moment, conservationists believe there are just 350 Sumatran tigers remaining in the wild.
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They are one world’s rarest tiger subspecies, and are listed as critically-endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – which is the most severe conservation category and highest priority.
The expansion of unsustainable palm oil and coffee plantations has seen more than 90% of the Sumatran tiger habitat wiped out, which has brought them into close conflict with the human population, and as a result, the carnivores are more exposed and often killed when they come into contact with villagers, farmers or livestock.
The species is also heavily poached for its skin, bones and canine teeth – which are sold illegally on the traditional Asian medicine markets.
This is why, according to carnivore experts, the birth of the twins at Chester Zoo is “a significant step forward” for the conservation breeding programme that’s working to save the species from extinction.
“We’ve been closely monitoring Kasarna on our CCTV cameras as she get to grips with motherhood and her first litter of cubs,” said Dave Hall – Carnivore Team Manager at Chester Zoo.
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“It’s a real privilege and incredibly special to watch.
“She’s a great mum and is being very attentive to her new infants, keeping them snuggled up in the den and feeding them every few hours. It won’t be too long until they gain enough confidence to start venturing outside for the very first time as a family, which is really exciting.”
Conservationists believe there are just 350 Sumatran tigers remaining in the wild / Credit: Chester Zoo
He continued: “The birth of two more healthy Sumatran tiger cubs is another significant step forward in the long-term efforts to protect these incredible animals.
“One day, the pair will hopefully go on to themselves make a vital contribution to the endangered species breeding programme, which is now playing a critical role in preventing these majestic animals from becoming extinct.”
Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Emily Sergeant -
16th February 2023 
