Tiger cub 'orphaned by poachers' loses fight for life despite efforts of vets

The endangered Amur tigress cubs - one of the rarest big cats on the planet - was found earlier this week searching for food at a remote village in the Russian Far East. Wildlife specialists who rescued the cub said she was 'very weak and extremely exhausted'. The tigress's temperature was only 33.3C.

Efforts by vets raised this to 37C and the animal tried to eat, but she had suffered too much during several weeks after she lost her mother. Her weight at around 15 kilograms was little more than half the expected figure for her age of around four months.

Another cub - believed to be a sister - is faring better. A third is feared to be still in the wild. The dead tigress had been brought to the care facilities of the Land of Leopard national park. 

Ekaterina Blidcheko, a veterinarian at the park, said: 'All the little tigress ate on the first day, unfortunately, was not assimilated by her organism. Laboratory studies of blood collected on Tuesday confirmed that in the body of the animal had started an irreversible process. 

'Realising that the chances of recovery were small, we consulted with leading veterinarians, and tried all the recommended drugs.' She stressed her team 'tried to do everything possible to save the kitten. However, the aid came too late.'

Advice on saving the tigress came from the chief veterinarian of the Moscow Zoo Mikhail Alshinetsky, and the Zoological Society of London.