Tiger cubs charm shoppers

Nick Cockcroft, with Tane, one of two 10-week-old white tiger cubs on display at the Botany Town Centre yesterday. Picture / Paul Estcourt

Two 10-week-old tiger cubs were the star attraction at an Auckland shopping centre yesterday, with hundreds of children watching their every move.

The royal white tiger cubs were visiting Botany Town Centre from the Zion Wildlife Park at Whangarei, run by Craig "Lion Man" Busch, who says he is displaying the animals to further the conservation cause of tigers worldwide.

"They're the first royal white tigers born in New Zealand and we've brought them here to talk about the preservation of tigers and just how endangered they are," he said.

The animals have been extinct in the wild since 1958 and about 120 are left in the world, all in captivity. The two cubs will eventually return to a South African wildlife park but in the meantime, still need feeding every three to four hours with a bottle of special formula.

Mother Rewa is 3 1/2 years old and carries a solid white gene, producing cubs with light brown stripes, blue eyes and pink noses.

"They're so cute," said 11-year-old Emma Carson, from Pakuranga, who watched tiger handler Nick Cockcroft with the cubs. "They're so big and fluffy."

Mr Busch hopes Rewa, who is pregnant again, will produce more white cubs.