A BIG cat’s birthday party was a roaring success with the teenager tiger treated to meaty presents, footballs and treats.

The annual even marked Amba’s 14th birthday on Saturday and saw families flock to Shepreth wildlife park to enjoy stalls, entertainment and an auction.

Presents of food wrapped up in cardboard boxes were put into Amba’s cage and youngsters also made enrichment devices for her as presents.

“There was about 15 parcels of food wrapped and bound. Food was also hidden in the bushes and tied to poles,” said park curator Rebecca Willers.

“Cambridge United came down the day before and brought lots of footballs and we threw then in the enclosure and the tigers chased them.

“A sure sign she had fun was she was fast asleep in the afternoon and didn’t arise until the next day.

“The enclosure looked like some kind of aftermath of a party, it was full of wrapping paper and trashed. We had to have a team of volunteers to clean the enclosure.”

The event may seem light-hearted but it is organised by the park’s charitable arm the Shepreth Wildlife Conservation Charity with all funds raised going to support tiger conservation work of 21st Century Tiger and Wildlife Vets International in Sumatra and Bangladesh.

A team of young actors patrolled the park and helped hammer home the poaching problem that affects wild animals.

Ms Willers said: “It was really good, we raised about �1,300 which was our best yet.

“It wasn’t as a big a turn out as we hoped it might have been because of the Olympics and it rained a little bit.”