Facebook unites tiger fans

DZG’s female tigers, Daseep and Tschuna, proved to be the perfect muse for a talented artist from Essex who has captured the twosome on canvas.

Marcia Reed, who lives in Romford, has produced two stunning pieces of artwork showing Amur tiger, Tschuna and Sumatran tiger, Daseep, drawn entirely from photographs taken by a regular DZG visitor.

Marcia, who draws wildlife pieces, befriended DZG season ticket holder, Steve Weaver, on Facebook after discovering his photographs of Daseep and Tschuna online.

Taking three weeks each to complete, Marcia, an IT administrator for a Dagenham-based charity, drew Daseep (pictured left) and Tschuna (below) in soft pastel on velour paper and was delighted with the results.

She is now hoping to use photographs taken by Steve’s daughter, Samantha, to draw Sprout, our young orang utan.

Marcia said: “I have never been to Dudley Zoo but would love to visit and maybe meet up with my Facebook friends who have been so generous in supplying me with such lovely photographs.”

DZG Head of Media and Communications, Jill Hitchman, said: “Marcia’s artwork is very striking and we have had lots of compliments about the big cat pastels.”