The Siberian Tiger Park in Harbin City in China has come under fire after photos of its obese tigers went viral on the internet. The images show some rather tubby Siberian tigers lolling around at a zoo in northeast China’s Harbin province.

However, Siberian tigers also known as Amur tigers are famed for being the biggest cat species on the planet. Some social media users have joked that the cats were a little over-indulgent over China’s Spring Festival. But, this is not funny or ‘cute’. These animals are ill.”

The animals have reportedly been drastically overfed by their carers at the Siberian Tiger Park in Harbin City, northeastern China. Both visitors to the park and people who have seen the photos online have become extremely worried about the tigers’ ‘obese’ state.

While many commenters have raised concerns about the large size of the animals, it is natural for the tigers to overeat over the winter months in a bid to survive the harsh Siberian winters. The area often experiences lows of minus 18 degrees Celsius in January. February and March can prove to be equally as bitter.

While the zoo visitors have raised an issue regarding their health, people from the park thinks and says that this is normal and there’s nothing to worry about. They’re also claiming that all of this is just their winter weight and the cats will lose it by spring.

Born Free Foundation’s president, Will Travers, told the publication: “These tigers appear very obese, indicative of a wholly inappropriate and unnatural diet, woefully inadequate opportunities for natural behavior and exercise, and the constants of captivity. In my view, this is not funny or ‘cute’. These animals are ill.”

“These tigers appear very obese, indicative of a wholly inappropriate and unnatural diet, woefully inadequate opportunities for natural behavior and exercise, and the constants of captivity,” said the President of the Born Free Foundation.

“Captive adult large cats should eat between 4 and 6% of their body weight or between 9-18 pounds of chunk meat when fed five days a week. Because temperature, habitats, and exercise differ at every facility, they should be fed no more than the minimum amount that keeps them in a lean condition. I see much more obesity among captive cats than excessive thinness.”

The Siberian Tiger Park, set up in 1996, follows a practice of allowing visitors to feed the tigers. The visitors pay to feed the tigers themselves with strips of beef. Apparently, there’s also a setting which allows tourists to buy live chickens for the tigers which may explain the animals’ obesity.

Overfeeding of wild animals can result in them not being able to move around and perform their natural activities.