Edinburgh Zoo has announced it is creating a new enclosure for its pair of  Sumatran tigers.

Visitors will be able to walk through a glass viewing tunnel which passes through Baginda and Jambi's enclosure, allowing them to get a closer look at the big cats.

The Tiger Tracks enclosure, more than three times the size of their existing home, is due to launch in June 2016 at a cost of around £500,000.

It is hoped the new area will help the breeding pair have cubs, increasing the number of the critically endangered species.

Darren McGarry, head of living collections at Edinburgh Zoo, said: “The enclosure will be as natural as possible and highly immersive.

"One of the key features of Tiger Tracks will be a glass viewing tunnel that will make visitors feel as if they have walked right into the enclosure itself and come face-to-face with a powerful Sumatran tiger.

"At ground level, the tunnel will include a climbing structure of trees overhead on which the tigers will walk.

"From an animal point of view, Tiger Tracks will be highly stimulating and well designed."

Tiger Tracks will be designed to reflect an Indonesian tiger reserve and will be behind the current enclosure.

Male tiger Jambi, aged 12, arrived at Edinburgh Zoo in July 2015 from Berlin. Female Baginda, also aged 12, arrived from Benidorm in May 2011.

Keepers said the complex process of introducing the two animals is going well, with enclosure swaps being carried out to familiarise them with each other's scent.

It is estimated only 400 Sumatran tigers are left in the wild, with deforestation destroying their habitats.

Chris West, chief executive with the Royal Zoological Society Scotland (RZSS), said: “We are delighted to be able to develop a new modern and dynamic Sumatran tiger enclosure with the needs of both our visitors and animals in mind.

"Part of the ongoing Big Cat Strategy of RZSS, we are extremely pleased to be able to create this tailor-made enclosure that truly delivers on welfare, breeding and visitor experience grounds.

"Ninety-seven per cent of wild tigers have already died out in just over a century, so with the help of well-coordinated breeding programmes across the world, such as the European Breeding Programme of which we are a part, it is our hope that we will be able to increase a captive bred reserve population of this endangered species and protect them from a similar fate.”