WHAT a difference a year makes as Colchester Zoo’s bouncy babies are starting to get all grown up.

The popular attraction says last year will go down in its history after a huge baby boom.

An exciting 12 months for the Maldon Road facility saw the birth of dozens of animals, including some critically endangered big cats.

In June, Amur tiger Taiga welcomed three healthy cubs - two males, Mischa and Pasha, and one female, Tatana.

Now seven-months-old, the animals have grown considerably.

September saw the first ever successful breeding of Amur leopards at the zoo when mum Esra gave birth to Luka and Lena.

All five big cat babies are incredibly important to the preservation of their specifies, with both species at risk in the wild.

A spokesman for the zoo said: “It is amazing to watch these endangered big cats grow each day and see each of their individual personalities come to life.”

It wasn’t just the felines who had a big 2019 either. Red pandas An An and Liwei had two cubs in June, Kamal and Kalaiya.

The zoo’s aardvarks, smooth coated otters, Humboldt penguins and primates like the Titi monkeys, mandrills and gelada baboons also welcomed youngsters.

And the new year got off to a flying start when a white rhino calf was born on January 6.

Picture courtesy of Colchester Zoo.

Visit colchester-zoo.com.