KEEPER Alan Woodward said a sad farewell to Asiatic lion cub Tejas this week as the youngster starts a new life in France.

Alan and a team from Chester Zoo’s carnivore section took the four-month-old to Besancon, near the Swiss border, on Tuesday.

The team of three was followed by a film crew from Five’s Zoo Days, who documented the journey for their second series.

To view our high-res video of Alan and Tejas - click here

Alan developed a close bond with Tejas as he cared for the young cub round the clock in the first few weeks of his life.

He said: “It has been a great honour to hand-rear him and you are bound to get attached after all that time.

“Looking back, the time seems to have gone incredibly quickly but there were times when obviously we were extremely worried about him.

“When he had ligament problems it was touch and go whether it was going to affect his future, but luckily it was all rectified and he is now running around all over the place.

“I’ll miss him terribly but I’m sure he will be fine once he settles in.”

Tejas was born on August 25 last year and was mum Asha’s first surviving cub.

Her first litter was two weeks premature and extremely weak. One was stillborn and the other survived just an hour.

The second litter, one which Tejas came from, appeared to be doing well, but after cleaning up the tiny cubs she didn’t know how to feed them.

They were very distressed and the decision was made to intervene and hand-rear them – but it was too late for Tejas’s brother.

He didn’t survive because he was about half the size and had suffered internal injuries after Asha trod on him.

Alan has been at the zoo for 34 years and has been working with carnivores for the last 28 years.

During that time, he has seen many changes and seen successful breeding programmes with many species.

Births at the zoo this year include red pandas in June and a bongo – an endangered African antelope.

The last time any kind of big cats were hand-reared at the zoo was 20 years ago, when the zoo kept African lions.

But the zoo has since been home to rare Asiatic lions, which are under threat from poaching and disease.

The current status of the Asiatic Lions is based on the 2006 census, which revealed a population of about 359 lions in the Gir National Park, India.

A breeding programme is vital to save the species from extinction and Tejas’s parents, Asoka and Asha, are the second breeding pair of Asiatic lions at the zoo.

Their predecessors, Jake and Chandani, produced 13 cubs – making her the most prolific lioness in Europe.

Only a handful of zoos take part in the breeding programme so any birth is important for the survival of the species.

But for any captive breeding programme to be successful, it is essential the family history of the animals are known.

Alan said: “The breeding programme for the Asiatic lion is extremely important because there are so few left in the wild.

“There are only around 90 Asiatic lions in captivity so Tejas is very special – his parents have never bred before so he is a totally different blood line and very important for the breeding programme.”

Alan has also become something of a celebrity after Tejas featured prominently in the first series of Zoo Days.

He said: “At first it was nerve-racking but eventually you do get used to the cameras in your face and it is so nice that people have shown such a huge interest in Tejas and in his development.

“Quite often people stop me in the street and ask how he is doing – we have received so many e-mails and Christmas cards and it’s wonderful that people are so involved.”

Despite his sadness at Tejas’s departure, life goes on at the zoo for Alan – and there are undoubtedly more surprises around the corner.

He said: “You can’t come in and say ‘this is what is going to happen today’ because every day is so different.

“You have slight routines but it is such a varied job and that’s why it is so rewarding.”

Tejas’s journey will be shown during the second series of Zoo Days in spring.