Issaquah residents had lots to celebrate on Saturday afternoon. In addition to recognizing another Arbor Day on the Eastside, those visiting the Cougar Mountain Zoo got a chance to attend a tiger birthday party for a pair of the zoo’s Bengal tigers.

Celebrating their sixth birthday, zoo favorites, Taj and Álmos, were treated to a variety of gifts: birthday boxes painted to reflect the the party’s theme, “Happy bEARTHday!” scraps of raw meat, blood and bamboo.

Cougar Mountain Zoo general curator, Robyn Barfoot, said tigers living in captivity generally live to be around 15-years-old, approximately twice as long as they are able to survive in the wild. Barfoot, who has been at Cougar Mountain for seven years and in the zoo business for 16, has been working with Taj and Álmos since they were just weeks old.

As part of the celebration, Taj (a golden bengal) and Álmos (a white bengal) were released into the larger, outdoor tiger enclosure, where they were given free reign on their birthday gifts. The recycled boxes, decorated in non-toxic tempura paint and put together using no tape, staples or glue, were created by the zoo’s staff and volunteers.

Barfoot said the Cougar Mountain Zoo has been celebrating the tigers’ birthdays since they were brought to Issaquah as cubs. In previous years, themes have included “mythical creatures” and “hunting for prey.”

“They really enjoy it,” Barfoot said, in regard to both the big cats and the zoo visitors that flock to their enclosure each year.

The zoo has another pair of male tigers, Bagheera and Vitéz, who will celebrate their fourth birthday next month. For more information about the Cougar Mountain Zoo, got to their website.