A Brazilian zoo on Friday signed off on their two new Bengal tigers and in a nod to their regal bearing named them William and Kate in honour of the royal wedding in England.

The big cats, a four-year-old male and five-year-old female, were acquired in a deal with an amusement park and arrived at the Rio zoo yesterday.

Authorities at the institution will be hoping the pair mate when they arrive at their new home, according to local press. Rio’s zoo, which at 66 years is the country’s oldest, sprawls over an area of 138,000 square metres and houses over 2,000 reptiles, mammals and assorted birds.

Meanwhile, half a world away, Prince William and Catherine (Kate) Middleton were married at London’s Westminster Abbey watched by some two billion viewers around the world.

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