Rare tiger cub is born
Image: Newborn cub. @SFZoo via twitter
The birth of a Sumatran tiger cub at San Francisco Zoo has provided a rare boost to the critically endangered species.
The cub and its mother, a nine-year-old Sumatran tiger named Leanne, are currently being monitored by zoo keepers via webcam, to allow them time to bond.
"All signs seem to be positive so far…mom and cub are bonding." said Corinne MacDonald, San Francisco Zoo's curator of carnivores and primates. She added that the cub appeared to be healthy and is active and eating plenty.
The cub was fathered by a six-year-old tiger Larry from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. This is the first tiger birth at the zoo since 2008, when Leanne delivered a litter of three males. These were then transferred to zoos across the state. Prior to this the zoo had not seen a tiger birth in 30 years.
According to Dr Tara Harris, a tiger specialist at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, just 75 Sumatran tigers are in captivity in North America, collectively giving birth to two to four litters a year. "These births are definitely rare," she said.
Zoo staff will not be able to determine the gender of the newborn cub for at least two weeks, when it will receive its first examination. The cub will then stay at the zoo for a year and a half until zoo keepers decide whether or not to transfer it.
It is estimated that as few as 400 Sumatran tigers survive in the wild. They are found only on the Indonesian Island of Sumatra in lowland and mountain forests. Habitat destruction and poaching pose the biggest threats to the species.
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