Sumatran Tiger Gives Birth To Triplets At London Zoo
A rare and endangered Sumatran tiger kept at London Zoo has given birth to triplets. Melati a five year old Sumatran tigress became a mother on Monday afternoon and whilst the keepers are maintaining and eye on the cubs through remote camera technology, the cubs have yet to be sexed.
The cubs along with their mother remain away from the public and inside the den with Melati once in a while venturing outside to eat. The father of the cubs is a six year old called Jae Jae and is being kept away from the cubs in the main tiger enclosure.
Zookeeper Teague Stubbington said: “We couldn’t be more delighted with our new arrivals, and with how Melati is responding to her three cubs, we’ve even been able to observe key milestones like their eyes opening and their tentative first steps. While we still don’t know whether they’re boys or girls, we’re starting to see their personalities develop. We’ve nicknamed one Trouble, as it’s much bolder than the others – it was the first to start exploring its den and we’ve spotted it waking up its siblings when they fall asleep.”
It is estimated that only 300 Sumatran tigers are left in the wild so London Zoo says the birth of triplets represents a massive achievement.
“not just for ZSL London zoo but for the global breeding programme of this critically endangered species”.
London Zoo opened up its Tiger Territory in March 2013 at a cost of £3.6 million and one of the main purposes was to encourage breeding of the endangered sub species.
The Sumatran Tiger lives in the jungles and forests of Sumatra in Indonesia and is under grave threat from poachers, human conflict and habitat loss.
During the 1970’s it was estimated that there were 1,000 wild Sumatran Tigers a number which has dropped to the current 300. Should the numbers continue to fall at the same rate many experts warn that within the next decade the species faces the real threat of extinction.