Poland Zoo Reveals the Birth of 4 Sumatran Tiger Cubs
Wroclaw Zoo in Poland has been sitting on a delightful secret. Several months ago, in July, AP News reports, Nuri, a female Sumataran tiger at the zoo gave birth to four cubs. After several months of cuddling with their mom, getting vaccines, and growing stronger, the tiger babies were ready to make their first public appearance, and the zoo joyfully, but belatedly announced their birth.
A longtime partner in Sumatran tiger conservation
Wroclaw zoo has dedicated itself to preserving the critically-endangered Sumatran tiger population for decades. According to a news release from the Wroclaw Zoo the ZOO Wroclaw Foundation — DODO works with the WildCats Conservation Alliance to preserve the habitats of Sumatran tigers in the wild, to educate local communities, and to prevent poaching.
Sumatran tiger births are rare both in zoos and in the wild. “This year,” according to the news release, “Sumatran tigers have been born in only four zoos across Europe.” Large litters of Sumatran cubs are extremely rare. The birth of tiger quadruplets is a remarkable event and a breeding success of global significance.
The zoo has been involved in Sumatran tiger breeding efforts since the 1960s and is currently Poland’s only zoo with a Sumatran tiger breeding program. Nuri’s cubs are the fifth generation of Sumatran tigers to be born at Wroclaw; Abra, Nuri’s great-grandmother was also bred there.
In fact, the four cubs that recently made their debut are Nuri’s second litter. The tigress also gave birth to a female cub, Surya, four years ago. Surya currently lives in a zoo in Cottbus, Germany.
Nuri’s four tigerlings represent 1 percent of the global Sumatran tiger population, as there are only an estimated 400 wild Sumatran tigers in the world today, due to poaching and habitat loss, reports Euro Weekly News.
The best kept secret
The cubs were born on July 22nd, but the zoo kept their birth under wraps until October 16, AP reports. Wroclaw zoo delayed revealing the births until they were sure the critically-endangered Sumatran tiger cubs would survive.
According to the news release, the birth of the tiger cubs was the zoo’s “best-kept secret,” although it added that keeping animal births’ secret is a common policy.
The zoo always withholds information about newborns, because the period immediately after birth is critical for the young, and the zoo will only share the happy news once the animals are growing well and healthy.
Growing rapidly
While the cubs only weighed around 3 pounds (1.5 kilos) at birth,Nuri’s months old babies have already grown to 18 pounds (8 kilos), about twice the size of a housecat, AP News reports. All four cubs are healthy and spend their days eating, growing, and roughhousing with each other.
Sergiusz Kmiecik, the President of The Board of ZOO Wrocław, proudly shared in Wroclaw zoo’s statement that, “In large litters like this, not all the cubs typically survive to adulthood. This makes it all the more joyful that all four cubs are thriving, eating well, and actively playing with each other and their parents.”
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Tengah, the cub’s father, has taken an uncommon interest in the kits. “What’s interesting,” Paweł Sroka, Curator of Carnivores at ZOO Wrocław said, “is that Tengah, the cubs’ father, has been involved from the start, which is unusual for tigers. He has been calm, gentle, and even helped Nuri care for the cubs, learning how to ‘handle’ the young.”
Sumatran tiger cubs also usually explore outside their dens for the first time at two months old, but Nuri’s babies have been in a secluded enclosure for a bit longer. They were only allowed to make their public debut at around three months old, after receiving all necessary vaccines.
The zoo is thrilled that three of Nuri’s newborn tigers are male because there are currently more female Sumatran tigers in European zoos than males, and Nuri’s litter can help correct the imbalance.
The cubs’ birth is a triumph for the zoo, for global conservation efforts, and for the city of Wroclaw. Wroclaw’s mayor, Jacek Sutryk, told Wroclaw zoo that, “The birth of four Sumatran tigers is the greatest breeding success in recent years and an unprecedented event — a true global sensation.”
