A pretty exciting event just too place at Cincinnati Zoo last Friday that tons of animal lovers are going to be excited over; three Malayan tigers were born, which is a huge deal considering that the species is endangered and that there are fewer than 500 individuals known to exist today.
Image Credit: Cincinnati Zoo/YouTube
The happy event means there are now three more of the creatures walking the Earth, but there’s a slight problem; the mother who gave birth to the creatures doesn’t feel up to the challenge of raising her young.
According to the Cincinnati Zoo, it was the mother’s first time giving birth and her maternal instincts didn’t kick in, which means now it’s up to the zoo’s staff to raise the cubs until they’re grown enough to be let loose in the Zoo’s attraction: Cat Canyon.
“It’s not uncommon for first-time tiger moms not to know what to do," said Mike Dulaney, curator of mammals and vice coordinator of the Malayan Tiger species survival plan (SSP). "They can be aggressive and even harm or kill the cubs. Nursery staff is keeping them warm and feeding them every three hours.”
The fact that the mother didn’t want to raise her young is pretty alarming, and it’s a good thing the zoo’s staff came to the rescue when they did. Without the mother’s care, the younglings would have had a hard time staying warm, and may not have been able to feed or survive.
Inside of the zoo’s nursery, the three cubs are being fed properly and they’re staying nice and warm, which is particularly important during these cooler months.
This is a particularly good thing because the mother and the father of these cubs are reportedly “genetically valuable,” which speaks for the purity of their DNA. It’s likely the cubs will someday enter a breeding program to help the species rebound from these low-dipping numbers.
It’s expected that the cubs will be ready to be put outside without constant care sometime in the Spring, which is when zoo visitors will get a chance to take a gander at the three insanely cute creatures.
For now, all we can do is wait and cheer for what looks to be a bright future for the species, assuming experts can finagle things to make them work right.
Source: FOX News
