The joy is huge: In London Zoo three tiger cubs were born – and they seem to develop perfectly. The mother of the triplets Melati had lost a newborn dramatically year only six months ago.
Sumatran Tiger Melati gave birth six months after the death of her last baby, following a pregnancy lasting 106 days.
“We could not enthusiastic about our new arrivals,” said zookeeper Teague Stubbington the “Guardian”. The birth was filmed with hidden cameras. Even now, the staff of the zoo monitors the triplets around the clock.
“We have noticed all previous milestones in their lives – as they have opened their eyes, as they have made their first steps”, Stubbington said. The pups already developed their own personalities. “One, we have the nickname ‘anger’ missed because he has explored the first to his environment and has woke his siblings when they were just asleep,” said the nurse.
“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.”
The cubs are welcome arrivals at the zoo, where keepers were left distraught less than six months ago after the death of the attraction’s first Sumatran tiger cub in 17 years.
Father of triplets is the six-year-old Sumatran tiger Jae Jae. His partner Melati had brought half a year ago to a baby – it was the first Tiger junior in London after 17 years. But the joy lasted about it then only briefly: The newborn was drowned at the age of two weeks in the water basin of the enclosure.
Sumatran tigers are in the wild before exclusively on the Indonesian island of the same name. The smallest subspecies of tiger is an endangered species. Sumatran tigers are a rare species with only about 300 believed to be still in the wild, down from 1,000 in the 1970s.
Watch London Zoo Sumatran Tiger Melati and Tiger cubs Video
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