Newest Rare Sumatran Tiger Cub Makes Public Debut This Week

The newest rare Sumatran tiger cub at the Point Defiance Zoo is just about ready for her public debut. This Thursday, May 9, you can view the fluffy little predator as zookeepers bottle feed and interact with her. Visitors will be able to watch the cub at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily. She’ll be living in the cub den, but may be sleeping the rest of the day and not easily viewable.

Born April 17, she’s only the third third Sumatran tiger born in North America this year. There are 74 Sumatran tigers in North American zoos, and an estimated 300 left in their native habitat on the Indonesian Island of Sumatra. The Species Survival Plan works to ensure genetic diversity in the zoo-based tiger population through careful breeding recommendations and management. Habitat loss and poaching are the tigers’ greatest threats.

The cub’s birth was a surprise to zookeepers, who didn’t know that mama tiger was pregnant. Both of her parents, mother 9-year-old Jaya and father 4-year-old Malosi, live in the zoo’s Asian Forest Sanctuary, but the cub will be hand-reared, as the mother showed little interest in her offspring (apparently that’s not unusual). The cub is strong and healthy. She’ll be getting her name today.

Here’s a moment of cuteness for your butty Wednesday morning featuring the new cub, thanks to the folks at Point Defiance Zoo.