Next time you take a trip to California, you might want to make time to see a beautiful sight at the San Francisco Zoo. Then you could join in the celebration of its newest member, a Sumatran cub.
On Thursday, zookeepers announced their 9-year-old Sumatran tiger, Leanne, gave birth to an apparently healthy cub, providing a boost to the population of this critically endangered subspecies.
According to animal experts, there are only some 400 Sumatran tigers in the wild. Zookeepers are monitoring the pair in the zoo's secluded Lion House via webcam to allow mother and baby to bond with little human interference.
The cub was the first tiger born at the San Francisco Zoo since 2008, when Leanne delivered a litter of three males. The cubs were transferred to zoos across the United States. Before 2008, the zoo had not had a tiger birth in 30 years.
Zoo staff will not know the gender of the newborn until its first examination at least two weeks from now.
Comments