Caregivers at the Safari Park are hand-rearing a newly born Sumatran tiger cub. The cub, born just before 2 am on September 14, is being cared for around the clock.
The cub’s mother took care of him for the first few days, but zoo keepers noticed he was losing weight and his mother was starting to neglect him.
After the animal care team decided the cub wasn’t getting the proper care he needed they moved him to the Animal Care Center at the Safari Park. He is bottle-fed seven times a day with a special formula and now weighs 3.36 pounds.
“We’re very happy with our little cub’s progress; he took to the bottle and started nursing right away,” Lissa McCaffree, lead keeper of the Mammal department said in a statement. “He’s been gaining weight very consistently each day, and last night he reached a milestone—he opened his eyes for the first time.”
He is also gaining strength in his legs by walking around his enclosure and is learning to meow and grunt.
Soon, guests will be able to view the cub during bottle-feeding sessions at the Care Center. Times will be posted daily at the viewing window.
The Safari Park is now home to seven Sumatran tigers out of fewer than 350 in the world. The cub is the 26th to be born at the Safari Park and the first to be hand-reared since 1984.
