Hidden cameras have captured the birth of three rare Sumatran tiger cubs at London Zoo. Source: AAP
HIDDEN cameras have captured the birth of three tiger cubs at London Zoo.
Three of the world's rarest tigers were born to five-year-old Sumatran tigress Melati on February 3 after a 106-day pregnancy.
The cubs arrived in the early hours, and all were born within an hour.
The entire birth process was monitored using remote camera technology. The zoo has yet to establish the sex of the cubs.
Mother Melati and her cubs remain together inside special "cubbing dens" with Melati only occasionally venturing away from her babies for food.
Their birth will be a welcome addition to the zoo, as it comes less than six months after the death of the zoo's first Sumatran tiger cub in 17 years.
Keepers at the zoo were left "very distraught" after the cub was found drowned on the edge of the pool inside the tigers' enclosure, two weeks after its birth in October.
The cub had been the grandchild of the zoo's last tiger cub, Hari, the father of Melati.
"We couldn't be more delighted with our new arrivals, and with how Melati is responding to her three cubs," zookeeper Teague Stubbington said.
"We've been observing them 24/7, and one of us is always on duty to keep an eye on the little ones throughout the night. We've even been able to observe key milestones like their eyes opening and their tentative first steps.
"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."
In the 1970s, there were 1000 Sumatran tigers in the wild, but today there are believed to be 300 individuals.
If numbers continue to decline at that rate, they face a very real threat of extinction within the next decade.
Therefore the cubs represent a great achievement for the zoo and the global breeding program for the critically endangered species.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Tiger triplets' births filmed in UK
Dengan url
http://cucidollaran.blogspot.com/2014/03/tiger-triplets-births-filmed-in-uk.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Tiger triplets' births filmed in UK
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Tiger triplets' births filmed in UK
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar