In Presence Of Zookeepers, An Endangered Sumatran Tiger Gives Birth To Twin Cubs
Sumatran tigers are sadly one of many critically endangered species on our planet. Despite attempts to repopulate, they have stayed on the endangered species list for a long time.
Conservationists are stepping up their efforts to help this species survive, so the news that a tigress at the ZSL London Zoo was pregnant was incredible.
The tigress, called Melati, is a very rare 7-year-old Sumatran tiger who became pregnant at London Zoo.
The zoo’s workers installed a camera system to track the tiger’s actions in order to ensure the protection of her pregnancy and birth. They would be able to tell if she wanted help right away if she did.
Melati was pregnant for 106 days. On February 3, 2014, she began having contractions. Her child was a beautiful, healthy tiger cub. According to the BBC, the mother’s baby’s father, a tiger called Jae Jae, wandered into their location to see how the mother and newborn were doing.
As the workers started to watch the tigress through her camera, the unexpected happened. Melati began behaving strangely and uneasy. Surprisingly, the tigress started to labour again, indicating that she was expecting twins!
Following her safe delivery of her second newborn cub, the zoo’s staff was ecstatic at the possibility of seeing a rare tiger deliver two healthy babies!
Melati had a male cub called Achilles and a female cub named Karis. They were born healthy and happy, and they are currently lounging with their mother. On the video released by the zoo, you can see how happy the cubs are. Having twins of a critically endangered species born in a zoo is an incredible surprise, and attempts to continue their repopulation are still underway.
