The Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York, has announced the birth of two rare tiger cubs.
The cubs — one female and one male — were born to Zeya and Thimbu on April 29, the zoo announced on its website.
Zeya has lived at the zoo since late 2020 after it was recommended that she be paired with Thimbu, who has been at the zoo since 2019.
Amur tigers come from the region of the same name in northeastern China and Siberia. There are fewer than 400 left in the wild, making them one of the rarest big cats.
“When Zeya came to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, we had high hopes for this day,” Ted Fox, executive director of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, said in a statement. “It was always our goal for Zeya to have cubs, but so much had to happen before that was a possibility. This is a crucial moment in the zoo’s conservation mission, and our community has so much to be proud of today. These cubs represent the work of our animal care team in slowly introducing these massive, complex cats. Today is a celebration of Conservation in Action.”
These are the first cubs for both mom Zeya and dad Thimbu.
Zeya was hand-raised after her own mother rejected her and her sister, zoo officials said, so they kept a close watch on the tiger, as they didn’t know how she would react.
Staff said that, unlike her mother, Zeya bonded with her babies immediately after giving birth.
“For Zeya, motherhood was completely instinctual,” Zoo Curator Dan Meates said in a news release. “It’s not often that you get to witness an Amur tiger become a mother, and even rarer to observe one that was raised by humans doing such a good job of raising her own cubs.”
Zeya still has a bit more time to bond with her cubs. They won’t be on display to the public until after they’re done with their vaccines, which will be complete when they’re 16 weeks old.
