Auckland Zoo/Supplied
Auckland Zoo Sumatran tiger Zayana has given birth to two cubs.
It’s the year of the tiger at Auckland Zoo, where two live cubs have been born for only the second time in the zoo’s history.
Sumatran tiger Zayana gave birth to the cubs on Tuesday and appears to be “demonstrating great mothering skills”, the zoo said in a statement.
The cubs, weighing just under a kilogram each, also appear to be doing well.
The zoo is “cautiously optimistic” the mother and cubs will thrive, following Zayana’s first pregnancy in 2023, which saw her kill one of her cubs in an instinctual attack after the other was stillborn, senior carnivore keeper Nick Parashchak.
Photos of the cubs are not yet available, as zookeepers have been monitoring the happy family from a discrete distance.
“Just as a tiger mother would be doing in the wild, she’s also being highly protective of her offspring who are born blind and won’t gain their full sight until around two weeks of age and will be completely dependent on Zayana for months to come.”
Auckland Zoo
Auckland Zoo Sumatran tiger Zayana is pregnant, three months after she gave birth to a stillborn cub and killed another.
“In addition, she is spending a lot of time grooming them, which is an important activity as it stimulates the cubs’ circulatory and digestive systems.”
The zoo introduced Zayana, 5, and the cubs’ father, Ramah, 6, in May following their arrival at the zoo from the US in November 2022.
The pair seemed to “like each other a lot” and mated 95 times during their first rendezvous.
In the wild, tigers can mate between 200 to 250 times during the female’s four-to-seven-day oestrus period – the optimal and safest time for mating.
In September, Zayana gave birth to a stillborn and killed her remaining cub, which is instinctual for mothers with smaller litters.
“A tiger mother always wants to ensure that the two intensive years of effort and resource she needs to invest in raising offspring (a time during which she cannot reproduce) will benefit her species’ population and survival,” carnivore team leader Lauren Booth said at the time.
Auckland Zoo/Supplied
Auckland Zoo Sumatran tigers Ramah and Zayana “like each other a lot” and mated 95 times in their first meeting.
While the zoo is “delighted” Zayana has reared successfully, the next few weeks will be critical for her and the cubs.
“It’s incredibly exciting to have achieved this milestone, and we’re cautiously optimistic that everything will continue to track well for Zayana and her cubs,” Parashchak said.
“Our job as keepers, with the support of our veterinary colleagues, is to continue to monitor her and the cubs closely, while giving her the space and privacy she needs, and do everything we can to ensure she has a safe and secure environment to successfully carry out her new role as a mother”.
Screens have been put up at the zoo’s tiger habitat and visitors are asked to pass the area quietly to provide Zayana and the cubs with extra privacy. It’s not clear yet when visitors will be able to see the cubs.
The proud father will be in a separate area of the habitat and may be seen.
Fiona Goodall/SNL
Auckland Zoo had its first litter of Sumatran tiger cubs when Molek gave birth to Jalur, Berani and Cinta in 2008.
There are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
Threats to wild Sumatran tigers include habitat loss due to palm-oil deforestation, human conflict and poaching.
Part of the Auckland Zoo ticket cost is donated to wild tiger conservation projects, including The Tiger Protection Project, which aims to protect Sumatran tigers at Kerinci Seblat National Park in Sumatra, Indonesia.
Funding from the Auckland Zoo Conservation Fund helped create the Rapid Reaction Unit, which responds to poaching threats at the park.
