Editor note: Please contact KOMO TV for pool footage provided by Woodland Park Zoo

SEATTLE - A pair of endangered Sumatran tigers born at Woodland Park Zoo is healthy and bonding with mom. The 2-week-old cubs, which appear to be males, weighed in at 5 pounds apiece during a recent neonatal examination. The unnamed cubs remain off public view in a maternity den while staff continues to monitor the cubs via a closed-circuit monitor.

The cubs are beginning to open their eyes. “So far, they’re showing positive signs of thriving,” noted Woodland Park Zoo Director of Animal Health Dr. Darin Collins. “Their full bellies indicate they’re nursing well and the cubs are very strong, vocal and mobile,” added Collins. Animal Health staff will continue examining and weighing the cubs once a week.

The significant birth represents the second litter between 12-year-old mother JoJo and 11-year-old father Rakata (RAH-ka-ta). “She’s an experienced mother, so she’s very attentive to her cubs,” explained zoo General Curator Dr. Nancy Hawkes. According to Hawkes, staff has observed the mother moving the cubs to the adjoining room then back to the maternity den.

It will be mid-December before visitors can get their first glance at mom and cubs on exhibit. Meanwhile, tiger fans can visit the "Species Spotlight" on the zoo’s Web site for images, video and periodic updates.

All five tiger subspecies are endangered with only 6,000-8,000 tigers remaining in the wild. The Sumatran is the most rare with only about 400 believed to exist in the wild. The primary reasons for the decimation of wild tiger populations are illegal poaching, human overpopulation and other activities that result in the destruction and fragmentation of habitat. Tiger bones and other body parts are used in traditional Asian medicines.

Accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, award-winning Woodland Park Zoo is famed for pioneering naturalistic exhibits and setting a standard for zoos all over the world. The zoo is helping to save endangered species in Washington state and around the world. By inspiring visitors and others to care and act, Woodland Park Zoo is making a difference in our planet’s future.