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UPDATES:
12-24-06: The cub had to be separated and moved to our Animal
Health
nursery for hand raising due
to poor maternal care and failing health. At this
time the cub's health has improved with supplemental
feedings. Somtime this week (1/10), we hope to begin
reintroductions of the cub to the mother periodically.
1-9-07: This
cub continues to gain weight, approximately
5% daily, with good attitude and activity level.
Appetite
remains good. As of January 8, the cub's
weight is 10.9 pounds. She is becoming very
proficient at maneuvering in its environment. Cub
is alert
and active, exploring the nursery room. Incisors
and canine teeth have erupted through the gum
line and chewing behavior is noted on soft toys
and
chewing toys.
1-19-07: Routine
vet check performed. Weight gain and appetite continue, good activity level. Teeth
continue to erupt.
Coordination improving.
1-24-07: Cub continues to eat well and gaining weight; now at 11.9 pounds!
1-28-07: Dr. Kelly approved short visit outside in nursery yard. It was 55 degrees and sunny. Monitered her outside for 20 minutes. She explored cautiously, mostly stayed near me, but I think that was because she was hungry! She did not appear to get cold and her temperature was normal after her 3:00 p.m. bottle.
2-5-07: Went
straight to the den and mother JoJo's door after
coming out of her crate. They chuffed at each other
and touched noses for a minute or so. Cub spent 25
minutes exploring the second den area, then went
to den 1 and stayed in nest box until food was placed
in it an hour later. Ate 1/2 of food offered. Two
more interactions with JoJo throughout the day.
2-14-07: She is now on two bottles per day at 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.. She is receiving solid food four times daily with the goal of always having some food in front of her. She will spend 1-1/2 hours in large nursery room upon return from seeing her mother. Room has fresh bamboo in it. We will watch to be sure she does not chew/ingest it. Then she will return to the small nursery room for the night. She now weighs 7.5kg (16.5 pounds)!
3-4-07: Her bottle today was 90cc and she wanted more! Really held on. We only plan to offer her a bottle for two more days at 60cc each so I added water to the bottle in hopes this will make it a bit less palatable. This often helps with weaning when it just doesn't taste right. She was at felines for 7 hours today and came back to Animal Health Department. She did great at the end of the day, playing and then sleeping in her crate. Weight is now 10.5kg (23.2 pounds).
4-9-07: The cub, now named Hadiah (meaning gift in the Malay language), made her public debut. Weighing in at 34 pounds, she is in very good health and enjoying her days, playing with a variety of toys and chewing up all the plants in her exhibit! She is on view daily from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
5-16-07: We put a bone in a box and closed the box. Hadiah
attacked the box, and a
couple of times seemed spooked by it. Eventually she
got it open and got the bone out. She then continued
with her assault on the box and paid no attention to
the bone. She played with the box for quite awhile,
eventually taking it into the water tub to soften it
up for the "final kill." All the toys she
has and she's playing with a cardboard box! Low tech
and low price.
The
gestation period for tigers is 95-110 days. Cubs
are born with their eyes closed and open them within
a week or two after birth. To ensure its well being
and the best maternal care possible, the cub will
remain off public view for a minimum of three to
four months. Within the next few weeks, plans are
to have video footage of the cub available via closed-circuit
monitor in the Adaptations Building where the parents
are normally exhibited. We will also post photos
and video here on the Species Spotlight page as they
become available.
Every
tiger birth is significant to help sustain the population
in North American zoos, which continues to drop due
to aging tigers, a limited number of breeding-age
animals and a low birth rate. Only six tiger species
(out of an original nine; the Java, Bali and Caspian
species of tigers have all become extinct within
the last 50 years) remain on the planet and the Sumatran
is very rare, with only about 400 believed to exist
in the wild.
Woodland
Park Zoo supports a field conservation program to
study and protect Sumatran tigers in Southeast Asia.
For more information about Sumatran tigers, visit
our Fact Sheets
section and select Sumatran Tiger from the menu.
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