The rare birth of a Sumatran tiger in captivity has excited zoologists and animal lovers across the world, Reuters reported.
The birth took place last weekend at the San Francisco Zoo. The new cub is seen as a welcome addition the ranks of Sumatran tigers, an endangered subspecies whose numbers are believed to be as few as 400 in the wild.
As of Thursday zookeepers were monitoring the process of the mother and cub via webcam, giving them time to bond with little human interference.
The mother, a nine-year-old tiger named Leanne and the yet-to-be-named cub both appear to be healthy, as they rest in the zoo's Lion House, secluded from other animals.
"All signs seem to be positive so far," said Corinne MacDonald, San Francisco Zoo curator for carnivores and primates, according to Reuters.
MacDonald said the mother and cub were bonding and that the little one was active and eating a lot. The unnamed cub was the first tiger birth at the San Francisco Zoo since 2008, when the same tiger gave birth to a litter of three males, the article reported. Before that, the zoo had not had a tiger birth in 30 years. All three cubs from the previous litter were transferred to other zoos.
The gender of the newborn cub will not be known until zoo staff are able to examine it for the first time, which is not likely to happen for weeks.
Tara Harris, a tiger specialist with the North American accrediting group Association of Zoos and Aquariums, said that tiger births in captivity are "definitely rare," and that there are about 75 Sumatran tigers in captivity in North America and give birth to no more than four litters a year, according to the report.
Leanne was one of the only tigers in the world to receive prenatal sonograms while awake, the report stated. Captive tigers are generally put under anesthesia during pregnancy exams, which can potentially be dangerous to the felines.
"It's so much better for these animals not to have to be sedated. Many animals have adverse reactions to the anesthesia, which can be worse than the actual procedure," MacDonald said.
The Sumatran tiger is the smallest of six tiger subspecies, found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The tigers have become endangered due to poaching and habitat destruction.
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