TACOMA — Zookeepers in Tacoma say a newborn female Sumatran tiger cub that came as a surprise to them will be hand-reared because her mother is, well, just not that interested.
The News Tribune reported that staffers at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium are bottle-feeding the cub every three hours. She was found Wednesday in a nest box in the tiger exhibit.
Zoo staff said they hadn’t known the mother, 9-year-old Jaya, was pregnant.
The new cub’s older brother, 8-month-old Dumai, was hand-reared for the same reason. The zoo brought him a playmate of the same age from the Tulsa Zoo.
Zoo general curator Karen Goodrowe Beck said the Sumatran tiger is an endangered species and zoo births are rare.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.