Tiger Cub Update
Our female Amur tiger cub has recuperated from her tail injury and is back in the holding area of The Fragile Kingdom. She is eating well and is growing and putting on weight at a healthy rate. The last time she was on a scale, November 16, she weighed 56 pounds (25.45 kg), and she has likely put on some weight since then.
Keepers report that they're adopting several strategies to encourage the cub to be calm during her transition back to The Fragile Kingdom. They're scheduling specific times to spend with the cub, and using her favorite food item, chunk meat, to reward her for calm behavior. In recent days, keepers have been initiating a “buffered— and cautious reintroduction of the cub to Fragile Kingdom and her mother Tiara. Plans include providing the cub with her mother's scent, via a cardboard box (cardboard boxes are often used as enrichment items), and allowing the cub access to her mother's enclosure when Tiara is on exhibit.
After so many weeks of separation, mother and cub are largely starting from scratch and the possibility of reacquainting them must be approached with a great deal of caution. Keepers will proceed by placing the cub and her mother in adjacent holding areas with a perforated metal introduction door in between. (The stainless steel door is sturdier than mesh, with very small holes.) Animal Programs staff will continue to work towards the cub becoming a calm and well adjusted tiger. Although reintroduction is unlikely, they are taking a “watch and wait approach— in order to protect the well-being of both cub and mother. We will continue to provide updates on the cub's health and progress as information is available.